A few lines on steering.
Discussion
Steering is one of those skills that we don't really think about. Turn the wheel a certain amount and the car points in the direction you want it to go - simple.
Isn't it?
Not if you read advanced driving manuals it's not - rotational steering is a no-no, push pull is best - or is it pull-push? But rotational steering is actually ok sometimes. What about an emergency though? What's the fastest way to put lock on if things go wrong? Isn't shuffling the wheel the preserve of driving schools and people who smoke pipes?
Questions, questions.
Allow me to simplify things for you. I don't actually care how you hold or turn the wheel, as long as you operate it in the correct manner.
I do care if you're trying to pass a Police course or one of the civilian advanced courses which require pull-push of course. In those circumstances, if you don't demonstrate an ability to use the prescribed technique, then you won't pass the course.
But in every day driving, trust me, I don't care one iota how you turn the wheel, as long as you turn it in the correct way.
But what is the correct way Reg?
I've talked about vehicle balance before - I wrote a whole article on the subject - and the basic principles for steering are exactly the same as for any other driver input. If you're rough with the steering, you'll catch the car unawares, which is something cars don't like - roughness moves the vehicle's weight around quickly and results in the car feeling unsettled, and in extreme cases, can result in a loss of directional stability. Modern vehicles - even the more mundane family cars - have quite high grip levels these days, but you can easily use up all of a cars lateral grip very quickly just by being rough with the wheel.
The way to apply steering lock is to turn the wheel slowly at first, build up the speed of the lock application until you're close to having the right amount of lock applied, and then slow down the application again until the wheel is stationary. Starting with a slow, gradual turn of the wheel starts to gently settle the car onto it's springs rather than suddenly chucking lock on and expecting the car to go immediately from travelling in a straight line, to turning.
I don't mean that you should be excruciatingly slow with the wheel - this technique can be used even at very high speeds and on the track. I just mean that at the point you start to turn the wheel, the speed of lock application should build up and then slow down again, rather than just being done at a constant speed.
Imagine a pendulum swinging from left to right. At the very far reach of it's swing, it's momentarily stationary until gravity starts to swing it the other way. It then starts to accelerate - slowly at first - until it's travelling at a constant speed. As it swings through it's arc, gravity starts to slow it down again until it becomes stationary at the other far reach of it's swing.
Keep that swinging pendulum in mind, and now attach a steering wheel at it's fulcrum (is that the right word? It's been a long time since I did secondary school physics). The pendulum can swing faster or slower, depending on the weight and it's length, but the manner in which it turns is still the same - slow at first, speeding up, and then slowing down again.
It's just as important to use that same technique when taking lock off as well. As you're taking lock off when you're coming out of a corner, the steering action should be accompanied by a degree of acceleration, so to keep the car balanced under that acceleration, the lock should come off slowly at first, then quicker, and finally slowing down until you're pointing straight ahead again.
Of course, this sounds simple enough when applied to a single corner, and in reality, when negotiating a series of corners of varying degrees of sharpness, it's more difficult to apply correctly, but all you're effectively doing is shortening or lengthening the imaginary pendulum to suit each corner.
There are techniques which make this type of steering easier to maintain. If you try pulling the wheel down at the start of a turn you'll usually naturally apply a pendulum effect, which is why the Police, IAM etc, recommend pull-push. You can steer correctly with rotational steering, but it requires a little more concentration and practise, particularly if you like to sit with a straight-arm posture. Straight-arm driving requires the steering input to come more from the shoulder, whereas sitting with arms bent means the steering input comes more from the wrists. If you steer from the shoulder, it's less sensitive, and can be rougher.
So, next time you're out for a drive, just pay a little attention to how you operate the wheel, and have a go at imagining the pendulum effect. If you apply it correctly, you should notice an improvement in the smoothness of your drive, and in the stability of your car through corners.
Isn't it?
