FWD, RWD, AWD, 4-WHEEL Drive, it makes no difference, any of these cars can be made to over-steer or under-steer, even in the same turn. When I was newly married long long long time ago, my wife confessed, in tears(not from something I had done, although I must admit I induced a tear or two over the years but from obnoxious drivers giving her the single-digit I.Q. sign, etc.) that she had been keeping a dark secret from me. She was absolutely petrified of driving in the snow, never ever going over 5 mph. I took her to a closed Department store parking lot that hadn’t been plowed yet, and proceeded for the next hour to show her that the demons of hell are indeed not released when going over 5 mph in the snow. We started slowly making a 20-30 ft radius turn trying to stay as close as possible to the original tracks, each time going just a tiny bit faster until control was lost. See, nothing happened except we spun around. Why? Well you didn’t keep an even throttle. When we were getting closer to the limit of adhesion and the car was starting to slide a little she panicked and let go of the gas. Even with the limited traction the front end had, the weight shift to the front also took weight off the rear tires and no matter how fast you counter-steered you couldn’t catch up. Let’s try it again and this time keep the throttle even and just use the steering wheel to keep the car going in the desired direction. Now she’s giggling and wants to try it again. Wow! That’s fun. The next day she said she actually drove 10 mph and felt safe doing so. Considering where we started from, I’ll take the 100% improvement in quantity and quality.
As an everyday example that anyone willing can try when traffic permits the following distractions, find a long constant radius turn on the interstate. With an even throttle, find the correct steering wheel angle that will get you around the whole curve, and from this steady state turn let up on the gas a little bit, I mean just a smidge and notice the car starting to drift to the inside of the turn. As it does so, before you drift into the lane next to you, return to even throttle and add just a little bit more than that and the car will start drifting slowly to the outside of the lane, all the while not moving the steering wheel. Yes you can steer the car in a corner to an extent just by playing with the throttle, whether you’re Aunt Millie or Uncle Mario(Andretti). When you turn it takes more power to maintain the same speed. As you turn the wheel for the curve you’ve already slowed a little. Adding a little gas to maintain the same speed you had before the turn makes for a better balanced car and then use the steering only to make the small correction necessary to maintain the turn. Sorry that this so long, but the best I can do given that there are books written on just these themes.
Sure enough…
Driver training from Maine State Police working as a police office 10 years
Military driving training Air Force as an ambulance driver. 9 years
5 years bus driver school dept.
Presently work part time as heavy equip operator
Presently in charge of road maintenance of road association mountain road
All of this in “snow country” in No. and Central Maine
Never had an accident, because good tires, a well prepared vehicle, driving experience and luck trump overconfidence every time.
Broke off a lot of chases and slowed as a cop because it “just isn’t worth it”.
I think it is a little like debating heat and cold. Scientifically, there is heat, and there is absence of heat. A refrigerator and an air conditioner don’t create cold, they pump heat out. However, try explaining that to somebody who feels cold coming into a house through a poorly insulated window.
I think the same can be said for centrifugal force. Many people perceive that there must be two forces, one pushing you outward, and one keeping you from moving outward in a straight line, when friction is what is really keeping you on your path. I know my Physics Professor thought centrifugal forces existed.
In the end, this is an arguement about semantics and how you choose to observe and explain the forces at work. Neither way of explaining the phenomena are wrong. They just treat the principles differently.
Now, let’s debate whether or not Pluto is a planet, shall we?