Controlling A Slide In A RWD Car

[caneswell]

Greensleeves said:

Cat - pigeons, pigeons - cats.

I'll stand some flack here but what the hell is this oversteer you are talking about? Are you all incorrectly referring to the way the back end of a car steps out while the front still has grip? That's not oversteer, that's "getting the back end out!"

Oversteer is something completely different caused by incorrect or worn suspension geometry, wrongly angled springs or bump steer where the front of the car will turn more than intended by the driver. The opposite to understeer!

And don't refer to statements made by Tiffany Dell or Geremy Clarkson on Top Gear and the like because they're getting it wrong as well.

Get it right. Losing the back end is not oversteer!

Erm. I'll give you a hand here fella:

Click this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car

Once you've finished with that one, try this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oversteer

[GreenV8S]

Greensleeves said:

Losing the back end is not oversteer!

You can have oversteer without losing the back end, but I think if you have "lost the back end" then you're almost certainly experiencing oversteer.

[trackcar]

oversteer is nothing more than the car turning more quickly than you are expecting from the steering angle input .. it can happen at the front or the back and how that happens can be down to a variety of factors, one of which is the back end sliding wide of the expected line..

[Greensleeves]

GreenV8S said:

Greensleeves said:

Losing the back end is not oversteer!

You can have oversteer without losing the back end, but I think if you have "lost the back end" then you're almost certainly experiencing oversteer.

OK, I agree then. Defeat accepted. This sounds like a good explanation, along with the wikipedia one. I suppose looking back to when I was designing front suspension geometry we were probably ignoring rear wheel slip understeer rather than it not existing. I was taught by an old race car designer and I think he'd disagree with the descriptions but I'm not old enough to argue so I'll concede.

Call it what you will, Escorts are good at it and quite frankly, you can't go round a corner quickly in one without it!

[Greensleeves]

I suppose that leaves me wide open as well because while you're going sideways, you're not going forwards and all that!