What is lift off oversteer

obi_waynne

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How would you define lift off oversteer?

Is it a good thing to have? Which cars are more prone to this condition?
 
Iv'e had 5 cars which where really easy to prevoke lift off oversteer, 2 205's 1 a 1.4 xs the other a 1.6 gti and 3 renault clio's 1 a 1.8 rsi the other 2 1.8 16v's,
It was easy cause you would approach a island/bend and as soon as you felt the car understeer you lifted of the accelerator and it prevoked oversteer and driving like this became like second nature! So much so I would do it on purpose to try and impress my mates (and the girls:toung:)
 
Commonly used in drifting as a technique called 'Accel off' and is exactly as it sounds, lifting off the throttle at high speed causes a weight transfer forcing a lot of weight over the front wheels and causing the back end to go light :D
 
Well...you shouldn't! Unless you're trying to provoke the back end or reign understeer back in in which case lift off gently as possible...
 
HUGOBOSS totaly agree mate , nothing beats a big lump wiv a wavin' back end, orrrrsome, my old E34 m5, pig in the wet but so controlable wiv' lots of loud pedal,, Aahh, thems were the days.....
 
apart from being in a car that actually handles so goes around the corner quicker without all that nonsense
 
Back to the original question.

With FWD, whilst cornering under power, the wheels are trying to turn into the corner but the power is trying to make them go straight on - understeer. By lifting off the power you remove the urge to go staight on so the car turns into the corner better, giving the impression of oversteer but what it actually is is less oversteer :)
 
Back to the original question.

With FWD, whilst cornering under power, the wheels are trying to turn into the corner but the power is trying to make them go straight on - understeer. By lifting off the power you remove the urge to go staight on so the car turns into the corner better, giving the impression of oversteer but what it actually is is less oversteer :)
I don't think that's right OG, with all respect. Under acceleration the weight of the car is shifted to the rear, as you know, giving the rear tyres more grip. When you lift of the weight ships to the front so the rear tyres have less grip, if they were close enough to the limit of grip beforehand then the rear wheels will slide. It happened to me a few times the first time I took my Astra to the track.
Edit: You are right about the front tyres gaining more lateral grip when lifting off though. The extra front end grip may exceed the grip of the rear tyres and so begin to slide similarly
 
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There is a quite a difference between under power and under acceleration.

under constant power there will be no change in weight transfer to the rear
 
I don't think that's right OG, with all respect. Under acceleration the weight of the car is shifted to the rear, as you know, giving the rear tyres more grip. When you lift of the weight ships to the front so the rear tyres have less grip, if they were close enough to the limit of grip beforehand then the rear wheels will slide. It happened to me a few times the first time I took my Astra to the track.
Edit: You are right about the front tyres gaining more lateral grip when lifting off though. The extra front end grip may exceed the grip of the rear tyres and so begin to slide similarly

We are talking about cornering here, where the car should be in a steady state, not accelerating, so there is very little weight transfer when the throttle is lifted. In a corner the wheels are trying to turn the car but the engine is trying to drive the car in the direction the wheels are actually facing, which is at a tangent to the curve of the corner (the car's mass is also trying to do this - centrifugal force). This creates the understeer. When power is removed this force is greatly reduced so the tyres are able to better follow the curve of the corner. There is no oversteer, but the reduction in understeer makes it feel like there is.

I am talking road conditions here. When driving at 10/10ths on the track the slightest change in throttle or steering input will have a dramatic effect on the car's direction and stability.
 
I completely agree with your physics, and I agree that people may be confused between oversteer and less understeer, however, liftoff oversteer does exist, which is what I think you got to in the last paragraph? We seem to be on the same page :)
 
Same book, anyway :)

Can't see, however, how lifting off the throttle will induce the tyres to turn in sharper than they would if the car entered the corner unpowered.

To the nut behind the wheel, under and oversteer can be defined as the car turning more, or less, than expected given the amount of lock applied. Actual over and understeer is defined by the track taken by the tyre away from the theoretcial line.

Of course, I could be completely wrong :)
 
Its not something that happens to experienced racers, just the idiots that enter a corner too fast.
 
It was simple cause you would just make a strategy bend and as soon as you sensed the car under steer you raised of the decrease and it provoked over steer and generating like this became like second nature! So much so I would do it on objective to try and make an impression on my partners . . . . . . .
 

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