This might come off as sort of a dumb question, but how do Evo's respond to counter steer? I come from a large s-chassis background (Silvias/240's for those who don't know what that is), and clutch kicking, counter steering, playing with the throttle and all that good stuff came with ease over the years. However, I'm somewhat new to AWD and nervous about ever encountering a situation where my car oversteers. I've taken some corners pretty fast and have yet to break traction; I'm kind of hesitant to push my car any further because I don't know how it's going to respond to counter steering. My concern is over counter steering and having the front wheels catch traction and snapping back. Anyone have experience with this? Most Evo owners I encounter in person only care about how fast they can go in a straight line so some insight would be nice lol. My reaction would be to counter steer enough to keep the car on the track/road while powering through on the throttle and straightening out, but I feel like it's not that easy like in a RWD. Thanks.

 

AWDs don't drift like RWDs. In a s-chassis you are upsetting the rear tires to break traction via the clutch, rear brake, throttle, etc. In an AWD that doesn't work. If you want to break traction, you actually have to use the momentum of the vehicle.

 

I understand. Allow me to clarify. I'm not actually trying to get it sideways like you would in RWD's. My concern is pushing it too fast around a corner and breaking the rear end loose unintentionally using momentum, and counter steering too much/wrong.

 

The key thing to do in an AWD if you break the rear loose is to STAY IN THE GAS and countersteer. As long as you stay in the gas your front end will try to pull you in the direction your tires are pointing. Try going to an autocross with your car. It's a great way to learn how your car handles at the limits with very minimal risk.

 

With AWD you just keep the wheels pointed where you want to go. A little more steering will help straighten things out, a little less will get the back out further. Its definitely not a drift car, but does power slide very well.

 

When you break the rear traction on the evo. remember never to lift off the gas as that will cause you to spin out more. just feather the gas along with a little countersteer.

 

yes like the other above posted, NEVER lift off the gas and NEVER brake when you're already in the turn

 

If you have s-chassis back ground I'd assume you'd do fine in the Evo. Correction of a slide is all in how you/what initiated the slide and how much room you have to play with. I suggest going somewhere safe like a track or open parking lot and practice. Playing around I’ve been able to back my car into a turn so much that I’m basically looking out the passenger side rear window and still bring the car back. Pending a stock suspension in a constant radius turn the evo will tend to understeer at the limit. However if you snap off the gas pedal or flick it you’ll get oversteer. The main difference is if you are drifting through a turn in a 240 and you straighten the front wheels there’s a good chance you’ll spin if you keep you keep the rear wheels spinning while sliding sideways. If you’re sliding through a turn in an Evo and straighten the front wheels you’ll eventually be going the direction your front wheels are pointed because you have all four tires clawing in that direction to overcome the sideways slide (given enough room). But like I said find a safe place and practice as that the only way you’ll get the hang of it.

 

A lot of good responses. Thanks guys. My main concern is having the front wheel snap in the direction I'm counter steering in, but I figured powering through it would be how it works. You learn A LOT about how cars handle with an S14, full suspension and a bolt on SR20, but as we all know the Evo is entirely different. Basically, straightening out is the same as RWD in the sense that you stay on the throttle while straightening out the wheel as it applies. That's what I figured.

On another note, is it just me or is the Evo community not as cool as I thought it would be? The few people I've ran into with Evo's that I've tried to flag down on the road or start up a conversation with really don't seem interested. Dudes with s-chassis will stop and chit chat for a while, but not a single Evo that I've seen on the road cares to meet another Evo owner. You would think that people with somewhat of a rare car would be more inclined to "meet and greet" other Evo owners.

 

With the exception of the crash it's a good example of an evo driver counter steering it an intentional loss of traction situation.

 

I think its your location lol. North east peeps all seem friendly and willing to chat. There are occassional tools but I've met mostly cool, chill bloaks.

 

exactly. exiting the slide just point where you want to go, those front tires will pull you that direction its pretty neat actually.

 

I got to find out first hand in the last winter storm, and hope you did too!

As expected, the evo handles perfectly in the snow.

With a little extra throttle it will go sideways, and its very easy to control the drift!

 

This!!

I learned this the hard way many, many years ago.

 

Sounds pretty simple and everyone seems to agree with what I was expecting. I just figured I would ask to be safe as to not destroy my car by reverting back to RWD concepts.