What is understeer?

Understeer is the phenomenon that occurs when the driver turns the steering wheel of a vehicle, but the vehicle doesn’t turn. Typically, understeer happens because of weather/environmental conditions or excess speed. Instead of turning, the vehicle continues in a straight line, which, for obvious reasons, can be dangerous.

If you’re driving any of these incredibly fast McLaren models, you’d better be careful of understeer.

When does understeer occur?

Understeer typically occurs when the driver takes a corner too fast or in bad weather/conditions. For example, snow, ice or heavy rain, when coupled with a lack of appropriate caution, can all cause understeer.

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Why does understeer occur?

Understeer occurs because the vehicle’s tires run out of traction during a turn, causing them to glide on the pavement rather than turn the vehicle.

Can all-wheel drive vehicles experience understeer?

Understeer is more common in front-wheel drive vehicles, but it can also occur in models with rear-wheel and all-wheel drive.

What is oversteer?

There’s also a phenomenon called oversteer, which is the opposite of understeer and used for drifting. However, we won’t get into that here.