Comments on: Front and rear wheel drive

By: Joe Dierkes

Joe Dierkes — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 20:53:39 +0000

I'm not sure about the FWD cars, but I've had a few scary moments sliding in ice/snow going around corners!

I have always turned the steering wheel in the *same direction the rear wheels were sliding* This has always worked.

Does this mean I'd have to do the *opposite* in a FWD car?

If so, I'd never remember it :-)

By: mono

mono — Wed, 15 Dec 2004 15:47:37 +0000

how much does it cost to convert fwd into rwd???

By: Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 10 Jun 2004 04:16:53 +0000

i think with a rear wheel drive car if you ease off the gas for a moment you rear tires will stop spinning and you should be able to get some grip into those tires then you can ease on the gas (difting yea but this will kill your tires … i mena kill)….but if your in a corner make sure to countersteer

By: Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 10 Jun 2004 04:16:07 +0000

By: Revisiting understeer

Revisiting understeer — Sun, 01 Jun 2003 04:36:01 +0000

Frankster left a comment on my previous post regarding understeer and looking where you want to go...[more]

By: Frankster

Frankster — Sat, 31 May 2003 17:47:27 +0000

"Look where you want to go" does not apply to understeer. You are alreadey looking and steering inthe direction you wan tot go, but it's not happening because you've lost front end traction.

If you continue look in the direction you want to turn and steer that way (around the curve) you will continue or even increase the understeer situation. You need to momentarily steer LESS in the direction you want to go until the front wheels regain traction.

Of course, you can also forget the steering correction altogether, and use throttle to kick out the rear end.

By: Grant Carpenter

Grant Carpenter — Fri, 18 Apr 2003 04:26:12 +0000

Hmm. I’m wondering if looking where I want to go is going to work on Rallisports Challenge. :)

By: Tom Walker

Tom Walker — Fri, 18 Apr 2003 02:37:04 +0000

Nice to see you write about something a mere Mechanical Engineer can understand! You should point out that ANY “near the limit” driving techniques should be practiced in something other than your SUV. They don’t just roll over because they want a tummy rub :-)

By: John Lam

John Lam — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 19:56:03 +0000

The best thing that I ever did after getting my M3 was to do a one day advanced driver training class. It was the BMW driver training and our instructor is a well-known race car instructor (Pierre Savoie) who lists Carpentier and Villeneuve as his proteges. Your comment about looking where you wanted to go particularly resonates with me. I “killed” a few pylons in the lane change exercise before that clicked. After it did, I was AMAZED by how easy it was to steer through a < 10ft gap between pylons at 40mph.

By: John Lam

John Lam — Thu, 17 Apr 2003 19:41:41 +0000