Astraist

Do you think that a specific technique is in order for steering your car?
Writing in a sports car forum, I would guess to each member has probably adopted his own favorite style of steering -- which is a good thing -- but still, here are some guidelines on the different techniques, and, eventualy, reconmendation for a combined set of method that will improve your laps by tens of precents.

1. Fixed-input steering
This is a simple enough technique. It involves putting both hands on the wheel and swinging it with both hands. This is the best steering method in terms of control and accuracy, but it has very limited leverage, particularly in the popular 10 to-2 or 8 to-4 positions. Many people would settle for the 10 to-2 position (which is more comfortable) and some would maintain the 8 to-4 position (which is alledgly safer), saying that it is enough, but in each of the position, not only is you leverage limited, but you control, feedback, balance and turning force are also damaged and you are in peril of hitting an inflating airbag (which deploys at more than 300mph) with your hands (in the 10 to-2 position) or braking your thumbs (in both position).
Conclusion: When driving in the open road, hold the wheel in 9 and 3. This way you have full control, 270 degrees of leverage, and easy access to lights, blinkers and etc. You can also put you thumbs in the designated positions on the crossbrace (unless you go off road) below the "bumps" on the inside of the rim. Plus, you are safe from the airbag.

This method is the best for evasive manouvers, and for whenever you are traveling in a generally straight line, only switiching lanes or following the road. For steering through actual turns and bends, however, a more complex hand work must be applied:

2. Hand over-hand steering
This method is the simple and traditional method, of rotating the wheel by crossing your hands one over the other for quick and powerfull turning. The result is, however, that even for very slight turn-in amplitudes, you find yourself pulling and pushing endlessly, thus making the action un-smooth, tiresome, and inaccurate, especially if you hook the hands inside the wheel.

3. Hand to-hand steering
This is a newer practice that involves "feeding" the wheel by shuffling the hands, pulling down from 12 O'Clock, and alternating grip to the opposite hand, on the opposite side of the wheel, pushing up from 7 O'Clock or so. With practice, both hands move parallel and the action is very smooth. It's generally better than the hand over-hand method, because it usually involves larger movements and less pushing. However, it is slow and somewhat unnatural, and it's not ideal since you are still making several movements of pulling and pushing.

4. Push and control steering
This is a method some race drivers use. In this method, you are not pulling and pushing, but instead, you only make one long pushing movement. You move the hand in the direction of the bend above the stationary hand, and push with both of them. This method gives you great force for quick turn-in with a steady wrist, but you lose feedback and smoothness, and you can find youself at the edge of the leverage quite quickly, even in a race car, and much more on a road car.

5. Dual-movement steering
This is another method popular in race driving. This time, however, the whole movement is done with both hands, in two movements. The idea is to increase the leverage you have in the fixed-input steering from the 9 to-3 position, by sliding both hands on the wheel, opposite to the direction of the turn, and than swinging the wheel back to 9 to-3 with both hands, so the car is turning, but now you are again holding the wheel on both sides in 9 to-3, so you can quickly and easily make large adjustments and correction to the steering input.
This method, however, requires two movements. And by the end of the first movement, you still haven't moved the wheel at all, so you make the action slower, and you lose the "center" of the wheel so you need to "feed" it back, shuffle steering style. You also don't have much leverage from this method, so it's only useful for wider corners.

6. Pull steering
This is a classic Rally driving technique, with quite a lot of practice in other sorts of motorsport and even in road driving. It is considered to be the best technique. I have always used it, although in conjunction with other techniques, and it has never failed. Like the dual-movement method, this technique is also about making a preparation movement, so that after you turn the wheel just enough to get the car to follow the desired line through the corner, you are again in the 9 to-3 position. However, in this method, to differ from the "push and control" style, the leading hand is the pulling hand. Pulling allows you to use the gentle muscles and nerves of the arm and palm, allowing for smoothness and control, while also using the strong muscles of the back, allowing for a quick and decisive turn-in when nessecary. With a bit of practice, you can keep the wrist of the pulling hand quite firm, to optimize control. While pulling, the opposite hand stays stationary, thus allowing for the rim to slide under it in a controlled fashion.

All that is left to do, is to preposition the pulling hand accordingly (top of the wheel for a 90 degree turn of the wheel, above the stationary hand for 180 degrees, on the bottom for 270 degrees), and than pull back to it's point of origin in 9 or 3. This way, you can also undo the steering by pulling in a reversed order with the opposite hand, while the other hand stays stationary. This method also leaves you with a very good idea on where the wheels are pointing, and makes the hands work symetrically: when you turn-in, one hand pulls and the other stays still. Turn-out -- the opposite hand pulls back and the first hand is now the idle one.

Following this method, you will probably realize that thus far you have the wheel too much and with excessive effort. I am always asked, how a manage to turn the car with such little steering inputs. Actually, only two successive 270 degrees turns, are enough to get a car across the sharpest U-Turns! For such a pull, however, the pulling hand must hold the wheel from it's bottom (not with the palm, it should be holding it upside down) and pull under the stationary hand, as it lift up momentarily.

With this method, the turn-in is quite decisive and fast, almost sharp, while the reverse action, when retracting the steering input, is done slower. A decisive turn-in makes for a better response from the suspension, and also rubbs the tires against the surface, creating friction which slows the car down just enough to shift weight forward and over those front tires, to increase traction.

For an example, here's a demonstration of that hand work being put out to use in an autocross:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6958388071529016124#doci d=8128919036513002319


I do still believe, that no technique is perfect. When following the road, switching lanes, or going through very small and fast curves, it's best not to insist on keeping the hands ready in 9 and 3, but to simply hold the wheel and turn it from the fixed-input. Wide turns, for an example, are better cornered with the dual-movement method. When manouvering in zero speed in the parking zone, the pulling method can be refined by palming the wheel entirely by the pulling hand, unless you have no power steering, whereas the hand to-hand method is ideal.