wheels. Consequently, with the car unladen, 60%
of
the
weight is on the
front
wheels and 40% on the rear wheels.
This weight
distribution
results in a
slight
tendency
for
the automobile when under
power
to understeer, i.e.,
for
the
front
wheels
to
begin sliding before the rear wheels.
However, should the rear wheels skid
as
a result
of
ex-
cessive
or
violent steering wheel movement, this understeer
makes it easy to check the skid and return the
vehicle
to
its correct direction.
Light Feet & Hands
All speed changes must be made carefully
during
slip-
pery conditions. A heavy
foot
on the throttle can be
just
as
risky
as
too
heavy a
foot
on the brake pedal. In
slip-
pery conditions all pedal and steering movements must be
made
especially smooth and with more than the usual
care. Try to keep maximum friction between the tires
and the road surface.
Driving Position
It is important
to
sit
not
just comfortably,
but
als6 se-
curely, behind the steering wheel so that when cornering
you do not have to hang onto the
wheel for support. With
the range
of
seat adjustment in Saabs it is
normally
pos-
sible to get into a good position. Placing
your
hands at
the
"
10
o'clock" and "2 o'clock" positions on the steering
wheel should allow large wheel movements wi
thout
changing
your
grip
on
the wheel. Of course, the seat
belt - shoulder harness should be worn, and it should fit
firmly
across the body so that you need not hang
onto
the steering wheel
during
cornering. Hands must be free
for the important business
of
steering. Secure restrai
nt
s
also free
your
feet from having
to
hold
your
body
in the
seat
during
braking. Check also that all important
con-
trols can
be
reached with the belt on - even the hand brake.
Rear End Skid
But what
if
the car is in fact
skidding
-
what
then?
A
natural reaction is to
put
a foot
quickly
on
the
brake
pedal. Avoid it, instead use just enough
throttle
so that
the
front
wheels are neither accelerating
or
decelerating
the car and at the same time steer in the same direction
as
the rear end is sliding. If the rear end swings
to
the
right, steer to the right;
if
the rear end swings
to
the left,
steer to the left. This should
br
ing the rear wheels back
into
line with the front. Gently, the car can
now
be steer-
ed and
accelerated in the correct direction.
The
essen-
tial
point
is
to
first cure the skid before renewing the
attempt to get the car through the curve. Do not swing the
steering
wheel too hard
or
another skid will result.
A rear wheel skid will tend to result
in
the car spiraling
inward on a curve.
Front End Skidding
This condition can
be
more di
fficult
to
correct
as
the
car
is
not
now
obeying the steering wheel and
tending
to
slide outwards on a curve.
To
correct this
the
driver
must avoid the
natural reaction
of
turning even
more
inward
as
this will simply increase the skidding. It
is
necessary
to
release the clutch
or
ease up on the throttle so that the
front
wheels devote all their traction toward recovering
their sideward
grip
on the road. At the same time,
try
to
momentarily turn the wheels in the direction
of
the skid.
In this way a new
gr
ip on the road can
be
found. At this
point the
front
wheels can once more
be
turned in the
dir-
ection
of
the curve. Again, the essential
point
is
to
first
cure the skid before renewing the attempt to
get
the car
through the curve.
To cure a skid can sound quite
simple -- but can be very
diff
icult in practice. The best way is
to
avoid situations
which can cause ski
dding
. Be governed
by
common
sense
and
should a skid
occur
- remain calm and
follow
the
guidelines given in this manual.
11
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