okay guys, I was out with my s2k today for a joy ride today.

On one of the corners I think I over steered so the car swayed back and forth a bit before it came back straight.

I was making a left at the lights, and shifted from 2-3rd as I was making the turn with my left hand.

I was wondering how do you guys usually make turns like that? where you have to turn but want to shift as well?
I think I oversteered (if i am using this term correctly) because i was using one hand.

remarks?

 

You experienced what most people call the rearend "getting loose". It is fairly easy to make an S do this by upsetting the car in a turn...by shifting or letting off the throttle, for example. You should try to set yourself up into a turn so that you can gently apply throttle through the turn without having to upshift. It just takes some practice. Keep at it and keep it safe.

 

getting loose : D okie that must be it.

I was shifting cause I am still in the wear in period, so I wanted to shift before it hits vtec : D

guess i'll drive slow till then : D

 

understeer, you try turning, but front end still wants to go straight, or, not as much as you want, uncorrected, car skids sideways/in original direction before turn.

oversteer, you turn, and back end keeps going in direction of turn, uncorrected, you spin.

both of course assume you have enough room and do not hit anything.

if you are in a turn, speeding up, and try to grab the next gear, the car will transition depending on the degree of turn and speed. on throttle, the weight of the car is on rear wheels, grip on front where turn is controlled is less. as you shift, acceleration is paused and some weight goes forward, giving more grip in turn. after shift on gas, and weight goes rear again.

this could cause mild under, to mild over, to mild understeer conditions, causing the "sway" you described.

in tight, high speed corners, you should already be in "correct" gear, and not try to shift until the car straightens out a little. if extreme, you will probably not have time to assess, analyze and correct all the variables to correct resulting in a quick off road/track excursion. depending on length of curve, stay in lower gear to accelerate harder and deal with higher RPM's for a bit and maybe lower exit speed, or, select higher gear with slower acceleration but able to roll on throttle for entire curve with greater exit speed. on shallower curves, should not hurt to gas and shift because car is in a more stable attitude.

keith

 

Or, you could encourage the oversteer, send your self into a drift, and countersteer/apply throttle to power yourself out of the turn

 

May I suggest reading some the following books:

1. Drive to Win. by Carroll Smith
2. Going Faster!Mastering the Art of Race Driving, by the Skip Barber School.
3. Aryton Senna's Principles of Race Driving.
4. Twist of the Wrist by Keith Code
5. The Soft Science of Road Racing Motorcycles.

4&5 are books on bikes, but the principles are still the same, not in terms of car control, but learning how to push to the limits and the "line".

 

I just try to keep a firm grip of the wheel with my left hand and shift with other hand

 

Just throwing a different view on this topic...your suspension really needs a little break in also. It's really hard, I understand, but try not to go too hard into corners as well. Then once your car gets enough miles on it you should get into some auto crossing or get your car onto a track to really get a feel for it. Auto crossing can be pretty cheap considering the fun that you would have and it would give you a true feel for what the car can do.

 

The best advice is to not shift during a turn. If you think you're gonna need to shift in the middle of a turn, it's better to short shift (shift into the higher gear earlier) before entering the turn. For example, on a left hand turn from a stop, a lot of times, I'll shift from 1st to 2nd at around 3000 rpms (before I start the turn) so I can be in 2nd gear to accelerate all the way through the turn.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Globetro
[B]The best advice is to not shift during a turn.