simple question regarding taking curves too fast

D

Dave Horne

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Joined
May 10, 2024
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First, let me introduce myself, I'm 73, and while not interested in racing per se, and have a question that's always bothered me.

When I was younger I owned a Fiat 124 or 128, this was in the 1970s. I could take curves too fast and the car would do a four-wheel drift.

I would keep the steering wheel in the direction of the curve and the car would just slide into a four wheel drift. I always had control and I'm assuming the car was well balanced. (I also had Pirelli tires which were soft tires.)

When I see videos of guys taking a curve too fast, whether it's at a track or in movies, I very often see the wheels turned in the opposite direction of the curve.

Free feel to assume I know nothing. :) Why is this so?
 
Turn the wheels in the opposite direction only when sliding.
I have a different take on speed, imo you want to avoid doing a slide unless you are on dirt.

On asphalt do the fastest entry possibile while not loosing traction and try to manipulate the apex in order to be able accelerate as quickly as possibile.
I prefer to get more speed out of the exit then entry, it will allow you to get more out of the engine or a better rpm band on the following straight, and it is better on the brakes and tires as well.

Are you doing this on the street? be careful
 
Another question I have is with an all-wheel drive car. Wouldn't the best way around a turn or curve is to be accelerating so you're taking advantage of the drive wheels? Usually with rear wheel drive you would brake before the curve and then drift around it until the optimum time to apply the power but I'm thinking there's a different procedure with all-wheel drive or front wheel drive.
 
Greg said:
Turn the wheels in the opposite direction only when sliding.
I have a different take on speed, imo you want to avoid doing a slide unless you are on dirt.

On asphalt do the fastest entry possibile while not loosing traction and try to manipulate the apex in order to be able accelerate as quickly as possibile.
I prefer to get more speed out of the exit then entry, it will allow you to get more out of the engine or a better rpm band on the following straight, and it is better on the brakes and tires as well.

Are you doing this on the street? be careful
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Greg, I am not doing this on the street now, the example I gave was from almost 50 years ago. In upstate New York, between Highland Falls / West Point and Cornwall, there is a narrow two lane road along the side of a a mountain, Route 218. This is a very windy road and is fun to drive especially if no one is approaching you from the other direction. (I'm sure there are YouTube videos of that specific section of Route 218. Car companies would rent that road, shut it down, and film car commercials.)

My Fiat, a small boxy car, would perform perfect four-wheel drifts. I won't be doing four-wheel drifts anytime soon, though I have ordered a 2024 Mazda MX5 which should arrive in September. :)
 
Dave Horne said:
... almost 50 years ago. In upstate New York, between Highland Falls / West Point and Cornwall, there is a narrow two lane road along the side of a a mountain, Route 218. This is a very windy road .... :)
Click to expand...
I'll go back to the late 1950s for a moment. I had a 1952 MGTD, the most fun car I ever owned. There was a stretch of highway, Route 6, out of Port Jervis toward Narrowsburg, called the Hawk's Nest. It too, was a real curvy road and trying to negotiate the curves while staying on your own side was a blast.
 
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