When car understeers...

[Russian Mafia]

Hi Guys,

I was wondering what you guys do when your car starts understeering (front wheels start sliding)
Once i was driving and it was time to change highways. One of the rams wasnt curving too much so i went kinda fast there. But just before ramp connects with the hightway it stared curving more and i guess i did not realize i was going to fast (around 80 or so, cuz 80 seemed like 50 after cruising 100-110 on a 2 lane road). So I felt that my front wheels were not rolling anymore but sliding instead. I just put my foot from gas on the break, but did not really break, maybe just a little bit, and tried to keep car from more sliding. Good thing there was no cars coming on the highway so I had some room for more sliding.

SO anyways, do you guys have any suggestions what to do in this type situations. (Besides chaging tires, cuz those stock tires SUCK)

Thanks

Yury

[xavier]

slow down around corners....understeer is a necassary evil for fwd cars

[ThatVietGuy]

Streets/Mountain: I tend to left foot brake.

Track: Give the e-brake a pull or left foot brake.

[Mole]

best thing to do to fight understeer in a FF is let off the gas and ride it out.

listen to posted signs, they can help. when i was in my agressive driving days, i knew my limit was around double posted signs on turns and what not.

[cdssolara]

Yeah, that's pretty good advice. If you hit the brakes, you'll put more weight on the front wheels, which will just make the understeering worse.

best thing to do to fight understeer in a FF is let off the gas and ride it out.

listen to posted signs, they can help. when i was in my agressive driving days, i knew my limit was around double posted signs on turns and what not.

[ThatVietGuy]

Putting more weight on the fronts wheels is what helps in killing understeer.

Braking actually helps sometimes in extreme understeer conditions, but only when it is done SMOOTHLY. Slamming the brakes may lock up the tires and make you understeer even worse.

[Monkeyman]

If you have ABS brakes than using the brakes in a turn is OK. If you do not have ABS than hitting the brakes is a really bad Idea, as you will likely slide and loose control of the car. If you do loose control what to do depends on which way you want to go. If you are hoping to move towards the inside of the turn than breaks can help some, if you need to go in the direction of the skid, downshift and slam the gas (sounds nuts I know, but it really will help to keep you in the direction you were pointed). If you want to hit the turns hard here is the best advice I can give: Buy REALLY good tires (don't forget tires are your ONLY connection with the road, never buy cheap ones!), Stiff shocks and struts, lowering springs (ie Eibach), strut tower brace, urethane bushings, beefy antisway bars, and best of all, mercury weights. Mercury weights are hard to find and are a reall b*tch to install, but they shift in the oposite direction that the spinning force of the car forces everything else, helping the car to hold its footing. Mercury weights are in all Ford "Police Interceptor" Crown Victorias (which is part of the reason why most cars and drivers cannot out run the police!).