So, i was driving Adman's Maxima in the last autocross and was wondering if there's a way to combat this problem i constantly had.

Everything I was in a turn and stepped on the brake, the car would start to plow in the turn. Then, as soon as i got off the brake, it would begin turning again. I don't get it.

Is it cause the Maxima doesn't handle? I mean, mine never did this.

Also, sometimes when i get in a fast turn and turn the wheel and lift off the gas, the car's rear end begins to pivot (read: oversteer) and once i get back in the gas, there's massive understeer!?

 

I'm not a racer, but it looks like some basic car dynamics. I'll help you out.
When you brake, weight is shifted to the front, right? Well, you braked in the middle of a turn, which is a big no-no unless you're doing left foot braking to rotate the car. When you braked in the turn, the weight shifted to the front, causing it to understeer. You were trying to make the front wheels do too much. Don't forget they were already supporting most of the weight of the car, providing traction, and changing the direction of the car. You asked them to brake too, and it was just too much.

Your cars could be set up differently.

If you lift off mid-corner, you'll shift weight to the front. It won't be as bad as if you braked, but it is still enough to lighten the rear tires. What you experienced is LTO, or lift throttle oversteer. This is actually a drift technique. If it didn't happen accidentally, I'd be saying...

But it didn't, so you messed up. j/k Getting back on the gas can correct this, but you might have overcorrected. You have to be really smooth and gentle with your driving. Think of squeezing the pedals, rather than stepping on them. To steal from South Park's 'Chef' character, "You gotta make sweet love to the car."

 

hi Kam

 

I agree, the Maxima in particular seems to very sensitive, people who use the brute force method have a relly hard time. This car really rewards finesse.

 

this thread..

 

I just read the other one and realized this is all about

 

 

I've noticed that too. I don't race or drive on tracks, but I like using the techniques in my regular driving around town. You don't have to be going 'fast' to notice a big difference, either. After I first started using them, I noticed how my driving was a lot safer, too. I'm kind of the 'designated driver' when the girls in my clique want to hang out because they know I don't jerk the car around or try to race anyone. I'm not saying that good driving gets you girls, just that people in general feel safe around you.hehe
When I drive around the subdivision, I tend to corner fastest when I have a very light grip on the steering wheel. Yesterday, I only had about 6 fingers on the wheel, and the cornering was probably my smoothest ever. One street has a 10mph curve, and my exit speed on the inside lane was 25mph. My suspension is stock, too. I think my Maxima's power is just fine the way it is, and would love to just get some suspension mods. I'd love to get some moderate springs like the H&Rs and the Addco anti-roll bar and see how I do with those.

 

Does the car jerk off when you take a fast turn and hit a small pothole(not something that ruins the rim) on the road? but i am talking, like the whole steering wheel moves in a harsh way and the car shifts right or left and then gets traction again

 

I sure hope not!

 

come again?

 

My, my...You sure have a way with words! BTW, what you're talking about is called bump steer. The way to avoid that is to take a cornering line that misses the bump.

 

do'h!



and i'm not sure if Black VQ is really trying to help me out

if you are, go read "How to make this beast handle"... interesting thread.

 

Maybe it's just a problem that only Patrick's increduous driving skills are able to overcome...

 

My stock suspended Max does exactly this......Understeer under acceleration and oversteer under deceleration and trail braking (which is common and normal on a FWD car but not to this extent). I have never found a perfect drift (4 wheel). One time coming off the exit at Centenial and 95 I was doing my daily high speed exit and the car started to push so I let off the gas and I ended up doing a totally reversed lock slide around the corner at major speed (oversteer). The Max in my opinion is very tempermental. I can't seem to find a balanced turn yet and I have been racing for 10+ years.

 

I've noticed that too, with my rsb on & if I just steer on a hard turn with no trottle input the car easily oversteers (sometimes not a good thing)

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....hreadid=142818

 

I was really trying to help you out, I just didn't want it to be like my usual nerdy drivel. Part of the reason my friend didn't listen to me about this stuff at first was because I made it sound so lame and geeky. After I took him for a ride and demonstrated it, he really got interested. Now he's pretty good, and just wasted a Z28 in an s-curve.

If I knew more about how that particular car drives, I'd be able to help you more. My post was more about the general rules of thumb.

One other thing: What kind of line are you taking through the corners? I try for a late apex most of the time. At first it was hard for me to do, because I kept trying imagine where a geometric apex would be, then calculate where the late apex should be. Instead, I did more research and learned that a late apex really just requires you to turn in later than you would with a geometric racing line. That was a lot easier for me to figure out, and now it's pretty easy. The ones that still stump me are the really long corners, where you can't even see the other side. Those are tough for sure.

 

...Or sometimes not at all? hehe

 

...you guys ruin my farce on Larrfy's thread. thanks a lot.


and, it's common in ALL stock FWD cars to exhibit understeer on acceleration/immense braking in a turn.

it's also common in ALL stock FWD cars to exhibit oversteer when you lift the throttle/trailbrake.

i was merely making fun of larrfy's thread on why his car all of a sudden went from oversteer to understeer... it's cause he's doing exactly this:

lifting the throttle and slamming on it in the turn...which will make 98% of all FWD cars oversteer then into an abupt understeer situation...


i hate explaining the joke. :|

 

You were loosing me a litle there with this question if that is you driving out at the track getting those fast times.

 

my car does that too if i late brake into a turn like that...it just hates it!! so i just brake right before the turn and push it all the way out without braking thru the turns..it gets worse when ABS decides to have a say in this too..

 

No, you guys missed the joke from the very beginning...

Kam driving MY car??? Now THAT'S funny!!!


ADMAN

 

I was thinking about posting in Larrfy's thread, but it got locked. From the way he drives, it sounded like he definitely wasn't making sweet love to the Max.

 

post locked...after the Maxtor comments (guilty as charged) that thread was gonna rapidly go even more downhill than it had gone...
)

Now, if you guys think the Max is a handful, try driving one of the short-wheel base 911's built before 1970 -as was my 1967: on those babies even a HINT of trailing throttle -never mind trailing brake- would send you into instantaneous and LURID oversteer...I learned my lessons with that car....smooth is key...

 

Very true... since I couldn't handle the sheer lack of power from the automatic

So, you gonna get yourself some sequential side mirror LEDs?

 

Maybe someone can help me, when I go into a turn at 220 km/h I keep understeering and go right off the track into the walls. This costs me a lot of money cause I kept having to repair my car. So then I tried braking hard in the turn thinking I was maybe taking it too fast but that was even worse, I went off the track sideways and rolled my car 10 times. That cost me even more money. Can anyone help?

 

For those of you that don't get the joke read this then reply back here. Anyone know how to get this Beast to Handle

Driven EF9 you crack me up. To bad the thread wasn't bumped before you posted this. Some one would've still replied seriously at which point you could have continued the joke. But this is still funny.

 

YEAH, GET RID OF YOUR CRX!!!


ADMAN

 

lol, yah, i know, but serisouly, it moves in such a way that you are going to yourself...WTF , i never saw this in any other car, i let my friend drive it, and he said also wtf. that's why i say that it like jerks and you and other org members laughed like little kids.