Wow I did not expect a reply, that too a pin!@@MickDrivesCars (btw I shared your channel with all my friends into driving and cars!) I've seen a few of your videos and they are really to the point and helpful for new and advanced drivers as well Yes I may just be 15 but I love driving I've only driven 4 times(since the legal age is 18 here) but cars are so fascinating and awesome!
I'm just a guy that likes cars... If you're a nice dude I'll always reply :) I remember being a young petrolhead like you and watching POVs to pretend I was driving. When you get behind the wheel for real you'll love it mate!
As someone who passed their test in February, drives a little 1ltr Mk 7 eco boost fiesta, likes to drive fast when appropriate I’ve found your videos very informative because I want to strengthen and improve my driving skills. Particularly to enjoy driving fast properly by getting the most of my car. There’s so much that you mention that I think about and realise “oh yeah hey I noticed that too” when driving that it literally blew my mind and it gets me itching to get back on the road to apply and try some of these techniques. Awesome stuff Mark, i’m subbed ;)
@@MickDrivesCars 🤣🤣🤣 sorry Mick my man Big respect to you though just come back from a fun drive down some backroads around me and put some of your knowledge into practice and had a absolutely fantastic experience
Another thing to note is to not move your hands to another position on the wheel when taking a corner enthusiastically, as you will lose the feedback/feeling that you were getting through the steering.
Funny enough when I was making this video the POV section was recorded last... I kinda just realised all of these things while talking about everything else :)
top /bottom of the steering make sense, basically at top the weight of the hands adds a force left or right as soon as you are off center. and conversely at the bottom the weight tends to stabilize the wheel, to center it.
As someone who drove older cars (including on a defensive driving course) I understand the 10 and 2 position. Yes, in a modern car with a fast rack and power steering, down low (9 and 3 or down the bottom) can give you fine control with minimal input; but on an older vehicle with a heavier rack you need more of the 'fast' you get from your hands high.
the thing that nobody ever taught me about steering that helped me most was the idea that you can turn more with the throttle off, in other words, you get more turning response and make deeper turns if you're not on the throttle when you turn. I learned to drive playing video games/arcade games and even when I got actual driving experience / lessons from family members they never explained this. Since I was in a game I was always focused on driving as fast as possible so taking my hand off the throttle was unthinkable outside of the most extreme situations. I understood using the handbrake to swing my rear around for tight turns but depending on the game it wasnt always controllable. I always avoided using my real brakes as much as possible to keep my speed high. GTA IV was what really taught me a lot about utilizing shifting car weights around with brakes and turning and using the car's weight and throttle to corner as well the value of the brake and it's interplay with the e-brake and throttle to pull off far more consistent drifts, 90 degree turns, 180 spins etc. When I was a kid I was a non stop e-brake user because I thought it looked cool and had no clue there were better methods of drifting, now I almost never use it outside needing to perform a 180
Although warning that the game physics might not perfectly mirror a real world scenario. There are certainly parallels in a sophisticated physics engine.
I learned some things. But there are two things I totally missed that people should know: 1. distance to the steering wheel. There are many people sitting too far away from the steering wheel, so you don't get into the situation where you pull yourself to the steering wheel. 2. How to steer when to have to turn really sharp quickly - crossing your arms and then grab over to the exact same position.
@@dcgregorya5434 I tend to think that the risk is very low and the upside (fixed reference points for grabbing the wheel) outweighs this risk. On the road I also don't need it. In drivers training I used it. And it's also officially taught in drivers trainings (BMW, Audi,...).
Damn its so cool how we subconsciously learn the hand positions! I never made the connections but I've done the correct positions most my life after observing my dad doing it
In a turn, sometimes you get into a natural slip angle where the wheel gets lighter but still turns in. A communicative chassis and steering wheel will tell you you don't need to put anymore input into a the wheel to get the car to rotate. If noticed this when conditions are just right I've experienced this in both my BMW and Honda Civic Si. It's an interesting sensation. The Honda being FWD, you can get the car to rotate with just using the gas pedal and not anymore input on the wheel
This so much! I had another comment asking me to explain what the lightness, heaviness ect. mean - the answer is every car will communicate differently and lightness doesn't always mean understeer
Used to drive with the hand all the way up, switched to the middle of the steering wheel (still with one hand, except for turns that I add the second hand) much better controll overall and before a sharp turn I can add the second hand much easier. What you said in the video is 100% correct
Lifegoal: Find a partner that loves you as much as Mick loves his steering. Thanks for the video, very informative and something I've not thought about at all.
Former Canadian driving instructor here. For me it's 9&3 for driving at speed and 10&2 for maneuvers requiring full lock to lock steering inputs (120 degree hand over hand). Improper steering I see all the time is driving one fist at 12 o'clock. Not only are you not prepared to steer safely/accurately, if your airbag goes off for whatever reason, your arm is as good as broken. Hands should ideally be kept at 9&3 for maximum control and also the most possible steering input left and right without removing your hands from the wheel. I do not recommend holding the wheel at a lower position either as you are not prepared to take evasive action if required. I also do not recommend sticking your hand through the wheel and pulling it down to turn. There have been cases of people doing this mid turn and another vehicle struck their front wheels (collision) causing them to turn, turning the wheel rapidly and resulting in a broken arm/wrist. It is important to steer correctly to prevent injury, have proper control over your vehicle, and be able to respond competently to emergency actions.
Have been applying these steering hand positions myself without knowing any of these, thanks, this helps. Imagine applying the situation based position of steering in real life scenarios, damn, car driving is truly a great art. 🎉
For me, on say, a rather mild right hand curve ,I find 7-1 to produce really smooth turns. Hand in 1, allows a nice gradient turn while the hand in 7 allows for micro adjustments. Also, the down/up force applied by both hands keep the wheel in place For tighter more technical turns, 9-3 provides maximum turning leverage for my car. Also great placement for flooded roads. Hydroplaned at the bottom of a turn and the 9-3 hands allowed me to quickly ‘ wiggle’the wheel back and forth, keeping my car from total loss of control. Ngl, those unexpected hydro plains at night are pretty fuckin jarring, especially on a bend. Thankfully I have some experience in wet conditions. but still, I don’t feel the dangers of hydroplaning are given enough focus . It’s all about remaining calm but for a new driver, panicking and over correction are bound to happen when you suddenly lose any ability to change the cars lateral direction. It’s like sailing over water with your wheels as rudders
Get shout regarding hydroplaning - I've got some experience with this too living in the UK, lots of unexpected flooding here. You've got my gears turning now for a video idea. Thank you!
6:58 i find it so weird that i knew this but i never even thought about it or could have explained it to someone. Its just something i did when i wanted smooth prosice controls. But if someone asked me why am i driving with my hands there, i would just say "because its comfortable"
I was trained by class 1 traffic coppers, and still am every three years. There is nothing here they would advocate or use for driving on the road - or little, anyway. Certainly not with respect to holding the wheel at 5 and 7 or similar. And as for 13:38 re cornering on a bike, that's just nonsense. The chassis is not "elongated" on a balanced throttle - and if it were, it would run wide. What's more, the only way it could become "elongated" is by adding power - which would send weight towards the rear of the bike, which in turn would see the front forks lengthen. This would effectively increase i.e. elongate the distance from where the front wheel touches the road to where the rear wheel touches the road. Result? A longer wheelbase, which can only start to run wide in the corner. Roadcraft advice and guidance for both car and bike is essentially to balance the vehicle on the throttle - and in so doing, helping to ensure an even distribution of weight at front and rear. This is regardless of rear or front wheel drive, bike or car. It works. That's not to say more advanced techniques such as trail braking are more effective in some situations - they are. But that will be on track. If you need it for the road, you're probably pushing too hard.
