Lift off oversteer

I had an awful incident in my ZS where I went round a dual carrigeway roundabout ( a huge one, how I did this I've no idea :p) at about 40-50 in second, stupidly took the power off completely and did a 180, left side wheels hit the kerb of the roundabout and somehow got on top of it and then I was moving backwards towards the centre of the roundabout. All in about a second.

I was quite lucky this roundabout didn't have signs or walls on top of it and that I somehow didn't hit any of the cars all around me! My car was fine apart from gobs of mud in the front left tyre which I drove the 15 miles to work with. Lesson learned :D
 
It's a loss of overall control that, on the road at least, you should not be aiming to do.

Some back end play in a RWD is far more tame in comparison to what is a loss of traction at the rear end from a sudden shift in weight.
 
PMKeates said:
What is this we are talking about?

Is this something that happens to cars that are not equipped with state-of-the-art stability management systems, such as DSC?
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ESP, DSC and the like would struggle with any serious LOOS and probably hamper your own efforts to apply opposite lock and power out of it.

LOOS is a fun when you expect it but scary when you do not, you just need to defy natural action of slamming on the brakes and slam on the power instead.
 
Joshy said:
That's easier said on the internet then done at 70MPH+ in a car that is heading in a completely different direction than the one you wanted it to be at ;).

I remembered the "Turn in, floor it" theory during my first experience of lift off oversteer. Actually I remember staring at my size 12 Nike's for what seemed like an eternity trying to will them to come off of the Brake and clutch pedal and on to the throttle. In the end I froze up, pulled my 'Oh ****' face and hoped that I didn't hit anything solid. That's how real men deal with things :cool:.
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I know too well... When i first started driving I done it accidentally and came off ok. I then learnt to do it deliberately in an abandoned car park at night and "perfected it"

Then months later in the wet it happened accidentally coming around the corner and as i wasn't expecting it i ended up in the bushes :mad:

Few repairs later, good rubber all around and better understanding about it all and it hasn't happened again :)
 
My 182 does this a loooooot, even without provoking it. With a stripped rear and much lighter exhaust system, the back end is silly light. The oversteer isn't the scary part though, its when you are correcting the slide and it suddenly gets grip, then front wheels catapult you into the opposite direction. Thats what you gotta look out for :D
 
mattyprice4004 said:
How can it be controlled more effectively?
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Not entering the corner/turn quite as fast.
Being very smooth when lifting off the throttle.
If a situation arises where you need to scrub off speed quickly whilst cornering, then slowly/gradually lift off the throttle whilst applying the brakes lightly and gradually. (requires left foot braking)
IMO :)
 
Weight transfer.

It's a good thing.

You can control it better by not making such a pigs ear of the corner, be smoother on and off the throttle with steering lock applied.
 

That's how you do it! Braking hard and lifting fully off in the CTR before tackling a substantial roundabout had it come free quite easily but it felt progressive.

The first time it happened I was fully unaware of it potentially happening but my instinct was foot the floor and I just carried on driving like a loon. Not something you want to be doing on a public road though, but it is a nice exercise in car control.

I think Chris Harris did a few videos, think it was from that old drivers republic(?) site where they went out in an FN2 CTR and he showed how easy it was to 'drift' a FWD amongst other FWD driving techniques.
 
Dup said:
I think Chris Harris did a few videos, think it was from that old drivers republic(?) site where they went out in an FN2 CTR and he showed how easy it was to 'drift' a FWD amongst other FWD driving techniques.
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Yup, some good angles. But it was a Clio 197, not a Civic.

 
Progressive lift-off oversteer in a well setup FWD chassis = Good, lots of fun.

'Snap' oversteer with little or no warning = Bad for a novice driver, not so much fun.

I personally love a tail-happy FWD car, if it's nice and progressive you can really 'play' with the chassis.
 
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snowdog said:
Oddly I have never yet experienced it despite me entering corners quite hard often and then releasing throttle while entering it ( I always press the clutch though if I enter a corner too fast), only time I've had the back out is with the handbrake or braking too hard halfway through on a very sharp corner (180 deg, parking lot) which I entered far too quickly.
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I wouldn't say it was at all odd if you're talking about either of the barges in your sig :). It happens most easily when there's naff all weight over the back wheels in the first place. That's why light old FWD hatches are so great at it. My Pug 205s were brilliant - virtually no provocation required at all in the wet. :)
 
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