does this actually work?

does this actually work?

Author
Discussion

r1ot

Original Poster:

733 posts

214 months

Sunday 4th February 2007
quotequote all
I found an old VHS with some of the BMW "mini" films. There was one with a driver taking madonna from one side of new york to the other in I think a 3 series. He flicks the car around a corner by spinning the wheel provoking oversteer and then lets go of the steering wheel and lets the car sort itself out. Would this actually work or is it just hollywood?

deevlash

10,442 posts

243 months

Sunday 4th February 2007
quotequote all
The wheels tend to revert to the straight ahead but its not guaranteed to work IIRC, theres a link to a video of a guy doing donuts in his mclaren F1 doing this. Its in the "Flemke" thread somewhere, sorry I havent linked it but Im off to bed.

GreenV8S

30,418 posts

290 months

Monday 5th February 2007
quotequote all
Drifters say yes, but I think it depends on the tyres and suspension setup - on my TVR the self-centering effect doesn't apply enough opposite lock fast enough to catch a slide unless I help it, but I can definitely feel the steering pulling in the right direction.

vonhosen

40,421 posts

223 months

Monday 5th February 2007
quotequote all
r1ot said:
I found an old VHS with some of the BMW "mini" films. There was one with a driver taking madonna from one side of new york to the other in I think a 3 series. He flicks the car around a corner by spinning the wheel provoking oversteer and then lets go of the steering wheel and lets the car sort itself out. Would this actually work or is it just hollywood?


The actor in "The Driver" series is Clive Owen & it's an M5 not a 3 series.

Edited by vonhosen on Monday 5th February 00:05

mckeann

2,986 posts

235 months

Monday 5th February 2007
quotequote all
It does work, but the problem is being able to get the steering lock back off quickly enough to avoid fishtailing.

willibetz

694 posts

228 months

Monday 5th February 2007
quotequote all
It does work, to different extents in different cars according to steering geometry.

The wheels don't revert to straight ahead, but to the position in which the tyres are asked to do least work. By happy coincidence (aka physics) this is the position necessary to correct the oversteer slide.

There are some important caveats:

- although it works, it does not mean that you'll stay on your chosen trajectory (eg. on the road).

- even though it works, that doesn't mean that it's good practice. When you see somebody release the wheel to correct a slide (pretty common on circuit days) it suggests that the driver trusts the car to correct a slide that they feel uncomfortable handling.

WilliBetz

fergus

6,430 posts

281 months

Monday 5th February 2007
quotequote all
it's a function of castor or kingpin inclination in older cars. Allan Staniforth's book on suspension design will tell all...

RB320

8 posts

212 months

Wednesday 7th February 2007
quotequote all

whatever

2,174 posts

276 months

Sunday 11th February 2007
quotequote all
RB320 said:

First time I've seen that vid. It's fairly obvious which was the actor and which was the pop singer-cum-wannabe actor...

Well shot, too.

whatever

2,174 posts

276 months

Monday 12th February 2007
quotequote all
whatever said:
Well shot, too.

Actually, on watching it again, the bits I thought were "well shot" appear more like CGI or other such jiggery-pokery.

The bits I'm thinking about are the parts where you get a shot of the car sliding (shot from in front, facing backwards, with clear road between) with the car stationary in frame. Actually, thinking about it a bit more, I suppose it could be done by filming a larger scene and then cropping to keep the car stationary. So maybe I think it's "well edited". Or something

vonhosen

40,421 posts

223 months

Monday 12th February 2007
quotequote all
whatever said:
whatever said:
Well shot, too.

Actually, on watching it again, the bits I thought were "well shot" appear more like CGI or other such jiggery-pokery.

The bits I'm thinking about are the parts where you get a shot of the car sliding (shot from in front, facing backwards, with clear road between) with the car stationary in frame. Actually, thinking about it a bit more, I suppose it could be done by filming a larger scene and then cropping to keep the car stationary. So maybe I think it's "well edited". Or something


All of the series have high production values. The Madonna one was directed by Guy Ritchie, another in the series by John Woo. Other stars appearing in the series include James Brown, Gary Oldman etc. The constant throughout is Clive Owen as "The Driver". Even the cars don't remain the same as he works his way through the range.



Edited by vonhosen on Monday 12th February 23:31