When a front wheel drive car oversteers, feeding in the power can help recover the slide as it effectively "pulls" the car straight.
Many years of fun in a Pug 306 taught me this.
Cheers
DP
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Without wanting to sound like a smug know all, it's best to avoid getting into a skid in the first place. Today I experimented a bit on some snow covered countryside roads (when no other vehicles and road users were present) and found that dabbing the brakes helped slow the car without causing a skid, when sustained braking would induce a skid. Does not ABS (which I do not have) work on snow and ice?
I was quite surprised today to see most people going slowly and keeping a good distance. But there were a few nutters who did not realise the risks they were taking. I saw a BMW 1 and Mazda RX8 stuck with wheels spinning on roads that did not tax my mere Ford Ka.
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The work's carpark and roads therein are always entertaining in the snow. Many an hour has been spent guffawing at the efforts of highly paid and qualified staff failing to negotiate a small slope in all manner of vehicles. Most forget about the camber and slide into the kerb. For some reason I just get in and drive off without any fuss, even though I have rwd and 300bhp to cause problems. I even start in first gear and no wheelspin. I have no idea how they seem to make such a mess of it. Last winter there was black ice on the way home and at walking pace it was quite unnerving to feel like the entire car was floating and there was little in the way of steering. Watching the ancient cavalier coming up the hill with the driver sawing at the wheel like Tiff Needell on drugs was most unnerving. Luckily he made it up the hill and I made it down without getting sideways.
Snow with permanent 4wd is bliss. Just with using the throttle you can slow down and speed up quite easily. Works best on fresh snow as when it gets tracky and slushy it is less fun.
Diesel spills cause quite a few skids that people don't expect and can't necessarily react to. Unless you know and see the tell tale white stuff on the road you don't know. At night it is much more tricky to spot. It is amazing how a few inches of slide feels like a few feet if you're not expecting it...
teabelly
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Surely a skid occurs when the vehicle is in motion and a wheel is locked and slides along the road surface - hence skid marks.
When the front and/or rear wheels lose grip while the vehicle is in motion, sending the vehicle off the driver's intended course, and without wheel-locking, that's a slide.
Oh god, am I being pernickerty again? But this is basic stuff, innit?
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Surely a skid occurs when the vehicle is in motion and a wheel is locked and slides along the road surface - hence skid marks. When the front and/or rear wheels lose grip while the vehicle is in motion, sending the vehicle off the driver's intended course, and without wheel-locking, that's a slide.
You can still get skid marks without locking a wheel, when sliding.
Skidding (or sliding!) happens when the slip angle of the tyre increases, but the grip decreases.
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I saw a BMW 1 and Mazda RX8 stuck with wheels spinning on roads that did not tax my mere Ford Ka.
That's because they are rear-drive with little weight over their (wide) driven wheels whereas your Ka is front drive, most weight over (skinny) driven wheels. It is for this reason that you still see a surprising number of 2CVs in the Swiss Alps - they make almost perfect snow cars. Not even any plumbing to freeze up.
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"When a front wheel drive car oversteers, feeding in the power can help recover the slide as it effectively "pulls" the car straight. "
I used to say and do the same thing. It works (and is good fun) as long as there is some grip left. Then I went on a skid pan and saw what happens when the front really goes - that response does nothing at all, absolutely nothing, in which case, since it's become a habit, you won't try anything else before you slide into the tree and die.
As I say, I speak as someone who fervently believed in your view before I was trained.
V
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