In city driving, I tend to keep my right hand at the top of the steering wheel, as it feels most comfortable and provides me with optimal and quick control of the car. On the highway, I often adopt the lower hand positions you mentioned, especially when making small and precise corrections. And when I'm driving at higher speeds, the 3/9 hand position becomes my go-to choice, offering the utmost comfort and stability.
Im 18 new to driving, i drive a 1989 vauxhall nova saloon, far from being a fast sporty car, but i genuinley prefer the lack of power steering, its just me and the car, same with the brakes i have no abs or servo, no traction control no stability control. Everything is on me to learn how my car drives and work with the car. And your videos are really helping me get a better feel for driving.
@@MickDrivesCars honestly wish I was, I would love for you to drive it, love your videos, but I'm east Midlands area, but I mean one day I would be more than happy to bring her down for you. I originally bought her from London actually
@@MickDrivesCarsabout 95 miles away mate, I'm out near Boston. But as I say I'd be more than happy to come to you mate. Would love to see it on the channel.
When navigating through urban areas, I adopt the 7 and 3 hand positions while driving. The 7 position enables me to maintain finer control over the vehicle, while the 3 position is employed for executing wider steering movements.
I think the most I learned about the steering feel feedback when I drove for multiple years with cars without power steering. Also, being a Finn, you get lots of experience with very low traction during the winter. I still remember driving year 1983 VW Passat (this happened around year 2000) on icy road on long high speed corner and I was able to feel which tyre was losing the traction first. The car had pretty worn tyres so I remember going around the corner with 2-3 tyres at the traction limit and a van overtook me on the other lane so the car wasn't definitely a fast one but it had superb feedback from the tyres to steering wheel.
One of my pet peeves is when the power steering causes it to be overly light. When going round a corner, G forces are going to move you in your seat and if the wheel feels too loose, cause you to move it inaccurately. I drove a car that had intermittent power steering at times. It was unnerving muscling it into a bend and then the power steering would kick in and if I wasn't careful, cause me to turn the wheel too far.
As a new driver I found this video very helpful. I'm exploring your channel and hope to find more videos that will increase my confidence and knowledge.
Good video. Whenever it's snowy, I am always more engaged with the car, more alert and ready to receive the feedback. It's so interesting how you can immediately feel when the slip starts, so you correct it. It's like playing a pat a cake game with a machine - you steer it, it responds, you adjust, and it keeps on going. I also love when the car lets you know that the wind massess of ongoing heavy rig pushed it to the side but it immediately tries to get back on track. Always makes me smile.
There's a big part of my viewers that always mention snow - we hardly get any here in the UK. I would absolutely love to slide a WRX around in the snow one day :) Which part of the world are you from mate?
Doesmt matter if im going 10 or 175 my hands are right above the flatbottom/where my wheel starts to curve. Also helps for arm rests. So manybpeople dont understand how i can keep the car 1 inch off the bumper for miles and the reality is its sooo much more precise but also your in a more relaxed position meaning your hands more steady to. Best advice ive heard for driving fsfs. I wasnt taught it just felt the most natural
I think this video explains steering perfectly. There is no true one-size fits all. In a parking lot you don't need precision and just gotta whip that thing round and round as fast as you can where one hand at the top would be best, on a 2 lane road you need half precision-half speed which 9-3 does well, and on a highway you need small, precise movements that you can do with the bottom of the wheel.
Most drivers probably don’t understand the interaction between braking and steering, though every race car driver must know intimately. Trail braking allows you to enter corners at much higher speed, where if you didn’t you would understeer right through, but the braking shifts your weight to the front and allows the tires to bite more and turn in.
@@MickDrivesCars it is an essential part of driving fun. For a while I had a Impreza which I despised because was slow and had a cvt, but the handling was good, and became great when I put wider offset wheels with wider tires on it. To compensate for lack of power I learned trail braking. I ended up being able to take sections of curves way faster than I ever dared in my Altima before it, more than making up for the lack of power. It’s such an amazing feeling when you get it right.
@@mars-jr5uu It involves braking late into a corner and easing off in a manner that sets the balance of the car to allow for the best combination of speed and turn in. It would be better researched and practiced than explained by me.
Thank you. It would be nice if they learned all this while learning to drive, but people wanting to get better can still learn from videos as such. Thank you, again.
Top Quality! Looks like you fixed the warping on the POV cam 💯 Only couple things I'd have to say about steering. Nobody thinks you're cool or a good driver because you drive with one hand. You never know whats gonna happen If you don't have a good grip. A kid, a motorbike or a wild animal comes out of nowhere. I personally don't get the "Im going to steer with two fingers cause I can" unless youre going really slow. Hence why Im not a huge fan of light steering wheels when you are at 30+
Thanks for noticing! Actually I just threw money at the problem so what you're seeing is a £2000 camera hanging from a £150 suction mount 😂😂😂 Atleast I have fantastic quality now :)
Just realised I completely misread your comment and you were talking about the POV cam :D Yeah I decided to go with superview rather than hyperview as it's just a little more viewer friendly. I personally still prefer hyperview but you and a few others did mention the warping is distracting. Thanks again mate!
Awesome mate, now I have literally no excuses. Fantastic quality on all counts :) I noticed you have the top commenter award on the channel now for me liking your comments :D Very well deserved! One day if I get big enough I have some ideas to repay you :)
I live in the US & the things I've noticed about steering is people here have no idea how to properly do it. 90% of people on the road here have no idea what they are doing & it makes me crazy
Could you make a video on attacking fast corners? Including how to judge/read the corner, when to apply the inputs, the correct line to take and how to steer correctly in a fast corner? Thanks.
If you check out my video ''3 things about driving fast'' I mention some of this stuff there I will definitely make a follow up with more in-depth tips including the stuff you mentioned
I love the 9 3 position, it’s the best imo for aggressive driving. When your hands are on the top of the steering wheel and when the airbags go off they are going to get struck pretty hard. Possibly a chronic injury can develop from this too.
I saw just one of your videos by chance and I immediately subscribed. Very good relevant educational videos. Much love from Mombasa kenya. I drive a fully built 2001 manual Subaru Impreza WRX wagon for now 6 years and I’ve outgrown the early excitement phase always hooning everywhere to now being a mature ethical spirited driver especially after my kids were born I just love this lovely mature spirited driver phase Cheers and much love from Kenya You deserve my sub and keep on making such great videos
Second vid of yours I've watched. Very clear and good information. I find it fascinating, that everything you're talking about here, I've learned intuitively through sim racing. I don't even have a drivers license (I'm 36, last I drove a car would have been 2015 on my driving test which was failed by one fault). Just haven't had money or means to get myself on the road IRL. In the sims I always prefer rear wheel drive, I don't like understeer especially from a car that's FF. Though I suspect that might be different when it comes to every day driving on the road. I've never been very mechanically knowledgeable about cars so, all my understanding of this, of grip, of the feeling of over/understeer, how to predict and correct it etc etc is from the sims, but I feel I could learn a lot from your content. Cheers mate!
Thanks for the kind words! Back when I had a shitbox car I got all my driving thrills from sims. G29 + Assetto + r34 on PCH mod was my vibe Yeah in normal driving the drivetrain is largely irrelevant. In spirited driving you can feel the ''push'' or ''pull'' of RWD/FWD but it becomes more obvious at the limit of grip.
@@MickDrivesCars really? im 16 and i love cars have loved cars for years now, but obviously cant legally drive on the road. i play assetto on a g29 how realistic is it compared to real life?
