Hi

 

 

This subject had bugged me for years. So thought I'd ask my fellow driving enthusiast here. 

 

What's best technique to go around a corner/bend, Quattro 2.0T At say between  20 to 30mph? Re my car it's has a fifty-fifty power to wheel back to front bias and tires mitchlin Ps4's.

The car has never ever spun out on me or back kicked out. But I want to know what's the proper and safest way to corner without wiping out my car ever is the goal.

 

I must confess to always getting myself in a muddle with me doing all at different times but still unsure of best approach with the set up on this vehicle.

 

Do I;

 

A) approach corner at 30mph take foot off the gas, then accelerate half way through corner, and power out.

 

B) approach at 30mph and gently hold throttle as you straighten up on exit  accelerate away.

 

C) approach at 30mph and aggressively  hold throttle with tiny steering inputs as you exit carrying that momentum while still accelerating away.

 

 

Definitely 'A' in my opinion.

Slow in, quick out and also lifting off the throttle shifts the weight to the front and without touching the brakes gives you much better control into the bend.

Works on a Motorbike fine, can only assume it is also the same for a car with AWD

Is this for bends in general or a specific bend?

You have tightening bends, bends that open up, off camber bends etc. 

We have all gone in a bit hot to a bend and have had to ease off but this as Trevor has stated above will unsettle a vehicle's balance. 

Adjusting speed through braking or acceleration is ok if you have the traction and traction is dependant on tyre and road surface plus the variables such as water mud temperature leaves etc. 

It's one thing flinging it around a track where corner attributes do not vary that wildly and tyre degradation is more predictable but going into a blind bend hot to find a road covered in mud normally results in a number of things happening at once and how these are handled will normally dictate if you make it through the bend...

Throttle lift off, braking, feathering the steering are all options but all can compromise traction be it drive or steering. Modern cars have ASC ABS and some are blessed with Quattro. All of these contribute to an ignorance factor where the car looks after the driver and all you will notice regarding a driving indiscretion is a few flashes of an icon on a dashboard.  

Drive with wild abandon in a Caterham or good old TVR and where ambition overtakes ability it normally results in a hole in a hedge. 

If you are trying to emulate a racing driver then you do all your braking before the corner entry accelerating through and out of the bend  my short answer would be B 

Last bit of advice would be if you are looking to improve the commute home qualifying time practice it on a track - yes Shell Grip track surfaces provide higher levels of traction but the key secret is balance.