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Old 03-02-2016, 03:48 AM   #13 (permalink)
RedDevil
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Location: Nieuwegein, the Netherlands
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Red Devil - '11 Honda Insight Elegance
Team Honda
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My car has Vehicle Stability Control (I don't know the precise acronym, but let's call it VSC) which uses the brakes to aim it in the direction you are steering toward.
VSC and non-VSC cars behave differently when they lose grip, you must learn which way your car behaves.

If you lose the rear on a FWD (non VSC) car, apply some light throttle and point the front wheels in the direction you are sliding towards (countersteer). That should straighten the car.
Be sure to steer back straight as soon as it grips or you will swing the other way.

On a VSC car, don't countersteer just point it where you want to go to.
I lost the rear on my Insight in a double lane corner when I had a flat rear, I felt the slide and instinctively did the maneuver like I described above, and VSC made sure I skipped to the lane I was pointing at with the wheels!

More common on FWD cars is understeer, as the added drag on the wheels when you release the gas pedal makes them lose grip before the rears do.
A gentle amount of throttle would help too, combined with straightening the steering wheel back until it regains traction.
In extreme cases a short pull and release on the handbrake can bring the back round for faster cornering, rallye style.
That would be illegal on public roads over here - deliberately causing a slide is. For experts only, anyway.

While braking and steering at the same time is generally not a good idea, ABS can make it work as long as you don't overdo the steering.
VSC can take it beyond the limit and still let you control your car; even if it would not follow its intended trajectory you'd get back if you keep pointing the wheels where you want them to go.

I never had an official training but I did practise on the top tier of our elevated parking garage, which was mostly empty and tended to ice over nicely.
My old Civic had no luxury beyond a steering wheel and vented heating so no ABS or nothing, and all season tires that weren't the grippiest during winter.
As I learned to drift (and then not to do that) in a kart I tried it out with my Civic, which was hard as a FWD car.
Anyway, using throttle, brakes, clever steering and occasionally the parking brake I got to a level where I could make it dance any way I liked it.
Saved me a couple of times on the road.
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2011 Honda Insight + HID, LEDs, tiny PV panel, extra brake pad return springs, neutral wheel alignment, 44/42 PSI (air), PHEV light (inop), tightened wheel nut.
lifetime FE over 0.2 Gmeter or 0.13 Mmile.


For confirmation go to people just like you.
For education go to people unlike yourself.

Last edited by RedDevil; 03-02-2016 at 06:58 AM..
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