@@MickDrivesCars well I’ve had mine for around a week now and I’m loving it, you’re videos have been great on getting the best out of the car, especially in terms of the gearbox. I’ve also put rain tyres on the front as we’re in the UK
I feel like i have a pretty good solid grasp on steering. effects of SAI, included angle, caster angle, toe, and camber on the steering response of the car, as well as understanding how slip angle, understeer, and oversteer work. One thing you didnt mention in addition to throttle is brakes and weight distribution. braking right before you turn in allows more weight to be on the front wheels and helps them be more grippy, while also allowing the rear to slide a tiny bit to help rotate the car. how much you brake, and when you start adding throttle, depends on the weight distribution of the car. the more front heavy a car is, the less braking you will need, but also a lower limit to having the rear swing out from over throttling. and vice versa.
In resume, learn "Pull Push steering technique" and you will have all the benefit of this video plus driver safer. Very valid point with drivers on motorway with one hand at 12 at clock on the steering. if you see one, in the mirror or your sides driving like that . Keep your distance. "Mick" explain very well why they are dangerous drivers". simple they do not have training, plus they have Ego problem. "The body language say it all"
9 O, clock & 12 O, clock changes if you are in a country where you drive on the LEFT of the road! I use 7 ,O clock, resting my left elbow on my left thigh, & Right hand at 2 , O clock, driving on Left of Road! Sometimes I use 10 or 9 with the left hand, and 3, O clock position too. Been driving in all kinds of conditions for the past 50 years, cars didn't have power steering way back then and my first FIAT only had 40 HP.
Going fast as passenger with people who have recently gotten themselves a fast car and think their steering wheel is the main way to tell the car how to go around a corner is scary. Weight transfer, loading your suspension in a predictable and smooth way and know how to use break and throttle to decide cornering rate is how you stay safe at high speed. Personally what I feel thru my butt and my spine tells me a lot more about how the car is poised and the visual rate of the lateral inertia looking thru the apex dictates what angle I give steering more than what I feel thru my hands.
I don't know why, but when I drive two handed I tend to have my left hand low and my right hand high. Just feels comfortable. I do tend to use every hand position you showed depending on the situation tho.
I've been playing video games with a steering wheel since i was 10 years old, now im working on getting my license, and i realise that subconsciously, using the steering wheel for my games has taught me quite a lot of this
What I think people need to know is that steering is weight transfering both forward and backwards too. Especially in RWD vehicles. I use trailbraking and less steering input and also rotate the car with the throttle. RWD is so much fun, especially high powered sports cars.
You're totally correct that driving the car with throttle in corners is really important once you get close the traction limits. However, the behavior of the car depends on driving wheels, suspension and suspension geometry so you shouldn't assume without trying that your car is going to respond in any specific way. You should definitely learn the behavior your car so that you know how reducing throttle or increasing throttle will affect your car. And if your car allows it, you can try slightly pressing the brake and throttle at the same time in a corner. This typically causes a bit more oversteer with FWD cars. However, many modern cars will totally cut off the throttle input with dual pedal input (this is to make the car safer in situation where throttle pedal position sensor fails) and the throttle only starts to work again when you lift your foot fully away and press the pedal again. Overall, great video and I mostly agree. For the examples where you e.g. accelerated in a corner, it would have been better to show camera image pointing forwards.
Very good comment. Next awarning from me...Never assume you'll know how the car reacts at the limit until you tested the car. And repeated that testing under all type of road conditions. I've learned myself driving/steering the car with nearly only throttle use on an icefield (empty parking pace covered with 1 cm ice) only a few weeks after getting my driving license...It was very usefull. I know that there is very little chance to learn this as I did...That ice rain was a one in my lifetime condition (1979). But there are trainingcentra with artificially created road conditions for learning this. Before using any car on the limits you should train yourself at such a training center. With a professional teacher.
@@MikkoRantalainen I agree....if I had the ,money and time to make that journey in the winter with my car....thousands of miles driving around the Baltic sea.
@@reiniernn9071 Unless you have proper winter tyres for your car, I wouldn't recommend visiting Finland during the witer even if you had the money for the trip. When I got an import car from Germany that already had "winter tyres" designed for Central Europe, those tyres were good for carefully driving to nearest tyre shop to get proper winter tyres. And even that trip was unsafe. If you ever visit Finland or Sweden during the Winter, consider renting a car. Those cars have real winter tyres and that would probably be cheaper than driving your own car over a long distance.
30 years active driver, and very first point you make had me. People need to "listen" to their cars way more than they do, 'cause they're telling us a lot. Also, electric servos everyone uses nowadays didn't do us any favors in that aspect. It's lacking any sort of feel and is usually way too strong
.... drive right hand on the wheel keeping your right elbow on the window ledge .... .this creates a connection between the wheel and the car...a feeling of what the car is doing at all times and fine adjustments become natural creating a smooth ride ....
with understeer, people keep steering and/or brake. Like, if you are just on the edge of understeer you can generally just lift off the throttle and the nose will bite, or if you're already off throttle (like in mom's shitbox that just wants to go straight), you can open up the steering a tiny bit and feel the tires grip back up.
@@MickDrivesCars that's what 10 years of motorsports does 🤣 sadly haven't had the funds to go racing lately but I still have that racecar in the garage. One can always hope.
Been following you since you posted your first video and I'm glad your channel is slowly taking off. 13k views is no small thing, wish you all the best dude!
Insider info - this video is currently doing 2k views/day and quickly growing... Have a feeling it will be the next big one Thanks for the support mate! 👊
8:15 I would argue that you can use 10-14 hand position if you raise your seat high enough and push seating position a bit forward. The problem is that if your hands start to get nearly straight and upwards, the finesse goes does down. Most people push the seating position too rear and the steering accuracy suffers as a result. For some reason (imitating some movies maybe?) they think sitting as far from the pedals as possible looks/feels cool. That said, I definitely go with 9-15 hand positions, or lower for casual driving. For driving to work on slow roads, I typically drive with one hand only around 7 position and I try to move steering wheel only once per 5 seconds so I try to position the steering wheel accurately instead of constantly weaving it around.
I find I have best control when I can rest my right elbow on the door armrest - it gives me a kind of "feeling reference point". Most of the times I've heard performance car reviewers etc. talk about 'steering with the throttle' is when drifting.. add throttle, the tail swings out; ease off the throttle, the tail comes in a bit..
I do all my driving with my left hand at speeds under 70 mph.I also love letting my hand rest on the bottom of the wheel. Also they taught us in driver's ed the old way of turning which is using both hands and while one hand pushes down to one side the other one pulls while over lapping each other. I find that the car stays more steady when I use 1 hand vs 2 unless I'm at high speeds on the free way.
i feel like if you mention throttle control as a category of essential steering inputs you should also mention braking for the same reason, because it's all about weight transfer. for example if you come at a corner really fast and brake rather late you shift weight to the front which enables you to steer less to clear the corner. it could be argued that trailbraking like that is not very suitable for public roads, but I think it's a bit more complex like that. some people just have the type of driving style where it makes sense for them to do that
I tend to use 9 and 3 the most, but find the limit of them on roundabouts, where I reset the "9" and "3" and it might be more like "12" and "6" relative to the wheel if it's sideways.
2:24 what you WANT it to do. Absolutely critical wording that needs more emphasis. You will never make a machine do what it does not want to do, you can only work with it
I don't really drive but I do play racing sims so I figured I could learn something. One thing I initially struggled with kids interpreting the info the steering provides. I didn't know what it meant when I was mid corner and the wheel suddenly got really light and felt lose or really heavy for example. Even now I still struggle to interpret some of the info but I have some idea as to what is happening such as my tires losing grip(though can't necessarily tell which tire). My point is, there are so many videos on steering positions and such but nobody tells you how to interpret the info the car is providing you via the wheel either in the sim racing community or the general car community
One of the things I wish people would realize is that steering wheel size matters. Im a 6'3" guy with huge hands, I drive my RX8 with a undersized 11.5 inch wheel, because I found that anything over 12 inches feels awkward to me. I've driven even smaller wheels and felt comfortable, going as small as a 10" radius. Thing is I resr my thumbs on the bridge of the wheel roughly at 3 and 9 positions, putring rhem right into the cut outs, but wrap the rest of my fingers as low as I can go while my thumbs still feel comfortable and have grip on the wheel. This lets me make use of my thumbs for coarser inputs and generally my pinky and ring finger for finger ones.
