GPL help wanted

Is there a special trick to: a) prevent oversteering (and spinning) when turning in a corner (especially the last corner) b) controlling the car when it has started to break away in the rear. Thanks in advance, Han Monsees ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Het doel is de wind. En omdat het doel altijd blijft, blijft de wind ook altijd, dus zal het zeil nooit omvallen" Ronald Giphart in Rails ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

>Is there a special trick to: > a) prevent oversteering (and spinning) when turning in a corner > (especially the last corner) Finish your braking while you are still in a straight line. Then get on the throttle again to transfer some weight to the rear wheels and prevent the rear wheels from locking due to "engine braking" (I forgot the correct technical term in English. Something like "lift throttle oversteer"?) First of all, this shouldn't happen. :) If it happens anyway, apply full opposite lock and be very careful with the throttle. Too much throttle in these circumstances will cause a spin. Too little throttle will also cause a spin. A tire can transfer only a limited amount of force to the surface. This can be braking force or accelerating force or "staying-on-track" force (Again, the terms of the trade fail me. the last force is called "Seitenfuehrungskraft" in German.) If your rear wheels spin or lock, they can't transmit any "Seitenfuehrungskraefte" anymore. You have to try and find an equilibrium where all the force is available for staying on track. -- Wolfgang Preiss \ E-mail copies of replies to this posting are welcome. Uni des Saarlands \ and U.S. law. You have been warned.

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> Is there a special trick to: > a) prevent oversteering (and spinning) when turning in a corner > (especially the last corner) > b) controlling the car when it has started to break away in the > rear.

Yes.......Practice, practice, oh, and more practice. Seriously, oversteer occurs cos the weight has transferred to the front wheels under braking and the rear wheels thus lose grip? or cos you are simply going too fast for the entrance to the corner? there are a few tips to try to avoid or overcome this. Brake a bit smoother so the transfer of weight is smoother, try to only brake in a striaght line, do not turn the wheel as you are braking, and try to brake down to the correct cornering speed, then *blip* the throttle before you turn in to give some grip to the rear wheels. Last but not least if you are going too fast, slow down? As for controlling the car as it breaks away....that really comes down to car control and reactions? if you are good at recovering a car from spins (eg:- turning the wheels into the slide) and you react quickly enough, you can save it. Ideally you want to try and stop the car getting into that situation in the first place though. If it's breaking away you have done something wrong? unless you are deliberately trying to slide the car (which is *NOT* the quickest way around a circuit, but can be the most fun!!!!) IMHO, speed = smoothness...... 8-) *Peter* 8-) (NB: remove asterix to e-mail)

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> >Is there a special trick to: > > a) prevent oversteering (and spinning) when turning in a corner > > (especially the last corner) > Finish your braking while you are still in a straight line. Then get > on the throttle again to transfer some weight to the rear wheels and > prevent the rear wheels from locking due to "engine braking" (I forgot > the correct technical term in English. Something like "lift throttle > oversteer"?)

Trailing Throttle Oversteer. You can spin the car by jumping off the brakes in the turn too, which causes Trail Brake Oversteer. If you use one or the other gingerly on corner entrance, you can pivot slightly and enter at a higher speed. Ross Stonefeld