Being able to handle your car properly is the most important thing in driving. Modern-day car manufacturers try their best at preventing any mishaps, but still, they do happen. One of those scary mishaps is snap oversteer.
You’ve probably seen this happen in movies or in real life, but never knew what it was called, so we’ll explain how it looks, how it happens, and how to avoid it!
What is Snap Oversteer?
Snap oversteer happens when a driver loses control over their vehicle. Unlike drifting, this term describes a situation where your vehicle isn’t able to perform the commands you give it, and in turn, TURNS more than the driver wants. The art of drifting is a controlled act of oversteer, whereas this is not.
Oversteer happens when the rear tires lose traction in a turn before the front ones do. Snap oversteer occurs when you decelerate while pulling off the accelerator in the middle of a curve. This leads the weight transfer to shift to the front of the car, which ultimately causes the rear end to kick out. As a result of the weight shifting to the front and the absence of throttle applied to the rear wheels, which causes a loss of grip there, the front grip rises, and the vehicle “snaps” as a result.
What Causes Snap Oversteer?
Now that we’ve covered what snap oversteer looks like, it is time to explain what causes it.
As we said previously, one of the first things that make you go into snap oversteer is entering a corner too fast and releasing the throttle in the middle of the corner.
Modern performance cars are built for a great deal of speed, and they achieve this by maximizing the front-wheel grip and the rear-wheel power. Sadly, this makes it very easy to end up oversteering the vehicle. While the power at the back of the vehicle is not properly transmitted to the road, oversteer can be caused by both pushing the gas too early and quickly into the turn, or releasing the throttle suddenly. In both cases, carefully but quickly adjusting the throttle position can re-establish traction.
Braking when in a turn will lead the car’s mass to shift forward and will result in the rear end losing grip. Too much throttle can also produce oversteer, but this happens only with rear-wheel-drive cars. Excessive speed and a sharp change in the vehicle’s distribution of weight can both contribute to the loss of friction in the rear wheels.
And one that has nothing to do with your driving experience would be a stiff rear suspension setup.
These causes are preventable if you know how to handle your car, so by being calm and thinking quickly, an experienced driver would be able to correct the car back into the correct position.
How To Recover From Snap Oversteer?
If you’re not an experienced driver we have some advice for you for recovering if oversteering happens.
When all Hell breaks loose, it’s important to always have in mind that your front wheels will always point towards the direction the car is going. Correcting the position of the front wheels is the first thing you want to do if you experience oversteering. Letting the steering wheel go will automatically countersteer, but you should still adjust the steering yourself.
Depending on what caused snap oversteer, you should either apply throttle or take your leg off it. Applying throttle to counteract oversteer in certain circumstances while driving a rear-wheel-drive vehicle may cause the wheels to spin out of control, which increases the likelihood that the vehicle may spin. At lower speeds, though, especially if braking into the bend triggers the oversteer, being capable of quickly transferring power to the rear wheels can swiftly pull you out of the situation.
In conclusion, there are a number of reasons why snap oversteer occurs, including the wrong usage of brakes, throttle, or even an improper rear suspension. In order to react effectively and swiftly, it is important to try to maintain your composure and alertness, while also visiting your local mechanic to avoid any faulty car parts.
Oversteering is a possibility typically based on the kind of vehicle you drive. The type of car, however, determines more than just how likely oversteering is to occur; depending on the root cause, it also affects how simple it is to fix your out-of-control car. Two notorious cars that go in tandem with this problem are the Toyota MR2 and Honda S2000. Snap oversteer can be avoided most easily by taking caution when cornering.
How To Avoid Snap Oversteer?
Most modern cars are equipped with sophisticated equipment that prevents both understeer and oversteer. Unfortunately, in some cases, even the most modern systems fail, and the driver is the last line of defense when it comes to preventing a catastrophe.
The most obvious thing that will prevent snap oversteer is to avoid speeding. Speeding in corners is never a good idea, especially if you drive an overpowered rear-wheel-drive car because it can quickly turn into dangerous oversteer that can be a health hazard.
Because oversteer is essentially the loss of traction at the rear wheels, another way of avoiding snap oversteer is having high-quality rear tires. Not only should you always choose a reputable tire manufacturer, but you should also make sure the tires are inflated correctly. Even the smallest changes can mean a difference between going through a corner and sliding uncontrollably.
Another way to avoid oversteering is to keep traction and stability control on at all times. Turning off stability and traction control can be fun in controlled conditions, however, in regular driving conditions, all of the safety equipment should be working.
Lastly, to avoid snap oversteer, but any other hazardous behavior, you should maintain your car regularly with high-quality replacement parts. You should regularly check suspension components, tires, and other systems that may cause any unwanted behavior from your car. Only by having a fully working car with no faults and defects can you enjoy the ride even in less than ideal driving conditions.