THSCC Forums

Anyone else in here besides Les Davis and I that have the tendency to let go of the steering wheel coming out of a tight turn?

Aaron has co-drove with both of us in the past and has pointed it out

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02 Focus SVT
STF 9

I used to until I had someone point it out to me a few years ago, I really try to feed the wheel back through my hands now

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91 Miata STT #28
05 Subaru Impreza RS - The Wife's

I've seen Mike Whitney let go of the wheel. I don't know that it was out of a tight turn though. I'm pretty sure his was a response to mild throttle oversteer.

only when I drift, otherwise can't bring the car back around fast enough....

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Rodney

'08 Bullitt mustang, CAM 7
Autox VP '09-'10, President '11-'12, interim President 2nd half of ‘14
proud recipient of the Bowie Grey service award '12
Now just a guy driving a mustang....

When I get in trouble (massive oversteer) I do it. The car can steer much faster than I can.

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Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

I've done it in several different cars, both on track and in autox. Like VK, I usually do it when the back end steps way out. It's totally automatic, I don't even think about it.

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Tom Freeman
'98 M3/4/5 | '93 Spec3 325i | '12 TSX sport wagon | '03 Tahoe
Team Silver Bullets '91 240SX

Only when I get really scared and need both hands to cover my eyes while I'm screaming like a girl.

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1990 Faded Reddish CSP Lite Miata
2002 Electron Blue Corvette Z06
2005 Mazda 6 Wagon
2003 Nissan Pathfinder DTV (Dog Transport Vehicle)

I always do on turn around cones, like the one at the last event in Danville. It's just easier, especially when you have a stock school bus sized wheel.

The only tricky thing is making sure you 'catch' it at the right spot.

Honestly, this amazes me. Sure, the car "self corrects" but when you grab the wheel, you "re-shock" the suspension again which leads to further corrections and likely grip issues.

As Bryan and others have seen, it's rare for me to spin the car anymore(although I did manage to do so at Danville in Karl's car), and I've held some major tank slappers together with my foot to the floor in a rear wheel drive car and not spun. I attribute it to keeping my hands on the wheel and making quick but not overly quick corrections.

I could be wrong with my assumption that "letting go" is the wrong thing to do, but when I taught my first autocross school, I instructed Robert Plank. In a 30 second run, he let go of the wheel like this to "correct" oversteer at least 4 times I told him it was not advised, yet I know he still does it today 5 years later

Some of this may be due to my very first lesson I got from Eric Peterson at my first autocross school. I wanted to keep my hand on the shifter and basically drive one handed. He told me, "You can do that all you want, but of the top National level drivers, I only know one that can pull it off consistently." After that, I became "2 hands on the wheel Buckley" - AB

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

I agree. I've never done this as you are giving up the ability to properly control the chassis. For massive oversteer and tank slapping, I long ago learned to use my thumbs at the 9 and 3 position and swap after a 180 degree rotation to keep going in that direction. When you practice it enough, you'll be surprised how fast you can rotate that steering wheel while the whole time retaining feel of what's going on with the front contact patch, and as soon as things calm down, you are right back with the program.

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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

I think this is what I use as well. I have been procrastinating on burning the video from Nationals to DVD, but I will get on it and post them up. I know there was a tank slapping moment for Bryan and IIRC, the wheel remained in control of his hands. I know I got fairly loose at points too and don't think I let the wheel "self-correct".

Bryan has some old school video of me too that I need to look at... which includes a really nice in car of me trying to money shift his Celica It's not a good thing when you chirp the tires on the 2-3 shift because you actually go 2-1 Good thing I have a quick clutch foot. - AB

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

i do it, but i don't "let go" of the wheel so much as i let it feed through my hands

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05 MCS

This is what I do as well and it actually doesn't happen all that often I don't think, just when I've stepped out a bit too much. Its very sub-conscience though so I don't know for sure how often I do it. I certainly could be a much faster driver than I am, but doubt this is one of my major obstacles as I think my application of it is rather smooth. I do not spin cars very often especially when they are not WWD and consider car control to be one of my higher skill areas.

I wish I had a video camera in the car this past weekend as I had one of my more spectacular tank slapper situations due to a bump in a hard acceleration zone. I'd like to see whether there was any "letting go" of the wheel that was partly to blame or help the recovery, I can't recall, I do know something happened to my left arm during the middle of it and it went numb from the elbow down which was very disconcerting. Keith Strassel was in the car at the time, maybe he can comment as to whether I let go of the wheel.

I never let go of the steering wheel. Ever. I'm not sure what I do specifically as far as my thumbs and whatnot, but I never, ever let go of the steering wheel.

I suppose I can fess up to occasionally doing the "palm on the steering wheel" thing to correct for seriously wild oscillations, but really, I shuffle steer. Everywhere, all the time. Heck, even in impossibly tight turnarounds, I've never found myself in a spot where my hands couldn't move fast enough to do the "right" thing and keep them on the controls at all times.

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Karl S.
2014 Baby, 2014 House, 2013 Ford Focus ST, 2013 BMW 328i, 1994 Mercedes E320
(Insert passive aggressive signature line here)

I try not to. The only times I remember doing it recently were the two rallycrosses I went to.

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Not spectacular just decent.
I'm not sure what I'm driving.
Maybe an ITR in DS.
Or half-assed STX prepped 330.