chas@ihuxe.UUCP (Charles Lambert) (06/04/85)
> > Subject: How to *really* handle a front wheel drive car > ... > to handle a rear-wheel drive car. With proper use of the brakes and > throttle, you can make it do whatever you want - drift, slide, etc. > How do you perform comparable tasks with an understeering, front-wheel > drive car, such as the Saab? International rallying veteran Hannu Mikkola, a master of fwd acrobatics, used to swear by left-foot-braking; that is, subtle application of the brake pedal at the same time as the throttle. The effect of the engine working against the brakes keeps the front wheels turning so that the majority of the braking effect occurs at the rear wheels, increasing the slip-angle there and so inducing oversteer. It's the same principle as the handbrake-turn only less drastic. At this point I must make a loud disclaimer: I've never seriously tried this technique and I reckon it requires a lot of skill - so DON'T anyone go trying it on your local tollway ramp, just for the heck of it. Charlie Lambert @ the Death Star, IL.