What is oversteer and understeer???

[URY914]

When someone asks this question show them these pictures

Oversteer...

Understeer....

[Hugh R]

Understeer is when you go nose first through a fence, oversteer is when you go through the same fence ass first.

[nostatic]

oversteer is when you're sitting on top. understeer is where you are after getting bucked off.

[livi]

Very didactic (is that an English word?) pictures! Really show what is going on with the car.

[URY914]

And to have two different old brown VW bugs doing the deeds. Strange.

[KFC911]

Originally posted by livi
Very didactic (is that an English word?)... .

Diadic? My memory lapses, but comes from Latin, meaning "dual"... Your english is a heck of a lot better than most Americans'

[Howard Agency]

Easy. Oversteer scares the passenger. Understeer scares the driver.

[livi]

Thanks Keith!

I was hoping it meant something like educational or 'good example in order to explain or teach something'. It does so in Swedish anyway..

[M.D. Holloway]

Originally posted by URY914
And to have two different old brown VW bugs doing the deeds. Strange.

Weird how they have the same Euro tag as well - must be a novelty item?

[island911]

Dissapointed, Lube... what kinda Texan are ya trying to be?

You should have pointed out true over steer...


Over steer:




and Under steer avoidance:




Under steer




Got it?

[Noah930]

Originally posted by livi
Thanks Keith!

I was hoping it meant something like educational or 'good example in order to explain or teach something'. It does so in Swedish anyway..

Actually, it means the same thing in English, too.

[71T Targa]

OK, so lets assume they are the same car. What picture came first?

The understeer car has more stickers, making me think that it is the later picture.

However, the oversteer car has the big driving lights that I would think of as an upgrade, thus coming later...

[KFC911]

Originally posted by Noah930
Actually, it means the same thing in English, too.

Thanks Noah, I just learned a new word....(had to go look it up), but now I've got to figure out how to work it in a conversation

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Oversteer = turn the wheel a tiny bit, car turns a lot.
Understeer = turn the wheel a lot, car turns a little.

That's about as simply as I've ever heard it explained.

[gprsh924]

oversteer is much more fun

[legion]

Originally posted by gprsh924
oversteer is much more fun

Not when there's a wall on the inside of the turn.

[M.D. Holloway]

Originally posted by island911
Dissapointed, Lube... what kinda Texan are ya trying to be?

You should have pointed out true over steer...

[Superman]

Originally posted by KC911
Diadic? My memory lapses, but comes from Latin, meaning "dual"... Your english is a heck of a lot better than most Americans'

I don't know what diadic means, but the term "didactic" was properly used above. A synonym would be "instructive."

[scottmandue]

Oversteer:



Understeer:

[svandamme]

Top Gear said it best