Not if you read advanced driving manuals it's not - rotational steering is a no-no, push pull is best - or is it pull-push? But rotational steering is actually ok sometimes. What about an emergency though? What's the fastest way to put lock on if things go wrong? Isn't shuffling the wheel the preserve of driving schools and people who smoke pipes?
Questions, questions.
Allow me to simplify things for you. I don't actually care how you hold or turn the wheel, as long as you operate it in the correct manner.
I do care if you're trying to pass a Police course or one of the civilian advanced courses which require pull-push of course. In those circumstances, if you don't demonstrate an ability to use the prescribed technique, then you won't pass the course.
But in every day driving, trust me, I don't care one iota how you turn the wheel, as long as you turn it in the correct way.
But what is the correct way Reg?
I've talked about vehicle balance before - I wrote a whole article on the subject - and the basic principles for steering are exactly the same as for any other driver input. If you're rough with the steering, you'll catch the car unawares, which is something cars don't like - roughness moves the vehicle's weight around quickly and results in the car feeling unsettled, and in extreme cases, can result in a loss of directional stability. Modern vehicles - even the more mundane family cars - have quite high grip levels these days, but you can easily use up all of a cars lateral grip very quickly just by being rough with the wheel.
The way to apply steering lock is to turn the wheel slowly at first, build up the speed of the lock application until you're close to having the right amount of lock applied, and then slow down the application again until the wheel is stationary. Starting with a slow, gradual turn of the wheel starts to gently settle the car onto it's springs rather than suddenly chucking lock on and expecting the car to go immediately from travelling in a straight line, to turning.
I don't mean that you should be excruciatingly slow with the wheel - this technique can be used even at very high speeds and on the track. I just mean that at the point you start to turn the wheel, the speed of lock application should build up and then slow down again, rather than just being done at a constant speed.
Imagine a pendulum swinging from left to right. At the very far reach of it's swing, it's momentarily stationary until gravity starts to swing it the other way. It then starts to accelerate - slowly at first - until it's travelling at a constant speed. As it swings through it's arc, gravity starts to slow it down again until it becomes stationary at the other far reach of it's swing.
Keep that swinging pendulum in mind, and now attach a steering wheel at it's fulcrum (is that the right word? It's been a long time since I did secondary school physics). The pendulum can swing faster or slower, depending on the weight and it's length, but the manner in which it turns is still the same - slow at first, speeding up, and then slowing down again.
It's just as important to use that same technique when taking lock off as well. As you're taking lock off when you're coming out of a corner, the steering action should be accompanied by a degree of acceleration, so to keep the car balanced under that acceleration, the lock should come off slowly at first, then quicker, and finally slowing down until you're pointing straight ahead again.
Of course, this sounds simple enough when applied to a single corner, and in reality, when negotiating a series of corners of varying degrees of sharpness, it's more difficult to apply correctly, but all you're effectively doing is shortening or lengthening the imaginary pendulum to suit each corner.
There are techniques which make this type of steering easier to maintain. If you try pulling the wheel down at the start of a turn you'll usually naturally apply a pendulum effect, which is why the Police, IAM etc, recommend pull-push. You can steer correctly with rotational steering, but it requires a little more concentration and practise, particularly if you like to sit with a straight-arm posture. Straight-arm driving requires the steering input to come more from the shoulder, whereas sitting with arms bent means the steering input comes more from the wrists. If you steer from the shoulder, it's less sensitive, and can be rougher.
So, next time you're out for a drive, just pay a little attention to how you operate the wheel, and have a go at imagining the pendulum effect. If you apply it correctly, you should notice an improvement in the smoothness of your drive, and in the stability of your car through corners.
Forgiveness please, but what is rotational steering?
As for driving position, i've seen people say that if you can touch your wrist to the top of the wheel without leaning forward off the seat then your arms will be in more or less the right position. Seems to work OK for me but then I don't get much choice being 6'4" in a Ford Puma (no steering adjustment and seats made for Oumpa Lumpas).
