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The Scandinavian flick [1] is a technique used predominantly in ice racing and rallying. The technique induces oversteer using weight transfer to carry a vehicle through a turn while simultaneously reducing speed. [2]
Beginning in the 1960s, Scandinavian rally-car drivers popularized the technique. [2] The "flick" part comes from the technique of "flicking" the wheel in a direction opposite of the turn to build up angular momentum.
Approaching along the inside of an upcoming turn, the driver steers sharply towards the outside of the turn, then lifts off the throttle and lightly applies the brakes. This causes weight transfer that rotates the car toward the outside of the turn. Then, steering into the turn and releasing the brake pedal while applying full throttle will cause the car to rotate into the corner. Towards the corner exit, the driver may countersteer to control the oversteer. When properly executed this technique neatly lines the car up for the exit while maintaining momentum. [3]
Since the 1990s, most cars produced have been front-wheel drive [4] which are prone to understeer. This makes a vehicle stable at high speed but requires larger steering inputs near the limits of adhesion, especially on low-grip surfaces. Skilled drivers are able to use a maneuver similar to the Scandinavian flick, though with less steering input and control the possible slide by using opposite lock. Since the 2010s, several models of electric vehicles have gone back to rear wheel drive, and this can again change which driving techniques are used in competitive driving.
The ability of a vehicle to handle sudden changes in direction at high speeds without sliding or rolling over is assessed through the so-called moose test. This scenario occurs when the driver is trying to avoid an obstacle (ostensibly a moose, or any other large animal that may appear on the road) in their lane and then returning to the lane to avoid oncoming traffic. The succession of sharp turns in opposite directions combined with lifting off the throttle is exactly how the Scandinavian flick is performed. Since the technique is used at race speeds, it's not normal for a vehicle to start a slide while driving at road speeds.
This technique is commonly used in ice-racing in North America and Europe (e.g. the Andros Trophy). On loose surfaces, contemporary rally drivers tend to rely more on left-foot braking for directional control in cornering FWD cars.
It is frequently used by former racing driver Tiff Needell on the motoring programme Fifth Gear and previously during his time as a presenter on the television show Top Gear .[ citation needed ]
It was also used in 2002 reboot of Top Gear, in which Richard Hammond tried to achieve the Scandinavian flick whilst cornering in his "lightweight, mid-engined" Suzuki Super Carry. The result was a less than spectacular roll-over to its side. [5] Additionally, it is featured on Top Gear in an episode in which James May hones his rally skills with Mika Häkkinen in the woods and snowy landscape of Finland. [6] It was also used as an episode title for the first episode of the fifth season of The Grand Tour as, "A Scandi Flick". [7] The episode follows the trio as they journey through Norway, Sweden, and Finland. It was also used in The Grand Tour Season 2 Episode 9 during a celebrity segment in which Penn of Penn & Teller attempted the move.
In Initial D First Stage (Anime), the protagonist Takumi Fujiwara used this Scandinavian Flick to corner after overspeed a turn during an impromptu race. The drift shocked the opponent, Keisuke Takahashi and even felt ashamed that he was beaten by an Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86. The scene was also become an internet meme.
In the 2006 animated movie Cars , protagonist Lightning McQueen is taught the Scandinavian flick [8] by his soon to be mentor Doc Hudson.
Heel-and-toe shifting is an advanced driving technique used mostly in performance driving with a manual gearbox, although some drivers use it on the road in everyday conditions in the interest of effectiveness. It involves operating the throttle and brake pedals simultaneously with the right foot, while facilitating normal activation of the clutch with the left foot. It is used when braking and downshifting simultaneously, and allows the driver to "blip" the throttle to raise the engine speed and smoothly engage the lower gear.
Left-foot braking is the technique of using the left foot to operate the brake pedal in an automobile, leaving the right foot dedicated to the throttle pedal. It contrasts with the practice of using the left foot to operate the clutch pedal, leaving the right foot to share the duties of controlling both brake and gas pedals.
Opposite lock, also commonly known as countersteer, is a colloquial term used to mean the steering associated with the deliberate use of oversteer to turn a vehicle rapidly without losing momentum. It is typified by the classic rallying style of rear-wheel drive cars, where a car travels around a bend with a large drift angle. The terms "opposite lock" and "counter-steering" refer to the position of the steering wheel during the maneuver, which is turned in the opposite direction to that of the bend.
