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Oversteer


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Oversteer is when the rear tyres suffer a lose of traction during a cornering situation, causing the rear of the car to head towards the outside of the corner. A more technically correct definition is that oversteer is the condition when the slip angle of the rear tyres exceeds that of the front tyres. Older rear wheel drive cars were generally more prone to oversteer, in particular when applying power in a tight corner.

 

Contrary to popular opinion, modern rear wheel drive cars are much more user-friendly in this regard as they are set-up to understeer, the more powerful ones even have on-board computer systems which can automatically brake the car or override the drivers throttle inputs.

 

This is because understeer is generally much safer for new drivers, whereas oversteer is much more difficult to correct when not prepared for it.

 

The natural reaction of most drivers in the event of losing control is to try to slow down, either by lifting of the throttle or braking. Both of these will help bring an understeering vehicle under control but can have disastrous effects in the case of oversteer.

 

This is because braking causes weight transfer toward the front of the car, reducing the rear traction even further. The correct oversteer correction is to gently steer into the slide then take the power away as needed.

 

In fact cutting the power at mid-corner can induce oversteer even on front wheel drive vehicles. This is known as 'lift off oversteer'

 

A car that tends to neither oversteer or understeer when pushing to the limit is said to have neutral handling. Most racing drivers prefer their cars set-up just on the oversteer side of neutral. This is almost always the fastest set-up as it helps the car on tight corners.

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