That's a really good shout and one I hadn't thought about to be honest. I wonder whether you'd be comfortable with the tiny wheel they put in new Peugeots, that wheel has always looked to cool to me. Always wanted to drive an RX8 too! MX-5 chassis with a rotary screamer... heaven. Until it breaks 😂
@@MickDrivesCars I've not had issues with mine and I'm pushing 200k km, planning to rebuild it preemptively over the winter with some aftermarket parts and port the exhaust a bit to help the engine breath. As for the Peugeot, who knows, maybe, haven't had a chance to drive one.
Great content Mick, this has to be one of the best in depth steering video on YT! Good stuff brother! I know can explain why I use the steering positions I do when I drive fast in my YT videos!
Great video, but one important thing missing, in my opinion. When initiating and holding the turn, main force on the wheel should be pulling down using one hand, the one coresponding to direction of the turn, and not pushing up much with the other hand. Ex. in left turn, main force on the wheel is left hand pulling down on it, while right hand is not doing almost nothing, just holding gently. People tend to push on the wheel up, or use big force using both hands, instead of just mainly trying to use one hand, the one that is able to pull down in given situation. Pulling down is more precise, ergonomic and efortless, compared to pushing up the wheel. In other words, you should pull down side of the steering wheel coresponding to direction of the turn, while other hand is doing nothing, until crossing the top point of the wheel ( where it can take over to further pull down, if more rotation is required). Easy to test - try some turns pulling down only vs only pushing the wheel up :)
So funny you say this! I've made another steering video called ''ultimate grip guide'' and I go into this in-depth there, exactly what you mention here!
I use 9 and 3 when i drive fast but i always use the single hand ontop of the wheel, i am way more comfortable and still have all the control i would ever need because im used to it. Not twitchy if you're used to it
9:22 for me, this is also the most UNCOMFORTABLE way to put your hand on a steering wheel. I don't know why, but I'm mostly comfortable when I'm holding my hands down on the wheel.
One weird thing with steering I notice is for some reason at my college around midnight on Fridays and Saturdays there are always people who try steering into the medians and such, or they start trying to do the little swerves to warm up their tires (but I never see them start racing or anything).
I do weird things with the steering, I found myself lately putting the tip of my thumbs in the 2 arms of the steering wheel, extend my thumbs and put my hands kinda under, the other is I never change the position of my left hand nor let the wheel slide (steering is on the left), left palms for big turns, (not one handed turning) even before my left wrist finds it's limit to turn the wheel I'm already putting my right in the base of the wheel and then palm my left while the right does the job, i believe the idea was to free the right as much as posible for shifting, so when the right is not helping the left it can shift, but now I use it becausd i feel it comfy, not very sure about its effectiveness related to turn and shift
Nobody seems to reverse park. 1) Having your steer tires at the rear allows for more adjustment. No goofy back and forth because you didn't pull in at the perfect angle. 2) No blind spot when exiting the space. 3) You're going to have to reverse eventually, might as well get it over with and enjoy a quick and easy departure. Also nobody seems to be able to use their side mirrors. The arm over the chair spin around was bad enough but now these yoyos just keep their eyes glued on the stupid camera. I got my straight truck license with only side mirrors. 😮
another point, if your hands are at 10 and 3 they’re also perpendicular to the wheels. helps to tell you where exactly the wheels are pointing around corners and what not.
9 & 3 also gives you the most steering range in case of emergency, without moving your hands. About +/- 200 degrees, as you can use your thumbs to get these last 20 extra degrees.
This channel is way too underrated
Legend
Wow I did not expect a reply, that too a pin!@@MickDrivesCars
(btw I shared your channel with all my friends into driving and cars!) I've seen a few of your videos and they are really to the point and helpful for new and advanced drivers as well
Yes I may just be 15 but I love driving I've only driven 4 times(since the legal age is 18 here) but cars are so fascinating and awesome!
I'm just a guy that likes cars... If you're a nice dude I'll always reply :)
I remember being a young petrolhead like you and watching POVs to pretend I was driving. When you get behind the wheel for real you'll love it mate!
Agreed! These are valuable info.
Thank you to the tuber.
@@MickDrivesCars I know how to drive. But I love watching your videos because you teach me so much
As someone who passed their test in February, drives a little 1ltr Mk 7 eco boost fiesta, likes to drive fast when appropriate I’ve found your videos very informative because I want to strengthen and improve my driving skills. Particularly to enjoy driving fast properly by getting the most of my car.
There’s so much that you mention that I think about and realise “oh yeah hey I noticed that too” when driving that it literally blew my mind and it gets me itching to get back on the road to apply and try some of these techniques.
Awesome stuff Mark, i’m subbed ;)
Damn, thank you mate!
if only you knew my name :)
@@MickDrivesCars 🤣🤣🤣 sorry Mick my man
Big respect to you though
just come back from a fun drive down some backroads around me and put some of your knowledge into practice and had a absolutely fantastic experience
you can also watch some vids from keichi tsuchiya to improve knowledge@@jackvaughan4307
@@jackvaughan4307 you should go back and hand your licence back and keep learning!!
@@fF-jb4gs Jack Vaughan, the guy you meant that comment for(the person who put the main comment), died in a car accident last week in Connecticut.
9 & 3 is the proper position. Works best and makes sense.
Yeah thats how i naturally started driving but my arms get tired on longer drives
@@quakeruin7643exacto
9 and 3 is the least comfortable position possible
@@markchinguz4401 maybe your arms too stretched out? Trying sitting closer or more upright.
@@markchinguz4401never said its most comfortable but its just most practical the most comfortable is 7 and 5 😂
Another thing to note is to not move your hands to another position on the wheel when taking a corner enthusiastically, as you will lose the feedback/feeling that you were getting through the steering.
most defintley driving one handed with just my palm for the most feeling
Can you pls elaborate a bit? I'm not getting you
That doesn't work for all types of driving, that half rotation of the wheel that you get is nowhere near enough turning
I now realize that subconsciously I change my hand positions for the situations you just explained.
Funny enough when I was making this video the POV section was recorded last... I kinda just realised all of these things while talking about everything else :)
top /bottom of the steering make sense, basically at top the weight of the hands adds a force left or right as soon as you are off center. and conversely at the bottom the weight tends to stabilize the wheel, to center it.
Best explanation I've heard so far I think
Also, the distance to the rotational axis is greater at the top
My classic mini steering with 280mm wheel is so sensitive you can literally feel a coin lying on tarmac. Keeps things exciting . Great video
Mmmmmm that sounds tasty. What's the chance of me driving it -cheeky-
I used to say similar things about an 07 VW "Rabbit" here in the states. That car was fun to drive.
As someone who drove older cars (including on a defensive driving course) I understand the 10 and 2 position. Yes, in a modern car with a fast rack and power steering, down low (9 and 3 or down the bottom) can give you fine control with minimal input; but on an older vehicle with a heavier rack you need more of the 'fast' you get from your hands high.
the thing that nobody ever taught me about steering that helped me most was the idea that you can turn more with the throttle off, in other words, you get more turning response and make deeper turns if you're not on the throttle when you turn. I learned to drive playing video games/arcade games and even when I got actual driving experience / lessons from family members they never explained this. Since I was in a game I was always focused on driving as fast as possible so taking my hand off the throttle was unthinkable outside of the most extreme situations. I understood using the handbrake to swing my rear around for tight turns but depending on the game it wasnt always controllable. I always avoided using my real brakes as much as possible to keep my speed high.
