You're driving, and as you exit a corner, you apply the throttle and whoopsie daisy, the car spins or you have a massive slide - We've all done it before, especially when we were beginners, but it happens even as Pro's at times.
There are many reasons this might occur, to do with steering angle, road surface (bumps unsettling the car, etc), but today I'm going to talk about probably the most common one, which has to do with your acceleration.
The phrase "heavy right foot" applies here. It's quite simple...you are just being too aggressive with your throttle inputs. Don't worry, as with most things, you will get better at controlling throttle inputs, with practice and understanding.
It's one thing knowing you are doing something wrong and changing it, but it is also important to understand what you did wrong so you know how to tackle it if it reoccurs. If you don't understand the problem, it could return easily.
With that said, let's get into it. And first I believe it important for all drivers to note that every car is different and you have to adjust your sensitivity on the accelerator pedal to effectively drive a variety of cars.
So what happens when you accelerate too hard? Once you press the throttle pedal, the power from the engine is transferred from the engine itself to the wheels, through the drivetrain. At this point, either the front, rear, or all four tyres receive this power, depending on whether the car is All or four-wheel drive, front-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive.
The tyres now have to put that power down onto the road to move the car forwards, which, depending on the quality of tyres, track condition, drivetrain layout and level of power, as well as a number of other factors, is easier said than done.
If you apply too much throttle, those tyres physically cannot transfer that power to the track, at which point they break grip. This is much easier to do whilst the car is turning as the maximum available grip for the tyre to use is reduced because of load transfer (lateral and longitudinal forces).
When tyres break grip, they are no longer able to 'stick' to the surface, and rather skate across it, spinning them up (known as wheelspin), which isn't optimal at all. It is at this point you will usually have to apply opposite lock (steer into the slide) and adjust your throttle input (we will talk about this in a second), or you will spin and have an accident, if that hasn't happened already.
A staple of wheelspin is a sudden increase in engine revs. This is because the wheels have started spinning at a faster rate, because they are no longer "sticking" to the surface and therefore are not providing the grip that is needed to manage the power.
It is a common misconception that this cannot happen in lower powered cars, because they do not have the power to overload the tyre to the point it breaks grip. This is untrue in some cases. Even with a low powered car, you are still putting a lot of energy through the tyres in a short period of time if you accelerate hard, and you can create a "shock" effect in the drivetrain, which translates to the tyres, which are suddenly being asked to do a lot more work. They cannot handle this sudden, unexpected increase and break traction. It should be noted though that it is not as easy to wheelspin to the point of breaking traction in a lowered power car, as there is less "potential energy" to overload the tyre.
Wheelspin and a general loss of traction is much easier to achieve in the rain, as there is less friction between the tyre and track, not allowing the tyre to "stick" to the surface.
So what is the right thing to do?
You have to "introduce" the power to the tyres in a slower, more progressive way, at the right time. Simply put, you have to apply only the amount of power the tyres can handle at that given time. As you exit a corner, keep in mind that the tyres ability to handle power will increase as the rotation angle (steering angle) decreases. You also give the tyre a chance to get "accustomed" almost with the application. You're not surprising it with a lot of work to do at one point, which overheats the tyre, again reducing its grip giving capability.
It takes time and experience to know when a tyre is about to break traction. Most of the time though, if your application of power isn't too sudden, tyres will break traction progressively, giving you time to respond. That's how professionals catch slides. They understand at what point the car is most likely to slide, and they are ready to save the car. It is crucial to understand that a little bit of sliding is fast. When you start to feel that slide, you know you are on the limit. Depending on your simulator setup, like your wheel and pedals, you will feel this through them. Again, this takes time to learn.
There are occasions where the tyres will suddenly lose grip, and this can be indicative of a car setup problem, where the car is not able to maintain a consistent platform for the tyres to maintain grip through the corner.
Again, this takes time and experience to understand more, but now you know how and why it happens, you know what to look and feel for. And you do develop a feel overtime.
Finally, it is crucial to know that different drivetrains respond differently to the drive wheels losing grip and you have to know how to correct them to be fast.
General information for Front-wheel drive cars when it comes to acceleration:
- The front of the car will not rotate and will slide along the track, towards the edge.
- You will very rarely spin from this, because the front wheels are pulling the car along from the front, not pushing it along from the rear.
- If you get a "small" slide, most of the time, lifting off the throttle is enough to save the car, maybe with a minor opposite lock correction.
- If you do get into a "big" opposite lock position, steering into the slide and applying throttle allows the tyres to retain grip, which will drag the front of the car back around. Be aware when the tyres grip again, you will go into that direction, so it is easy to be shot off circuit. To avoid this, as the front is dragged back around, straighten the steering. Don't brake, as you will further unsettle the car with a shift in weight.
General information for Rear-wheel drive cars when it comes to acceleration:
- The back of the car will want to rotate and spin, stepping out of line with the front of the car.
- If you get a small slide, you want to reduce (not completely lift off) your throttle application and introduce a small amount of opposite lock.
- If you get a big slide, you want to retain some throttle application and use opposite lock.
- Be careful of the car suddenly regaining grip and spitting you off in the other direction Again, this takes time to learn. Being smooth will help.
- Lifting off the throttle will unload the tyres, reducing available rear grip further.
General advice for All-wheel drive cars when it comes to acceleration:
- The car will want to slide sideways, as all four wheels are spinning. The effect of this is usually reduced compared to RWD, and depending on which wheels regain traction and when, can cause understeer.
- If you get a small slide, you want to reduce (again, not completely lift off) your throttle application and steer into the slide.
- If you get a bit slide you want to do the same.
- Be aware that if the front wheels suddenly regain traction, you will be shot forward in the direction they are pointing, so try to straighten the wheel when the front comes back around.
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