A drive-wheel acceleration skid is a type of skidding caused by improper acceleration technique, which can happen when accelerating with a manual transmission. The rear wheels break traction first, and then the front wheels follow suit. This results in less power being transferred to the ground, leading to slower acceleration times from a standing position. This can also lead to sliding into the side of your garage if you’re not careful. It’s easy to correct though!
If your rear wheels have lost traction and are spinning, ease your foot off the gas
- If your rear wheels have lost traction and are spinning, ease your foot off the gas. If you continue to accelerate, you will only cause more damage to your tires and the road surface.
- Don’t try to force the car into a skid. Instead, turn into the skid and let it slide out of control.
- To correct a rear-wheel drive skid, ease off the gas and steer in the direction of the skid. As soon as you regain control, straighten out and accelerate slowly through the turn.
Steer in the direction you want to go
- If your vehicle is skidding, steer in the direction you want to go. If you’re not sure which direction that is, look at the relative position of the skid marks on the road — the ones pointing in the direction you want to go are your clue.
- Don’t apply too much throttle. This will only make matters worse by increasing wheel spin and causing your car to oversteer.
- Step on the brake pedal firmly and smoothly. This will slow down one wheel (the rear if you’re turning left) while leaving another spinning freely (the front if you’re turning left). The result should be a straight line.
- If this doesn’t work, try gently easing off the accelerator and then reapplying it slowly until you regain traction under control.
If you can’t gain control by following these steps, ease off the gas and carefully steer toward the shoulder
There are a number of reasons why a vehicle might begin to skid. The most common is when the rear wheels lose traction with the road surface, causing the vehicle to spin out of control.
The first step in correcting a drive-wheel acceleration skid is to ease off the gas pedal and steer in the direction of the skid. If you can’t gain control by following these steps, ease off the gas and carefully steer toward the shoulder.
If you’re accelerating and your vehicle begins to skid out of control, ease off the gas pedal and steer in the direction of the skid. If you can’t regain control by following these steps, ease off the gas pedal and steer toward the shoulder or other safe location on your side of traffic.
For front-wheel skids, slow down and steer so that the front wheels follow the path of the rear wheels
- If your car is skidding, you should slow down and steer so that the front wheels follow the path of the rear wheels. If your car is skidding to one side, steer in the direction of the skid.
- If any wheel is sliding or spinning freely on snow or ice, it may be necessary to release the accelerator pedal and depress it slowly until driving power is restored.
- If you have locked wheels and cannot steer, apply your brakes gently as soon as possible.
What are the tire characteristics?
Drive-wheel acceleration skids are caused by a combination of factors. The first and most obvious is a tire that’s too small for the vehicle’s size and weight.
This can be caused by driving too aggressively with worn tires or simply installing the wrong size tire.
The second reason is one of those things you just don’t think about tire balance. If the tires on your car aren’t properly balanced, they’ll vibrate at certain speeds, causing a skid.
The last two reasons are related to how well your car’s suspension handles cornering forces and braking forces respectively. If your suspension isn’t up to snuff, it won’t be able to handle these forces without breaking down first, which will cause an acceleration skid.
What are the pavement characteristics?
There are several types of skids. These include:
- Drive-wheel acceleration skid – When an accelerating vehicle’s drive wheels lose traction and begin to spin, generating smoke. This is a common occurrence with front-wheel-drive vehicles.
- Drive-wheel deceleration skid – When a vehicle’s drive wheels lose traction while braking hard and start spinning.
- Traction loss due to ice or snow – When the tyres lose traction due to ice or snow.
The cause of a skid can be identified by examining the pavement characteristics.
These include:
- Road surface condition – The type of road surface (dirt, gravel, sand, etc.) affects how much grip it provides. For example, dirt roads provide less grip than asphalt ones due to their rough texture.
- Wet roads provide more grip than dry ones because water acts as an additional lubricant between the tyre and the road surface.
- Ice provides even more grip than wet pavement because it forms a bond with both surfaces as it freezes onto them; this is why you’re told not to drive on ice unless your car has chains fitted for traction purposes
Vehicle-based solutions
A vehicle-based solution is the most common means of correcting a drive-wheel acceleration skid. A tire-based solution is used less frequently but can be effective.
- Tire-Based Solutions: A tire-based solution involves applying pressure to one or more tires during a skid. This can be accomplished by:
- Bridging : Applying pressure to both wheels on one side of the vehicle, causing it to pivot around an imaginary fulcrum at that wheel. Bridging often causes the vehicle to rotate counterclockwise when viewed from above.
- Pumping: Applying pressure alternately to both wheels on one side of the vehicle, causing it to pivot around an imaginary fulcrum at that wheel (similar to bridging). Pumping often causes the vehicle to rotate clockwise when viewed from above.
Conclusion
If you are in a skid that occurs when accelerating and you have a rear drive wheel, like most of us do, then it is important to realize that everything is okay, in fact you could not have done anything to make it happen.