Nice article as ever
As for driving position, i've seen people say that if you can touch your wrist to the top of the wheel without leaning forward off the seat then your arms will be in more or less the right position. Seems to work OK for me but then I don't get much choice being 6'4" in a Ford Puma (no steering adjustment and seats made for Oumpa Lumpas).
Nice article as ever
RDE said:
Forgiveness please, but what is rotational steering?
As for driving position, i've seen people say that if you can touch your wrist to the top of the wheel without leaning forward off the seat then your arms will be in more or less the right position. Seems to work OK for me but then I don't get much choice being 6'4" in a Ford Puma (no steering adjustment and seats made for Oumpa Lumpas).
Nice article as ever
As for driving position, i've seen people say that if you can touch your wrist to the top of the wheel without leaning forward off the seat then your arms will be in more or less the right position. Seems to work OK for me but then I don't get much choice being 6'4" in a Ford Puma (no steering adjustment and seats made for Oumpa Lumpas).
Nice article as ever
Rotational steering is a technique whereby the driver grips the wheel in a set position, usually around quarter-to-three, and keeps their hands in that set position on the wheel whilst steering. As opposed to pull-push, where the driver is constantly moving their hands around the wheel rim.
If I'm being honest, in my every day driving, I use a combination of rotatonal and pull-push. Rotational for more open corners, and pull-push for tighter ones. It's just that, to steer smoothly requires more concentration with rotational steering than it does with pull-push.
As for your description of seating position, that's about right, although I do prefer to have the wheel a tad closer, which in modern cars with rake and reach adjustment, isn't usually a problem.
Hi Reg
It might be helpful to expand your definition a bit, as what you've described sounds more like 'fixed input' or 'fixed grip'. Roadcraft describes Rotational as the hand over hand movement, rather than hands always in the same place.
FWIW I'm working on this at the moment, trying to get the transition from Pull-Push to Fixed Input more consistent. I find that Pull-Push on a faster bend often means I'm only really gripping the wheel with one hand. On the other hand, if the bend gets a bit tighter and the angle of the wheel starts getting close to 90 degrees then Fixed Input feels less controllable.
I'll have a go at the pendulum thing this weekend - thanks.
More steering discussion here: AD-UK link
It might be helpful to expand your definition a bit, as what you've described sounds more like 'fixed input' or 'fixed grip'. Roadcraft describes Rotational as the hand over hand movement, rather than hands always in the same place.
FWIW I'm working on this at the moment, trying to get the transition from Pull-Push to Fixed Input more consistent. I find that Pull-Push on a faster bend often means I'm only really gripping the wheel with one hand. On the other hand, if the bend gets a bit tighter and the angle of the wheel starts getting close to 90 degrees then Fixed Input feels less controllable.
I'll have a go at the pendulum thing this weekend - thanks.
More steering discussion here: AD-UK link
Edited by S. Gonzales Esq. on Thursday 26th April 20:45
R_U_LOCAL said:
If you try pulling the wheel down at the start of a turn you'll usually naturally apply a pendulum effect, which is why the Police, IAM etc, recommend pull-push.
I'd not heard this explanation for the police and IAM favouring push-pull before. Rather, I'd assumed that it was essentially a hangover from the days when cars had large steering wheels and a driving position that placed the driver very close to the wheel. For example, my brother once had a 1930s Alvis. This had about 1 1/2 turns of the wheel from lock to lock and a large diameter wheel that was pretty much in your chest. Consequently the only way to steer was with a push-pull action; it was physically very difficult to use rotational steering. (It also had the accelerator as the middle pedal between the clutch and brake, but that's another story.)
Modern cars seat the driver further from a much smaller wheel and provide far lighter, but lower geared steering, making a rotational action both more natural and, to me, more efficient. That said, I'm glad that you're not prescriptive and I thoroughly agree that what matters is that whatever system you prefer, you steer smoothly and cosistently.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah_FbT25K1Q
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRekVhUeGtA
Magic
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRekVhUeGtA
Magic
Edited by superkartracer on Saturday 28th April 10:43
Thanks again for an interesting article - what you're saying about smooth inputs is spot on - the way it was taught to me was that you 'introduce' the steering and 'introduce' the braking before then 'firming up'.....(now c'mon, don't do the obvious jokes...).