The handbrake turn is a driving technique used to deliberately slide a car sideways, either for the purpose of quickly negotiating a very tight bend, or for turning around well within the vehicle's own turning diameter.
Steering is the control of the direction of locomotion or the components that enable its control. Steering is achieved through various arrangements, among them ailerons for airplanes, rudders for boats, tilting rotors for helicopters, and many more.
Cruise control is a system that automatically controls the speed of an automobile. The system is a servomechanism that takes over the throttle of the car to maintain a steady speed as set by the driver.
A traction control system (TCS), is typically a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicles, designed to prevent loss of traction of the driven road wheels. TCS is activated when throttle input and engine power and torque transfer are mismatched to the road surface conditions.
A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission, or stick shift, is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system, where gear changes require the driver to manually select the gears by operating a gear stick and clutch.
Automobile handling and vehicle handling are descriptions of the way a wheeled vehicle responds and reacts to the inputs of a driver, as well as how it moves along a track or road. It is commonly judged by how a vehicle performs particularly during cornering, acceleration, and braking as well as on the vehicle's directional stability when moving in steady state condition. Numerous factors affect handling
A locking differential is a mechanical component, commonly used in vehicles, designed to overcome the chief limitation of a standard open differential by essentially "locking" both wheels on an axle together as if on a common shaft. This forces both wheels to turn in unison, regardless of the traction available to either wheel individually.
Drifting is a driving technique where the driver intentionally oversteers, with loss of traction, while maintaining control and driving the car through the entirety of a corner or a turn. The technique causes the rear slip angle to exceed the front slip angle to such an extent that often the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn. Drifting is traditionally performed using three methods: clutch kicking, weight transfer, and employing a handbrake turn. This sense of drift is not to be confused with the four wheel drift, a classic cornering technique established in Grand Prix and sports car racing.
A bootleg turn is a driving maneuver intended to reverse the direction of travel of a forward-moving automobile by 180 degrees in a minimum amount of time while staying within the width of a two-lane road. This maneuver is also known as a smuggler's turn, powerslide, or simply bootlegger.
Trail braking is a driving and motorcycle riding technique where the brakes are used beyond the entrance to a turn (turn-in), and then gradually released. Depending on a number of factors, the driver fully releases brake pressure at any point between turn-in and the apex of the turn.
Fishtailing is a vehicle handling problem which occurs when the rear wheels lose traction, resulting in oversteer. This can be caused by low-friction surfaces. Rear-drive vehicles with sufficient power can induce this loss of traction on any surface, which is called power-oversteer.
Lift-off oversteer is a form of sudden oversteer. While cornering, a driver who closes the throttle, usually at a high speed, can cause such sudden deceleration that the vertical load on the tires shifts from rear to front, in a process called load transfer. This decrease in vertical load on the rear tires in turn decreases their traction by lowering their lateral force, making the vehicle steer more tightly into the turn. In other words, easing off the accelerator in a fast turn can cause a car's rear tires to loosen their grip so much that the driver loses control and drifts outwards, even leaving the road tailfirst.
A wheelspin occurs when the force delivered to the tire tread exceeds that of available tread-to-surface friction and one or more tires lose traction. This leads the wheels to "spin" and causes the driver to lose control over the tires that no longer have grip on the road surface. Wheelspin can also be done intentionally such as in drifting or doing a burnout.
Active steering describes a steering system for a vehicle in which the relationship between the driver’s steer inputs and the angle of the steered road wheels may be continuously and intelligently altered. Whilst active steering systems may be found in agricultural equipment and heavy plant, this article concentrates on the application of active steering in BMW passenger cars.
All Wheel Control (AWC) is the brand name of a four-wheel drive (4WD) system developed by Mitsubishi Motors. The system was first incorporated in the 2001 Lancer Evolution VII. Subsequent developments have led to S-AWC (Super All Wheel Control), developed specifically for the new 2007 Lancer Evolution. The system is referred by the company as its unique 4-wheel drive technology umbrella, cultivated through its motor sports activities and long history in rallying spanning almost half a century.
Car controls are the components in automobiles and other powered road vehicles, such as trucks and buses, used for driving and parking.