- Understeer means the front tyres lose grip first.
- Oversteer means the rear tyres lose traction.
- Front-wheel drive tends towards understeer.
- Rear-wheel drive tends towards oversteer.
- Skid control courses teach the correct responses.
Driver training company MasterDrive has published guidance on oversteer and understeer, two handling conditions that can decide whether a driver keeps control of a vehicle at its limits, whether on wet roads or when taking a corner too fast.
What understeer is and how it feels
Understeer occurs when the front tyres lose grip before the rear tyres. According to Eugene Herbert, CEO of MasterDrive, this makes a vehicle take a turn wider than intended, drifting to the outside of the bend instead of following the steering.
It is more common in front-wheel-drive cars. Herbert describes the sensation as steering that feels disconnected or unresponsive, with the car not reacting to the driver’s inputs.
Correcting understeer with smooth inputs
The recommended response is to ease off the accelerator smoothly and avoid sudden braking, which can destabilise the vehicle further. Easing off the steering gives the front tyres a chance to grip again, after which the driver can steer smoothly back on course. “The key is patience and remaining calm,” Herbert says.
Oversteer and the counter-steering technique
Oversteer is the opposite situation. The rear tyres lose traction and the back of the car slides outward, pointing the nose away from the intended direction. In extreme cases this can end in a spin. It is more common in rear-wheel-drive vehicles and is triggered by excessive throttle, harsh braking mid-corner or entering a bend too quickly.
Correction calls for steering into the slide, known as counter-steering: if the rear slides right, the driver steers right. The accelerator should be released slowly, since a sudden drop in power can cause a pendulum effect that snaps the car the other way. Once the car straightens, the steering wheel is smoothly recentred.
Extra tips and MasterDrive skid courses
Further advice includes reducing speed before a bend rather than during it, looking at the intended path instead of the hazard, and remembering that all-wheel drive is more stable but not immune to either condition. Worn, underinflated or mismatched tyres reduce grip and make both more likely.
Herbert stresses that these techniques should never be practised on a public road. MasterDrive runs specialised skid control courses where drivers learn and refine them in a controlled environment under professional supervision.
Supplied by MotorPress (Samantha Greathead, MasterDrive South Africa)
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