GTA IV was what really taught me a lot about utilizing shifting car weights around with brakes and turning and using the car's weight and throttle to corner as well the value of the brake and it's interplay with the e-brake and throttle to pull off far more consistent drifts, 90 degree turns, 180 spins etc. When I was a kid I was a non stop e-brake user because I thought it looked cool and had no clue there were better methods of drifting, now I almost never use it outside needing to perform a 180
Although warning that the game physics might not perfectly mirror a real world scenario. There are certainly parallels in a sophisticated physics engine.
I learned some things. But there are two things I totally missed that people should know:
1. distance to the steering wheel. There are many people sitting too far away from the steering wheel, so you don't get into the situation where you pull yourself to the steering wheel.
2. How to steer when to have to turn really sharp quickly - crossing your arms and then grab over to the exact same position.
> crossing your arms
That's a great way to get them badly injured if your air bag goes off. Never had to do that in my life to make any turn.
@@dcgregorya5434 I tend to think that the risk is very low and the upside (fixed reference points for grabbing the wheel) outweighs this risk. On the road I also don't need it. In drivers training I used it. And it's also officially taught in drivers trainings (BMW, Audi,...).
@@dcgregorya5434 And additionally, you don't hold that position. It's a matter of not even half of a second.
@@tobiasmud1891 ignore him lmao he obviously drives with the ladder climbing technique
Damn its so cool how we subconsciously learn the hand positions! I never made the connections but I've done the correct positions most my life after observing my dad doing it
it’s strange man i naturally use 9 and 3 and whenever i drive for an extended period of time i have my hands at the bottom of the steering wheel
I find keeping my hands at 9 and 5 o clock is the most comfortable position
I agree with you but nobody seems to understand.
I do 3-7, rhd. It’s comfortable, you can really fine tune your inputs, and you still have decent control for emergencies.
it’s natural
2 and 4 work best for me.
13 and 1 work for me
In a turn, sometimes you get into a natural slip angle where the wheel gets lighter but still turns in. A communicative chassis and steering wheel will tell you you don't need to put anymore input into a the wheel to get the car to rotate. If noticed this when conditions are just right
I've experienced this in both my BMW and Honda Civic Si. It's an interesting sensation. The Honda being FWD, you can get the car to rotate with just using the gas pedal and not anymore input on the wheel
This so much! I had another comment asking me to explain what the lightness, heaviness ect. mean - the answer is every car will communicate differently and lightness doesn't always mean understeer
understeer is when you creep towards the yellow line when you don't want to lmao
I saw your learn how to drive fast video. And instantly subbed good video very Informative.
Legend! Thank you
Used to drive with the hand all the way up, switched to the middle of the steering wheel (still with one hand, except for turns that I add the second hand) much better controll overall and before a sharp turn I can add the second hand much easier. What you said in the video is 100% correct
Lifegoal: Find a partner that loves you as much as Mick loves his steering. Thanks for the video, very informative and something I've not thought about at all.
Love this comment, thank you 😂
Its great watching some talk about something theyre so visibly passionate about, your enthusiasm for cars has rubbed off on me😅
Love to hear it!
Former Canadian driving instructor here. For me it's 9&3 for driving at speed and 10&2 for maneuvers requiring full lock to lock steering inputs (120 degree hand over hand). Improper steering I see all the time is driving one fist at 12 o'clock. Not only are you not prepared to steer safely/accurately, if your airbag goes off for whatever reason, your arm is as good as broken. Hands should ideally be kept at 9&3 for maximum control and also the most possible steering input left and right without removing your hands from the wheel. I do not recommend holding the wheel at a lower position either as you are not prepared to take evasive action if required. I also do not recommend sticking your hand through the wheel and pulling it down to turn. There have been cases of people doing this mid turn and another vehicle struck their front wheels (collision) causing them to turn, turning the wheel rapidly and resulting in a broken arm/wrist. It is important to steer correctly to prevent injury, have proper control over your vehicle, and be able to respond competently to emergency actions.
Its great when i see people putting in words what i can't explain about cars and why i love them
Aww thank you!
Have been applying these steering hand positions myself without knowing any of these, thanks, this helps. Imagine applying the situation based position of steering in real life scenarios, damn, car driving is truly a great art. 🎉
For me, on say, a rather mild right hand curve ,I find 7-1 to produce really smooth turns.
Hand in 1, allows a nice gradient turn while the hand in 7 allows for micro adjustments. Also, the down/up force applied by both hands keep the wheel in place
For tighter more technical turns, 9-3 provides maximum turning leverage for my car. Also great placement for flooded roads.
Hydroplaned at the bottom of a turn and the 9-3 hands allowed me to quickly ‘ wiggle’the wheel back and forth, keeping my car from total loss of control.
Ngl, those unexpected hydro plains at night are pretty fuckin jarring, especially on a bend. Thankfully I have some experience in wet conditions.
but still, I don’t feel the dangers of hydroplaning are given enough focus . It’s all about remaining calm but for a new driver, panicking and over correction are bound to happen when you suddenly lose any ability to change the cars lateral direction.
It’s like sailing over water with your wheels as rudders
Get shout regarding hydroplaning - I've got some experience with this too living in the UK, lots of unexpected flooding here.
You've got my gears turning now for a video idea. Thank you!
I am glad I am not the only person that thinks about this kind of stuff while I am driving. Love the channel! --Steve, Ohio, USA
Thanks mate 👊
I came across your video on braking and now I'm hooked.
You are a true car enthusiast. Underrated channel, appreciate your info
I appreciate that! Thanks mate
6:58 i find it so weird that i knew this but i never even thought about it or could have explained it to someone. Its just something i did when i wanted smooth prosice controls. But if someone asked me why am i driving with my hands there, i would just say "because its comfortable"
When I first trail braked for the first time I got a HUGE smile. It's immaculate. The way you feel the front of the car grip a little more...
Video on braking in the works now
I was trained by class 1 traffic coppers, and still am every three years. There is nothing here they would advocate or use for driving on the road - or little, anyway. Certainly not with respect to holding the wheel at 5 and 7 or similar. And as for 13:38 re cornering on a bike, that's just nonsense. The chassis is not "elongated" on a balanced throttle - and if it were, it would run wide. What's more, the only way it could become "elongated" is by adding power - which would send weight towards the rear of the bike, which in turn would see the front forks lengthen. This would effectively increase i.e. elongate the distance from where the front wheel touches the road to where the rear wheel touches the road. Result? A longer wheelbase, which can only start to run wide in the corner. Roadcraft advice and guidance for both car and bike is essentially to balance the vehicle on the throttle - and in so doing, helping to ensure an even distribution of weight at front and rear. This is regardless of rear or front wheel drive, bike or car. It works. That's not to say more advanced techniques such as trail braking are more effective in some situations - they are. But that will be on track. If you need it for the road, you're probably pushing too hard.
In city driving, I tend to keep my right hand at the top of the steering wheel, as it feels most comfortable and provides me with optimal and quick control of the car. On the highway, I often adopt the lower hand positions you mentioned, especially when making small and precise corrections. And when I'm driving at higher speeds, the 3/9 hand position becomes my go-to choice, offering the utmost comfort and stability.
Im 18 new to driving, i drive a 1989 vauxhall nova saloon, far from being a fast sporty car, but i genuinley prefer the lack of power steering, its just me and the car, same with the brakes i have no abs or servo, no traction control no stability control. Everything is on me to learn how my car drives and work with the car. And your videos are really helping me get a better feel for driving.
