Oversteer and Understeer: Tips and Tricks from Hyundai Driving Experience

Hyundai IONIQ 5 N cornering on a racetrack

Vehicle understeer and oversteer are critical driving conditions in which the driver's ability and responsiveness are crucial. When cornering, centrifugal forces and other factors can cause the vehicle to no longer follow the intended course of the bend – and instead understeer or oversteer. As the driver, it is then up to you to stabilise your car again by intervening skilfully.

But what is over and understeer, and how can you recognise it? How do you best react to defuse these situations?

Hyundai Driving Experience has compiled answers to these questions for you. With these tips and tricks, you will be prepared to bring your vehicle back under control in the event of understeer and oversteer.

Hyundai IONIQ 5 N approaching a corner on a racetrack

Understeer and Oversteer Definition: What Causes These Conditions?

When a vehicle understeers and oversteers, various forces occur due to the speed and steering behaviour, which influence the cornering behaviour. The legendary German rally driver Walter Röhrl summarised this in an entertaining way: 'If you see the tree you are driving into, you have understeer. If you only hear it, you have oversteer.'

As a long-time racing professional, he knows exactly what he's talking about. Both oversteer and understeer reduce cornering speed, cause deviation from the ideal racing line, and affect not only driving safety but also lap times.

Is Drifting Oversteer or Understeer?

Oversteer is when the rear of the vehicle swerves because the rear wheels lose grip. In drifting, this phenomenon is used deliberately to make cornering spectacular and to push the limits of physics. The multiple world rally champion Walter Röhrl also has a suitable explanation for this: 'Drifting is the art of keeping an unstable state stable.'

Oversteer can happen if you accelerate too much in the bend or take the bend at too high a speed. In most cases, other factors such as wet conditions, the road surface, the suspension settings, the vehicle’s weight distribution, and the rubber compound of the tyres also contribute to the extent to which your vehicle oversteers when cornering. In addition, vehicles with rear-wheel drive and a high load on the rear axle tend to oversteer more.

How to Correct Oversteer

Unless you are a professional drift driver, you should quickly bring a car in oversteer back under control. However, this correction requires a lot of practice and precise steering technique, because if you countersteer too much or react too late, the rear end can swerve out of control.

As soon as you realise your vehicle is in oversteer, take your foot off the accelerator and reduce your steering movement. Countersteer slightly, but avoid making abrupt movements with the steering wheel. If you notice the car is no longer turning, be ready to quickly steer back in the other direction to counter any pendulum effect.

Driver at the wheel of a Hyundai IONIQ 5 N

What Causes Understeer and How to Avoid It

A vehicle that understeers tends to drive straight ahead instead of following the course of the bend. The car enters the bend with less force than the driver intended with the steering movement. Understeer can happen when the front wheels lose grip due to excessive speed, hard acceleration, or braking while turning.

How to Control Understeer

You can reduce the understeer of your vehicle by taking your foot off the accelerator instead of accelerating further. This way, the weight is distributed evenly across both axles, so the front wheels regain more traction. You can prevent your car from understeer by not entering a bend too quickly and accelerating out of the bend at the right time. This ensures that the front wheels retain their grip and continue to follow the course of the bend.

Master Oversteer vs Understeer with Driver Training

Our driving experience will help you understand when a vehicle is in oversteer or understeer. Even better is targeted driving training allows you to test these scenarios safely. On public roads, you can’t push cornering limits without risking safety, so practising in a controlled environment is key.

The experience of bringing a car in oversteer or understeer back under control is definitely helpful. If, for example, you hit ice in winter or aquaplaning occurs in the rain, this also reduces the traction of your tyres. This can lead to understeer or oversteer when cornering, even at moderate speeds.

Confident Vehicle Control: How to Correct Oversteer and Understeer

During driving training with Hyundai Driving Experience, you get a feel for understeer and oversteer on special training tracks. You will learn to take your foot off the accelerator at the right moment and react calmly instead of steering too hard or hectically. The expert instructors demonstrate how to regain vehicle control after an instance of oversteer or understeer.

Hyundai Driving Experience gives you the chance to experience your car's behaviour of your vehicle in critical conditions. Under professional supervision, you can deliberately induce understeer or oversteer to learn how to respond effectively. It’s a fun and educational way to understand driving physics and improve your reaction skills.

Oversteer and Understeer with the IONIQ 5 N

The Hyundai IONIQ 5 N takes centre stage in our Driving Experience programmes, offering an ideal platform for mastering oversteer and understeer control. Its advanced all-wheel-drive system, featuring motors on both axles, allows drivers to precisely manage traction and weight transfer – key factors in handling these challenging driving situations.

During our drifting exercises, the IONIQ 5 N's impressive power output of up to 650 PS (with N Grin Boost) makes initiating and controlling oversteer a thrilling yet manageable experience.

For understeer scenarios, the car's balanced chassis and responsive steering offer clear feedback, helping drivers recognise and correct front-end grip loss. This setup makes the IONIQ 5 N a versatile powerhouse, excelling at teaching both oversteer and understeer control techniques.

In the Hyundai Driving Experience, the IONIQ 5 N provides an exciting yet safe environment to push your driving abilities to the next level.

Learn from the Pros

The more you know about driving dynamics and the behaviour of your car in different situations, the safer you will be as a driver – and not just when cornering. The Hyundai Driving Experience instructors will show you how to control your car confidently in a variety of challenging situations, for example, in wintery road conditions or when driving on the racetrack.

During driving training, you will learn how to react confidently and safely in any situation, for example, in unforeseen bends or sudden obstacles. Outside of the driving training, you’ll have the opportunity to socialise with the instructors and other participants in an exclusive hotel.

Tips and Tricks Put into Practice

The Hyundai Driving Experience instructors will train with you on special tracks such as the legendary Nordschleife and the Nürburgring GP circuit. The winter training takes place against a majestic mountain backdrop on the highest roads in Europe. Here, you will learn how to drive safely on snow-covered and icy roads.

Do you dream of driving on the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia or the famous race track in Monza? With a Hyundai N model and the Hyundai Driving Experience, you can gain unforgettable impressions in the footsteps of racing legends during the Track Experience.

Be More Confident in All Driving Situations

After your Hyundai Driving Experience driving training, you will be ready for almost any challenge. You can master extreme situations such as understeer or oversteer with confidence.

Your co-drivers will also thank you for this because, as Walter Röhrl knows from his own experience: 'Oversteer is when the co-driver is scared. Understeer is when I'm scared.'

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Quotes by Walter Röhrl

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