What the heck is an understeer and oversteer. I am clueless to what these term meant.

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2000 TL w/ Nav Monterey Blue Pearl, Burlwood Shift Knob, Spoiler and Inspire Tail light

 

hey, i'm in the same boat!!


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96 Lexus LS400
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I think--generally speaking--understeer is when your car tends to turn less than is commanded, and oversteer is when your car tends to turn more than is commanded.

 

yup



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Red
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Ok, lets pretend you are take a sharp corner at high speed.

When your vehicle is "understeer", you will feel your car pushing into the corner, not turning as precisely as you had hoped. To correct understeer, all you have to do is let off the gas. This is also the same as "tight" in Nascar language.

When your vehicle is "oversteer", you will feel the rear end of the car sliding into the turn. To correct this, let off the gas and turn your steering wheel the same direction as the rearend of your car is sliding too. This is also the same as "loose" in Nascar language.

Most cars came out of factory "understeer", since it is easier to correct.

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Thanks for the responses guys.

 

This is what we see all the time in movies, right? Where the guy in a car chase takes a right turn on a street at high speed and the rear of the car swings out before straightening out?

I always thought that had something to do with rear-wheel drive (since somehow these car chases are always in big heavy Buicks).



<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">[This message has been edited by genghis on June 13, 2001 @ ]</font>

 

Ahh- but loose is faster

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Wayne Gruen
Service Manager
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*** The opinions expressed above are my own. I in no way speak for American Honda or Acura but strictly for myself ***

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If you say so...

 

Unbelievable. Be careful guys and gals. The solutions you are stating apply to RWD vehicles during understeer and oversteer. For FWD vehicles during understeer, you want to power thru the turn with a slight brake - don't lift your foot from the accelerator or you'll just keep on sliding in the same direction - usually off the road. Do your own research! IMO

 

uuuuughhhhh im sorry, but understeer w/a fwd car ud let off the gas to correct.......im not following what u mean.........

 

Do your own research and thinking. It seems to fuel alot of controversy. Just make sure they are talking about FWD not RWD. Try
http://www.angelfire.com/biz/snwvlly/fwd.html
http://www.rallyracingnews.com/lfb.html

there are lots of articles to back up the theory. Just search them out and make up your own mind since it's your life and car. Try out both theories in a parking lot next time it's wet out in your area. In fact, everybody should be pushing their cars to the limits to learn about their handling capabilities and their own driving skills. IMO

 

You are also more likely to understeer in a front wheel drive car, and oversteer in a rear wheel drive car...Just like Acura-TL said:
If you're pushing into a turn, and you turn the wheel to go into the turn and the car's still going straight, that's understeer..
If you push in or out of a turn and the rear tires break loose, that's oversteer
Ed

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Just take corners at 10 mph and you will be fine.

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Binh

 

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Well, this topic can go on and on. I am currently studying a book that talk about all the accleration, handling and stuff about cars. It gives you all the formula to actually calculate those stuff...

Anyhow, with our TL, you can still get oversteer. But DON"T TRY THIS AT HOME!!! try it at AutoX or a track. If you push your car close to the limit, and you lift the gas. Then you will get oversteer, because you shift the weight forward.

BTW, been there done that, so I am sure you can make it happen. But honestly, I totally lost the control of my car and spun 180'

Oh and of course if you use the E-brake, you will get oversteer, too. Cuz it lock up the rear wheels.

 

In a '56 Olds 88 (rolling along at 110 or so), I hit an icy conditon over the "Garoil" sign (really Piermont, NY), a long time ago. The car spun 720 degrees across the bridge (and stalled). After jump-starting the vehicle, we only spun out a few more times on 9W Southbound, but never more than 360 degrees! What the Hell is a spin-out???

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">[This message has been edited by Darla on June 14, 2001 @ ]</font>

 

Well, the term spin-out can be confusing. In my book if your car starts to "spin", it means that you are getting under/oversteer. If you totally lost control of the car and spin out of the road, then that is spin-out.