Good to hear mate! Any chance you're local? would love to drive that car on the channel
@@MickDrivesCars honestly wish I was, I would love for you to drive it, love your videos, but I'm east Midlands area, but I mean one day I would be more than happy to bring her down for you. I originally bought her from London actually
@@MickDrivesCarsbest part is too, she's completely original, I'm planning on doing a little walk around video of her on this channel as it's my main.
@@sparrowhortonverrall6407 East midlands you say? I may or may not be moving to telford in the near future - that anywhere near you?
@@MickDrivesCarsabout 95 miles away mate, I'm out near Boston. But as I say I'd be more than happy to come to you mate. Would love to see it on the channel.
When navigating through urban areas, I adopt the 7 and 3 hand positions while driving. The 7 position enables me to maintain finer control over the vehicle, while the 3 position is employed for executing wider steering movements.
I think the most I learned about the steering feel feedback when I drove for multiple years with cars without power steering. Also, being a Finn, you get lots of experience with very low traction during the winter. I still remember driving year 1983 VW Passat (this happened around year 2000) on icy road on long high speed corner and I was able to feel which tyre was losing the traction first. The car had pretty worn tyres so I remember going around the corner with 2-3 tyres at the traction limit and a van overtook me on the other lane so the car wasn't definitely a fast one but it had superb feedback from the tyres to steering wheel.
Feedback is potentially the most important aspect of a car I think
This channel is making me careful and educated like you.
I find that my best steering position is 12 and 6. 12 for control and 6 for fine support and I find it works really well in any situation.
There is no control at 12 it's only useful for looking cool. It's the driving equivalent of a gangster holding his gun sideways with one hand.
One of my pet peeves is when the power steering causes it to be overly light. When going round a corner, G forces are going to move you in your seat and if the wheel feels too loose, cause you to move it inaccurately. I drove a car that had intermittent power steering at times. It was unnerving muscling it into a bend and then the power steering would kick in and if I wasn't careful, cause me to turn the wheel too far.
As a new driver I found this video very helpful. I'm exploring your channel and hope to find more videos that will increase my confidence and knowledge.
Good video. Whenever it's snowy, I am always more engaged with the car, more alert and ready to receive the feedback. It's so interesting how you can immediately feel when the slip starts, so you correct it. It's like playing a pat a cake game with a machine - you steer it, it responds, you adjust, and it keeps on going. I also love when the car lets you know that the wind massess of ongoing heavy rig pushed it to the side but it immediately tries to get back on track. Always makes me smile.
There's a big part of my viewers that always mention snow - we hardly get any here in the UK. I would absolutely love to slide a WRX around in the snow one day :)
Which part of the world are you from mate?
@@MickDrivesCars Russia.
Doesmt matter if im going 10 or 175 my hands are right above the flatbottom/where my wheel starts to curve. Also helps for arm rests.
So manybpeople dont understand how i can keep the car 1 inch off the bumper for miles and the reality is its sooo much more precise but also your in a more relaxed position meaning your hands more steady to.
Best advice ive heard for driving fsfs. I wasnt taught it just felt the most natural
I think this video explains steering perfectly. There is no true one-size fits all. In a parking lot you don't need precision and just gotta whip that thing round and round as fast as you can where one hand at the top would be best, on a 2 lane road you need half precision-half speed which 9-3 does well, and on a highway you need small, precise movements that you can do with the bottom of the wheel.
Thanks so much i enjoy driving even more with the new knowledge of how steering works
I've already realised these things myself, but the way the man talks its nice
Thank you mate!
Most drivers probably don’t understand the interaction between braking and steering, though every race car driver must know intimately. Trail braking allows you to enter corners at much higher speed, where if you didn’t you would understeer right through, but the braking shifts your weight to the front and allows the tires to bite more and turn in.
''3 things you don't understand about braking'' coming soon
trail braking may or may not make an appearance
@@MickDrivesCars it is an essential part of driving fun. For a while I had a Impreza which I despised because was slow and had a cvt, but the handling was good, and became great when I put wider offset wheels with wider tires on it. To compensate for lack of power I learned trail braking. I ended up being able to take sections of curves way faster than I ever dared in my Altima before it, more than making up for the lack of power. It’s such an amazing feeling when you get it right.
@@aluminumfalcon552how to trail brake?
@@mars-jr5uu It involves braking late into a corner and easing off in a manner that sets the balance of the car to allow for the best combination of speed and turn in. It would be better researched and practiced than explained by me.
@@aluminumfalcon552 let’s be friends!
Thank you. It would be nice if they learned all this while learning to drive, but people wanting to get better can still learn from videos as such. Thank you, again.
Very true!
Top Quality! Looks like you fixed the warping on the POV cam 💯
Only couple things I'd have to say about steering.
Nobody thinks you're cool or a good driver because you drive with one hand.
You never know whats gonna happen If you don't have a good grip. A kid, a motorbike or a wild animal comes out of nowhere.
I personally don't get the "Im going to steer with two fingers cause I can" unless youre going really slow.
Hence why Im not a huge fan of light steering wheels when you are at 30+
Thanks for noticing! Actually I just threw money at the problem so what you're seeing is a £2000 camera hanging from a £150 suction mount 😂😂😂
Atleast I have fantastic quality now :)
@MickDrivesCars 😂😂 If it works it works!
Just realised I completely misread your comment and you were talking about the POV cam :D
Yeah I decided to go with superview rather than hyperview as it's just a little more viewer friendly. I personally still prefer hyperview but you and a few others did mention the warping is distracting. Thanks again mate!
@MickDrivesCars It's all good! Yeah, I think Superview is nicer, but I can see the appeal on Hyperview!
I like the detail in Superview :)
Awesome mate, now I have literally no excuses. Fantastic quality on all counts :)
I noticed you have the top commenter award on the channel now for me liking your comments :D Very well deserved! One day if I get big enough I have some ideas to repay you :)
I live in the US & the things I've noticed about steering is people here have no idea how to properly do it. 90% of people on the road here have no idea what they are doing & it makes me crazy
You can tell how much self awareness a driver has in how they steer. It's also a reflection of how the driver approach life in general.
What
What a massive jump to conclusions, you seem condescending
Lol @@haroonpash739
Could you make a video on attacking fast corners? Including how to judge/read the corner, when to apply the inputs, the correct line to take and how to steer correctly in a fast corner? Thanks.
If you check out my video ''3 things about driving fast'' I mention some of this stuff there
I will definitely make a follow up with more in-depth tips including the stuff you mentioned
@@MickDrivesCars cheers bud appreciate it, keep up the work!
this is so chill I could listen and watch for days
Great to hear mate :)
I love the 9 3 position, it’s the best imo for aggressive driving.
When your hands are on the top of the steering wheel and when the airbags go off they are going to get struck pretty hard. Possibly a chronic injury can develop from this too.
That is why BMW is called the ultimate driving machine.
The steering is phenomenal.
Funny you say this - the biggest weakness in modern BMWs is the steering...
@@MickDrivesCars
Thanks for you reply.
I have a rear wheel drive, and it is great.
@@MickDrivesCarsthat goes for almost every modern sports/super/hyper car, the steering doesn’t give enough feedback
I have megane too and I completely agree how good they are at tightening the turn on throttle. Really very effective. Do you have the rs trophy?
I saw just one of your videos by chance and I immediately subscribed. Very good relevant educational videos.
Much love from Mombasa kenya. I drive a fully built 2001 manual Subaru Impreza WRX wagon for now 6 years and I’ve outgrown the early excitement phase always hooning everywhere to now being a mature ethical spirited driver especially after my kids were born
I just love this lovely mature spirited driver phase
Cheers and much love from Kenya
You deserve my sub and keep on making such great videos
Second vid of yours I've watched.
Very clear and good information. I find it fascinating, that everything you're talking about here, I've learned intuitively through sim racing.
