Lift off Oversteer

[chillcupra]

I was taking a roundabout 2 fast 2day and had to lift of accelerator (esp off) and the back end came out really badly. I had control and corrected it but i was very surprised that a front wheel drive diesel leon could do this. Anyone else noticed this?

 

[DIFT]

Either your car has ESP or it doesnt... As far as I know you cant turn it off, only the traction control.

 

[karlosR]

you're lucky in the summer i span my LCR on a wet roundabout and it happened so quickly that there was no way of correcting it either. luckily i managed to stop the car before twatting the curb. the strange thing is i then had a load of cars facing me that were in my mirror seconds earlier, it was pretty embarassing but its a good job i wasn't driving like a bell-end!

 

[dj_hektik]

oh yes, one of the mysteries of life.

completely unpredictable, but so fun. I'm sure you were buzzing after that

 

[paullec]

Most car will have lift off oversteer lol i just to love the lift over oversteer on the celica lol some worse than other try to sort you braking etc before the corner then power out

 

[the_prophet]

i had my first moment the other day in my two week old (to me) lcr, down a narrow country lane, car coming other way, narrower than i though lifted mid corner back end out, pants turn brown, caught with a flick of opposite lock, return home to change pants......

luckily i missed the car coming other way, wasn't even going that fast, but i've now learned - Do not lift mid corner, get yourself sorted before entering it. forgotten what lift off oversteer was like, my last car just wouldn't budge, mini i had before was a rite laugh back end did what evr the hell it felt like. lol

 

[acidstrato]

try using the middle pedal before the roundabout

 

[karlosR]

really? now you tell me, thanks for that! :yawn:

 

[Phil K]

Had a moment this morning while out on a tunnle run... makes me realise that I need to be a bit more careful while hooning on roundabouts - safely of course

 

[Nathanio]

I have had lift off oversteer in my last tolly coming into a wet bend in the summer but was lovely and progressive so was able to hold it nicely and keep her under control

Never had a problem in this one, but did used to have some awesome oversteer in my 214Si

Did you have a low tank and nothing in the boot?

 

[traumapat]

try using the middle pedal before the roundabout

 

[Ruddmeister]

I have found tyres have a huge effect on this, plenty of arguments when I proposed this before but here goes.

I recommend newer, grippier tyres on the rear and older tyres on the front.

Reason being feeback and understeer at the front (as a cosequence of tyres with less grip) is far easier to read and judge(IMO). Oversteer on a LEON is far trickier to read and react too.

 

[karlosR]

i had the original pirelli's on the back when i span out

 

[Ruddmeister]

i had the original pirelli's on the back when i span out

Say no more those Pirelli's are lethal

 

[Nathanio]

I have found tyres have a huge effect on this, plenty of arguments when I proposed this before but here goes.

I recommend newer, grippier tyres on the rear and older tyres on the front.

Reason being feeback and understeer at the front (as a cosequence of tyres with less grip) is far easier to read and judge(IMO). Oversteer on a LEON is far trickier to read and react too.

Totally agree, always do that myself and always have. I think its also cos if you know your fronts aren't quite as good as the rears you won't be pushing on as hard.

 

[RobM]

I have found tyres have a huge effect on this, plenty of arguments when I proposed this before but here goes.

I recommend newer, grippier tyres on the rear and older tyres on the front.

Reason being feeback and understeer at the front (as a cosequence of tyres with less grip) is far easier to read and judge(IMO). Oversteer on a LEON is far trickier to read and react too.

Most tyre manufacturers and experts recommend exactly the same! New tyres on rear every time.

I think their reasoning is you can control the front of the car easily, but the back end is harder to control (they are aiming this at Joe Public bear in mind), so if you have your grippy tyres on the rear that should stay firmly planted, leaving you to correct the front end via the steering wheel or brakes.

 

[Ruddmeister]

Old skool thinking says all the power and steering is going through the front so this is where you need more grip........However as I said above it caused other issues i.e, oversteer rather than understeer

 

[warren_cox]

the thing I particularly disliked with the LCR's tail-happiness was the fact you couldn't feel it breaking away. In the old Mk2 / 1 Golfs you could almost balance the car around the limit and know exactly when you were going to loose the rear end (in anything other than the worst conditions). The LCR was just a tad unpredictable as it would grip - grip - grip, and oh she's gone (a mist of flying hands and arms ensues as you try and catch the back end). Other than that I had no complaints at all with the handling considering its size and weight.

Rudd did your ARB's make it any more planted in fast long corners? It felt much better on tight roundabouts in the test ride I had.

 

[LiCkWiD]

Scary stuff, certainly :< I guess the trick is to know the limit :/ and not have to lift off, unless you're ready to compensate as soon as you ease of the throttle. Too much aggro, imo.

 

[Ruddmeister]

Rudd did your ARB's make it any more planted in fast long corners? It felt much better on tight roundabouts in the test ride I had.

It changed the car dramatically particularly at the limit (this was ARB's + coilovers) lift off oversteer was good fun and predictable if you remember that roundabout near Westec

Long sweeping bends it felt planted although on poor high speed surfaces the suspension did feel a little 'choppy' compared to OEM.....however this was very rare and it was always comfortable at other times