THSCC Forums

Back in the day when I did events...

I let go of the steering wheel. I remember being at an EVO school and the instructor tried to get me to hold on to it. After a few runs he told me to go back to letting go of it. I really sucked without using that.

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In need of car.

I thought this thread was going to be about finally giving up a car you really liked. Hrmphhhh

Jim

hell the General steers like a school bus. i spin the wheel with one hand. sometimes i wish i had a suicide knob. it almost feels like the car has a rudder.

wait, what the hell am i doing in the autoX forum. oh yeah, shuffle steering. i don't believe i ever fully release the wheel while on the track. input, input, input.

Some cars have so much caster that they'll recenter pretty nicely. Or at least that's what I was told causes the effect. I found myself doing it in the AMG Mercedes cars I drove at some Mercedes event a few years ago in a real tight 180 that they had. They all seemed to like it and it wasn't hard to catch. You could definitely do it a LOT faster than you could shuffle steer it.

In general, though, I don't do it. When the rare occasion happens, it is always met with the mental note that what I just did was somehow wrong, but felt so right....


--Donnie

In a pivot cone situation, I "let go" by letting the car center itself using caster instead of my hands. I never let fully go, but do let the wheel turn itself with my hands on it.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Well, yeah, that's what I mean, too. I just assumed that's what everyone was talking about, though. I mean if we're talking about completely separating hands from wheel by some amount over one inch, well, YOU GUYS ARE NUTS!


--Donnie

For huge inputs like you need on a skid pad or when drifting (Jackie and I just spent this past Saturday at the BMW PC doing just this stuff) and you get it hung way out there (you know, full lock oversteer, and its "right at that point" where its going to come back full steam the other way), I use my thumbs hooked at 3 and 9 on the wheel (wheel of course must be a "proper" one). I swap one hand to the other's location once a 180 degree turn of the wheel happens. One hand is always thumb hooked and in control of the wheel. You then "shuffle steer" across the 180 mark as needed to get to the proper steering input needed. When you need major steering wheel action, regular shuffle steering can’t keep up with the inputs needed.

If you spend a lot of time on the pad, drifting, etc, it really helps to get the method down. I thought the guys at the PC were nuts when they showed me the technique a few years ago, but it really works great. (I recognize my description above is likely not well done though ).

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Current stable:
2019 BMW M2 Competition slicktop 6MT
2011 BMW M3 sedan slicktop 6MT
2007 BMW 328i wagon (slushbox for now)
1975 CanAm 125MX2

And this is why I chose a non-miata for ES.

Rear toe makes a big difference in the 944, so I spun the car A LOT before learning how to have it aligned and how to drive it to keep it going straight- it's 80% throttle instead of steering for that car, because the load on the back end really affects the flex in the trailing arms...

But I have never once let go. I shuffle (I'm a fast shuffler!) but am learning to do what Mr. Branscomb is talking about. It's hard to practice on the street since you don't ever need to turn the wheel that much but I'll probably try it next time I'm autoxing on the street tires.

When I took the Evolution Phase I school I had Tim Aro as my instructor. I was driving my C4 at the time. We were on that tight little Phase I course with the turnaround you would do in both directions. He didn't say anything for the 1st session. Then he started on all my mistakes. While it was a laundry list He was most aggravated by me letting go of the wheel and hitting the throttle and letting the car self center. I made that excuse as my answer too! He said if you let go of the wheel you just told the car, "I give up you drive". "After all, how can you be in control if you let go of the wheel?". I didn't let go of the wheel more than a couple of times after that and got reminded immediately for doing it.

I don't think I've let go of the steering wheel since. No matter how painful a pivot cone.

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http://www.greywinds.com

172 rwhp can be tough to master ...

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

No way that car has 172 rwhp

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02 Focus SVT
STF 9

Where are you getting that figure from Wes? According to this site, which appears correct compared to MSN and a few other sites, the car is only rated at 162/166 at the crank?

http://www.connact.com/%7Ekgross/FAQ/944faq02.html

- AB

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'14 Toyota Sequoia Platinum 4WD
Super Westerfield Bros - '93 Integra - LeChump Du Jour
STX 93 - Scion FR-S

Rennlist? I don't speak Porsche, so I just go by what I read. :shrug:

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

I completely disagree. If it's too much, all you need to do is add ballast until the power-to-weight ratio is more manageable. Simple, effective and cheap.

You obviously know nothing about cars.

Jim

That's before you add a stock-legal replacement air filter. What, you don't mock those up at work either? Geez.

Jim