I don't even have a drivers license (I'm 36, last I drove a car would have been 2015 on my driving test which was failed by one fault). Just haven't had money or means to get myself on the road IRL.
In the sims I always prefer rear wheel drive, I don't like understeer especially from a car that's FF. Though I suspect that might be different when it comes to every day driving on the road.
I've never been very mechanically knowledgeable about cars so, all my understanding of this, of grip, of the feeling of over/understeer, how to predict and correct it etc etc is from the sims, but I feel I could learn a lot from your content.
Cheers mate!
Thanks for the kind words! Back when I had a shitbox car I got all my driving thrills from sims. G29 + Assetto + r34 on PCH mod was my vibe
Yeah in normal driving the drivetrain is largely irrelevant. In spirited driving you can feel the ''push'' or ''pull'' of RWD/FWD but it becomes more obvious at the limit of grip.
@@MickDrivesCars really? im 16 and i love cars have loved cars for years now, but obviously cant legally drive on the road. i play assetto on a g29 how realistic is it compared to real life?
I'm no professional driver but I understand and experience everything you are explaining in this video. It's like you're speaking for me. Lol👍
Glad it was helpful mate!
Great explanations!
And comforting to see that my style matches what you show.
Thank you mate!
Got lift off oversteer in mine on a roundabout, the cars steering is sensational, it let me correct it straight away and on I went
Had this happen in the wet about a week after I bought the car. Was shocked at how easy it was to control!
@@MickDrivesCars well I’ve had mine for around a week now and I’m loving it, you’re videos have been great on getting the best out of the car, especially in terms of the gearbox. I’ve also put rain tyres on the front as we’re in the UK
@@doublem7562 You're not based anywhere near london are you? We could go for a drive, me and paul have been looking to add another car to the convoy
I feel like i have a pretty good solid grasp on steering. effects of SAI, included angle, caster angle, toe, and camber on the steering response of the car, as well as understanding how slip angle, understeer, and oversteer work.
One thing you didnt mention in addition to throttle is brakes and weight distribution. braking right before you turn in allows more weight to be on the front wheels and helps them be more grippy, while also allowing the rear to slide a tiny bit to help rotate the car. how much you brake, and when you start adding throttle, depends on the weight distribution of the car. the more front heavy a car is, the less braking you will need, but also a lower limit to having the rear swing out from over throttling. and vice versa.
In resume, learn "Pull Push steering technique" and you will have all the benefit of this video plus driver safer. Very valid point with drivers on motorway with one hand at 12 at clock on the steering. if you see one, in the mirror or your sides driving like that . Keep your distance. "Mick" explain very well why they are dangerous drivers". simple they do not have training, plus they have Ego problem. "The body language say it all"
stick gives great feedback as well. i dont understand automatic drivers
I prefer a manual too, but when you live in london it's tricky
9 O, clock & 12 O, clock changes if you are in a country where you drive on the LEFT of the road! I use 7 ,O clock, resting my left elbow on my left thigh, & Right hand at 2 , O clock, driving on Left of Road! Sometimes I use 10 or 9 with the left hand, and 3, O clock position too. Been driving in all kinds of conditions for the past 50 years, cars didn't have power steering way back then and my first FIAT only had 40 HP.
Going fast as passenger with people who have recently gotten themselves a fast car and think their steering wheel is the main way to tell the car how to go around a corner is scary.
Weight transfer, loading your suspension in a predictable and smooth way and know how to use break and throttle to decide cornering rate is how you stay safe at high speed. Personally what I feel thru my butt and my spine tells me a lot more about how the car is poised and the visual rate of the lateral inertia looking thru the apex dictates what angle I give steering more than what I feel thru my hands.
I'm a noob but I like to hold the wheel at 2 and 7. One hand on the top right, one on the bottom left. Feels great.
I don't know why, but when I drive two handed I tend to have my left hand low and my right hand high. Just feels comfortable. I do tend to use every hand position you showed depending on the situation tho.
I've been playing video games with a steering wheel since i was 10 years old, now im working on getting my license, and i realise that subconsciously, using the steering wheel for my games has taught me quite a lot of this
Best channel on driving.
Glad you think so!
When Mick said "I drive", LITERAL GOOSEBUMPS, he's literally me.
Just want to say that you are really cool man! Thanks a lot. I wish u the best from a fan from Macedonia
Legend! Thank you 👊
What I think people need to know is that steering is weight transfering both forward and backwards too. Especially in RWD vehicles. I use trailbraking and less steering input and also rotate the car with the throttle. RWD is so much fun, especially high powered sports cars.
You're totally correct that driving the car with throttle in corners is really important once you get close the traction limits. However, the behavior of the car depends on driving wheels, suspension and suspension geometry so you shouldn't assume without trying that your car is going to respond in any specific way. You should definitely learn the behavior your car so that you know how reducing throttle or increasing throttle will affect your car.
And if your car allows it, you can try slightly pressing the brake and throttle at the same time in a corner. This typically causes a bit more oversteer with FWD cars. However, many modern cars will totally cut off the throttle input with dual pedal input (this is to make the car safer in situation where throttle pedal position sensor fails) and the throttle only starts to work again when you lift your foot fully away and press the pedal again.
Overall, great video and I mostly agree. For the examples where you e.g. accelerated in a corner, it would have been better to show camera image pointing forwards.
Very good comment. Next awarning from me...Never assume you'll know how the car reacts at the limit until you tested the car. And repeated that testing under all type of road conditions.
I've learned myself driving/steering the car with nearly only throttle use on an icefield (empty parking pace covered with 1 cm ice) only a few weeks after getting my driving license...It was very usefull. I know that there is very little chance to learn this as I did...That ice rain was a one in my lifetime condition (1979). But there are trainingcentra with artificially created road conditions for learning this.
Before using any car on the limits you should train yourself at such a training center. With a professional teacher.
@@reiniernn9071 Or you could try driving a car in Finland during the Winter. Then we call it Tuesday.
@@MikkoRantalainen I agree....if I had the ,money and time to make that journey in the winter with my car....thousands of miles driving around the Baltic sea.
@@reiniernn9071 Unless you have proper winter tyres for your car, I wouldn't recommend visiting Finland during the witer even if you had the money for the trip.
When I got an import car from Germany that already had "winter tyres" designed for Central Europe, those tyres were good for carefully driving to nearest tyre shop to get proper winter tyres. And even that trip was unsafe.
If you ever visit Finland or Sweden during the Winter, consider renting a car. Those cars have real winter tyres and that would probably be cheaper than driving your own car over a long distance.
30 years active driver, and very first point you make had me. People need to "listen" to their cars way more than they do, 'cause they're telling us a lot. Also, electric servos everyone uses nowadays didn't do us any favors in that aspect. It's lacking any sort of feel and is usually way too strong
.... drive right hand on the wheel keeping your right elbow on the window ledge .... .this creates a connection between the wheel and the car...a feeling of what the car is doing at all times and fine adjustments become natural creating a smooth ride ....
I prefer the armrest on the door but yes agreed
In my opinion, limited slip differentials should be a safety feature, which should be considered mandatory for every new vehicle.
with understeer, people keep steering and/or brake. Like, if you are just on the edge of understeer you can generally just lift off the throttle and the nose will bite, or if you're already off throttle (like in mom's shitbox that just wants to go straight), you can open up the steering a tiny bit and feel the tires grip back up.
So, so true - proper petrolhead comment. In some of my POVs you can see how I open/close the steering based on what the car's telling me.
@@MickDrivesCars that's what 10 years of motorsports does 🤣 sadly haven't had the funds to go racing lately but I still have that racecar in the garage. One can always hope.
@@MickDrivesCars can you pls share what opening up the steering mean ?
Can you share what opening up the steering mean please?