If you have the space you can easily feel the difference between an 'on/off' input and a 'graduated' one, does far more dynamically to the car than thousands spent on new shocks/dampers/tyres/brake pads etc.
If you have the space you can easily feel the difference between an 'on/off' input and a 'graduated' one, does far more dynamically to the car than thousands spent on new shocks/dampers/tyres/brake pads etc.
How about the steering technique here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4bB7gRt1Hc
Not exactly IAM, certainly effective though. Mind you, I guess the rest of his driving isn't exactly the IAM endorsed style either
Ari Vatanen is also pretty good at keeping the front wheels pointed where he wants them too:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPUpN8JZe2M
Interesting to note he seems to use fixed grip for small amounts of lock, the shuffle/push-pull for medium amounts, and hand over hand for large amounts of lock. And always knows exactly where straight ahead is.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4bB7gRt1Hc
Not exactly IAM, certainly effective though. Mind you, I guess the rest of his driving isn't exactly the IAM endorsed style either
Ari Vatanen is also pretty good at keeping the front wheels pointed where he wants them too:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPUpN8JZe2M
Interesting to note he seems to use fixed grip for small amounts of lock, the shuffle/push-pull for medium amounts, and hand over hand for large amounts of lock. And always knows exactly where straight ahead is.
GravelBen said:
How about the steering technique here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4bB7gRt1Hc
Not exactly IAM, certainly effective though. Mind you, I guess the rest of his driving isn't exactly the IAM endorsed style either
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4bB7gRt1Hc
Not exactly IAM, certainly effective though. Mind you, I guess the rest of his driving isn't exactly the IAM endorsed style either
Thats kinda how I steer. A mix of push pull and rotational, it depends how the road unfolds and conditions change, can you see it to be clear enough to return the pull hand to the 10:2 position relative to your other hand and then rotate back to straight rather than push pull back to straight.
All depends how quickly you anticipate you need to do things, can you rotate and is it clear to see to rotate, or do you want to push pull because of an un-even surface and a potential hazard?
There is a junction on my way home, if there are cars waiting to come out as I go in I usually push pull, but if there are no cars there (it's otherwise a clear sight line) I'll rotate because it works better with more speed for me. I would feel really unsafe having arms all over with cars around that might suddenly do something that I couldn't then react to properly or quickly enough, even when going more slowly.
Dave
I was taught to pull the wheel rather than push at all. Induces less wear on the steering column apparently.
I remember years ago, I got caught short on a sharp right hand bend. There was oil or something on it and it was damp, (winning combination huh!?!?). I wasn't even going fast at all, but having realised I had little or no grip, I tried to turn the car into the corner anyway and surprisingly it started to turn in, but somewhat predictably, it started to oversteer very quickly.
Now I can remember thinking how wierd it was, but I automatically started feeding the wheel rather than manicaly turning it hand over hand. Upshot was that I drifted the car round the bend perfectly and joined the motorway perfectly smoothly about 150 feet later.
And there was no-one there to see it either!!
I remember years ago, I got caught short on a sharp right hand bend. There was oil or something on it and it was damp, (winning combination huh!?!?). I wasn't even going fast at all, but having realised I had little or no grip, I tried to turn the car into the corner anyway and surprisingly it started to turn in, but somewhat predictably, it started to oversteer very quickly.
Now I can remember thinking how wierd it was, but I automatically started feeding the wheel rather than manicaly turning it hand over hand. Upshot was that I drifted the car round the bend perfectly and joined the motorway perfectly smoothly about 150 feet later.
And there was no-one there to see it either!!
theres only ever someone there to see it if you get it embarrassingly wrong Gassing Station | Advanced Driving | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff