3 things you don't understand about steering

In this informative video, I uncover three essential aspects of steering that often go unnoticed. If you're a beginner or simply curious about the art of steering, this video is a must-watch! Join me as I demystify the secrets behind effective steering techniques and empower you with valuable knowledge to enhance your driving skills.

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00:00 Intro
02:13 Two-way communication
05:10 Hand position
11:38 Throttle

[jackvaughan]

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 ;)

[JulianKapa]

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.

[mesco]

My classic mini steering with 280mm wheel is so sensitive you can literally feel a coin lying on tarmac. Keeps things exciting . Great video

[PureLeeful]

9 & 3 is the proper position. Works best and makes sense.

[anngelsinner]

I saw your learn how to drive fast video. And instantly subbed good video very Informative.

[TheRyansLion]

I now realize that subconsciously I change my hand positions for the situations you just explained.

[tobiasmud]

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.

[yomamacrib]

I find keeping my hands at 9 and 5 o clock is the most comfortable position

[rotorblade]

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.

[nuggystan]

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

[tommynobaka]

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

[kiefershanks]

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.

[HdhdhdhfBdndjnfjc]

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

[ellispiper]

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

[sergman]

Its great when i see people putting in words what i can't explain about cars and why i love them

[KvltKommando]

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

[hummir]

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.

[scraverX]

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.

[BobsYerUncle_GT]

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!

[sergeant_dornan_]

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.