@dinukebabjung2589 yes, it means straighten the steering wheel, lessen the steering input. Not all the way, just a little bit.
This video is poetic, i love it.
Damn, thanks!!
Been following you since you posted your first video and I'm glad your channel is slowly taking off. 13k views is no small thing, wish you all the best dude!
Insider info - this video is currently doing 2k views/day and quickly growing... Have a feeling it will be the next big one
Thanks for the support mate! 👊
8:15 I would argue that you can use 10-14 hand position if you raise your seat high enough and push seating position a bit forward. The problem is that if your hands start to get nearly straight and upwards, the finesse goes does down. Most people push the seating position too rear and the steering accuracy suffers as a result. For some reason (imitating some movies maybe?) they think sitting as far from the pedals as possible looks/feels cool.
That said, I definitely go with 9-15 hand positions, or lower for casual driving. For driving to work on slow roads, I typically drive with one hand only around 7 position and I try to move steering wheel only once per 5 seconds so I try to position the steering wheel accurately instead of constantly weaving it around.
I find I have best control when I can rest my right elbow on the door armrest - it gives me a kind of "feeling reference point". Most of the times I've heard performance car reviewers etc. talk about 'steering with the throttle' is when drifting.. add throttle, the tail swings out; ease off the throttle, the tail comes in a bit..
Appreciate your videos! 🎉very helpful for new drivers especially
I do all my driving with my left hand at speeds under 70 mph.I also love letting my hand rest on the bottom of the wheel. Also they taught us in driver's ed the old way of turning which is using both hands and while one hand pushes down to one side the other one pulls while over lapping each other. I find that the car stays more steady when I use 1 hand vs 2 unless I'm at high speeds on the free way.
Spot on about the RWD pivot 💯
i feel like if you mention throttle control as a category of essential steering inputs you should also mention braking for the same reason, because it's all about weight transfer. for example if you come at a corner really fast and brake rather late you shift weight to the front which enables you to steer less to clear the corner. it could be argued that trailbraking like that is not very suitable for public roads, but I think it's a bit more complex like that. some people just have the type of driving style where it makes sense for them to do that
9-3 when I'm going fast, 8-4/7-5 when I'm chillin
I tend to use 9 and 3 the most, but find the limit of them on roundabouts, where I reset the "9" and "3" and it might be more like "12" and "6" relative to the wheel if it's sideways.
Love these videos, Mick!
Glad to hear it!
2:24 what you WANT it to do. Absolutely critical wording that needs more emphasis. You will never make a machine do what it does not want to do, you can only work with it
I don't really drive but I do play racing sims so I figured I could learn something. One thing I initially struggled with kids interpreting the info the steering provides. I didn't know what it meant when I was mid corner and the wheel suddenly got really light and felt lose or really heavy for example. Even now I still struggle to interpret some of the info but I have some idea as to what is happening such as my tires losing grip(though can't necessarily tell which tire). My point is, there are so many videos on steering positions and such but nobody tells you how to interpret the info the car is providing you via the wheel either in the sim racing community or the general car community
Hello fellow rs 300 driver
Have you manage to sort the tone setting out yet
Without having to go in and adjust everything
Tim
Nope, nothing I've done has ever fixed it.
So annoying.
I actually do love the 9 - 3, esp when driving around a golf cart, and especially when turning sharply/smoothly.
One of the things I wish people would realize is that steering wheel size matters. Im a 6'3" guy with huge hands, I drive my RX8 with a undersized 11.5 inch wheel, because I found that anything over 12 inches feels awkward to me. I've driven even smaller wheels and felt comfortable, going as small as a 10" radius. Thing is I resr my thumbs on the bridge of the wheel roughly at 3 and 9 positions, putring rhem right into the cut outs, but wrap the rest of my fingers as low as I can go while my thumbs still feel comfortable and have grip on the wheel. This lets me make use of my thumbs for coarser inputs and generally my pinky and ring finger for finger ones.
That's a really good shout and one I hadn't thought about to be honest.
I wonder whether you'd be comfortable with the tiny wheel they put in new Peugeots, that wheel has always looked to cool to me.
Always wanted to drive an RX8 too! MX-5 chassis with a rotary screamer... heaven. Until it breaks 😂
@@MickDrivesCars I've not had issues with mine and I'm pushing 200k km, planning to rebuild it preemptively over the winter with some aftermarket parts and port the exhaust a bit to help the engine breath. As for the Peugeot, who knows, maybe, haven't had a chance to drive one.
7 and 2 feel like a good balance for smooth driving and emergancy turns
Great video Mick! keep it up.
Great content Mick, this has to be one of the best in depth steering video on YT! Good stuff brother! I know can explain why I use the steering positions I do when I drive fast in my YT videos!
Great video, but one important thing missing, in my opinion.
When initiating and holding the turn, main force on the wheel should be pulling down using one hand, the one coresponding to direction of the turn, and not pushing up much with the other hand. Ex. in left turn, main force on the wheel is left hand pulling down on it, while right hand is not doing almost nothing, just holding gently.
People tend to push on the wheel up, or use big force using both hands, instead of just mainly trying to use one hand, the one that is able to pull down in given situation.
Pulling down is more precise, ergonomic and efortless, compared to pushing up the wheel.
In other words, you should pull down side of the steering wheel coresponding to direction of the turn, while other hand is doing nothing, until crossing the top point of the wheel ( where it can take over to further pull down, if more rotation is required).
Easy to test - try some turns pulling down only vs only pushing the wheel up :)
So funny you say this!
I've made another steering video called ''ultimate grip guide'' and I go into this in-depth there, exactly what you mention here!
I use 9 and 3 when i drive fast but i always use the single hand ontop of the wheel, i am way more comfortable and still have all the control i would ever need because im used to it. Not twitchy if you're used to it
“The only escort that matters” my 90hp escort convertible crying in the parking lot rn
haha ... Damn I apologise
Why does the street walker have 90 hit points ?
9:22 for me, this is also the most UNCOMFORTABLE way to put your hand on a steering wheel. I don't know why, but I'm mostly comfortable when I'm holding my hands down on the wheel.
One weird thing with steering I notice is for some reason at my college around midnight on Fridays and Saturdays there are always people who try steering into the medians and such, or they start trying to do the little swerves to warm up their tires (but I never see them start racing or anything).
4:36 speaking of grip, we should all grip the inner side of our steering with one hand at the 5pm position especially the beginners
I do weird things with the steering, I found myself lately putting the tip of my thumbs in the 2 arms of the steering wheel, extend my thumbs and put my hands kinda under, the other is I never change the position of my left hand nor let the wheel slide (steering is on the left), left palms for big turns, (not one handed turning) even before my left wrist finds it's limit to turn the wheel I'm already putting my right in the base of the wheel and then palm my left while the right does the job, i believe the idea was to free the right as much as posible for shifting, so when the right is not helping the left it can shift, but now I use it becausd i feel it comfy, not very sure about its effectiveness related to turn and shift
10:38 situations
6:35 down
7:20 mid
10:05 up 11:10
Nobody seems to reverse park.
1) Having your steer tires at the rear allows for more adjustment.
No goofy back and forth because you didn't pull in at the perfect angle.
2) No blind spot when exiting the space.
3) You're going to have to reverse eventually, might as well get it over with and enjoy a quick and easy departure.
Also nobody seems to be able to use their side mirrors.
The arm over the chair spin around was bad enough but now these yoyos just keep their eyes glued on the stupid camera.
I got my straight truck license with only side mirrors. 😮
another point, if your hands are at 10 and 3 they’re also perpendicular to the wheels. helps to tell you where exactly the wheels are pointing around corners and what not.
9 & 3 also gives you the most steering range in case of emergency, without moving your hands. About +/- 200 degrees, as you can use your thumbs to get these last 20 extra degrees.