From: snoopy@sopwith.uucp (Snoopy)
Newsgroups: pnw.general
Subject: Re: driving in snow (or other low traction conditions)
Date: 22 Dec 92 04:10:32 GMT
Article-I.D.: sopwith.1992Dec22.041032.27278
Organization: The Daisy Hill Puppy Farm

In article <1376@brat.wa.com> donn@brat.wa.com (Donn Pedro) writes:
|In article <1992Dec17.045418.22907@eskimo.com> wix@eskimo.com (Dennis Wicks) writes:
|:In article <1992Dec16.051316.3202@sopwith.uucp> snoopy@sopwith.uucp (Snoopy) writes:
|:>The drivetrain doesn't matter.  Always steer where you want to go.
|:>And always look where you want to go.  Don't look at the phone pole
|:>or the other car, watch the nice clear lane you want the car to stay in.
|:>
|:Sheesh!  Where do these people come from?  Southern CA?
|
|No, I'll bet Snoopy came from a performance driving school.  The advice
|he gave is very good in that we humans tend to steer vehicles were we
|are looking and we tend to look at hazards instead of the direction 
|we need to go to avoid them.  It's called fixation and it kills people.

A few years of driving in snow and ice, a few years of driving in LOTS of
snow and ice, and a few years of driving in snow and ice and LOTS of salt.
(could have used tires optimised for salt...)  Some high performance driving
schools, rallies, autocrosses, gymkhanas, etc.  Rally and autocross trophies.
I have never driven a motor vehicle in southern fornicalia.

But Mr. Wicks thinks he has better qualifications.  And proceeds to
post a lot of incorrect advice on skid control.  I'd be interested to
read what Mr. Wicks has to say about the following quote:

	"If you remember to look in the direction you want to go
	and steer in the direction you want to go, as quickly as
	possible, you will end up going in that direction."

		_Bob Bondurant on High Performance Driving_
		Bob Bondurant with John Blakemore
		ISBN: 0-87938-158-2

|:If you have a _front_wheel_ drive, keep your front wheels pointed
|:down the highway and give it a little gas, and you will quickly
|:be on your way.

In a car that is understeering, back off the gas *slightly*.  This
transfers a little weight forward, giving the front tires more
traction.  (If the car is front-wheel-drive this also gives the
front tires less work to do, an added bonus.)  Back off the gas too
much and you may transfer enough weight off the rear tires to create
oversteer.  (if the car is fwd, oversteer is rare, but it can happen)

In a car that is oversteering, ease up on the brakes or add a little
power.  (depending on what you're doing to start with)  If the car
is rwd and it is oversteering because you're applying too much power
and spinning the rear wheels, then back off the power.

If you are in a car that likes to oversteer, slow down *before* the corner,
never in the corner.  Slowing down in the corner transfers weight off the
back wheels and makes it more likely that the back end will slide out.
If you are in a rear-wheel drive car, don't add a lot of power in a corner,
or you may spin the wheels and the back end will slide out.  In a car
that likes to oversteer, maintain a constant speed or accelerate *gently*
in a corner.

If the above doesn't make sense, brush up on your physics and then
take a performance driving course.


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Newsgroups: pnw.general