What to do when spinning out on a roundabout?

Had this happen to me recently - roundabout by GMIT in Galway (right near the diesel only garage). Was just about to take my exit, steered left and the car just kept going straight. Then the back of the car slid out like mad. I got a big smell of petrol/diesel in the car. So I pulled over at the next road thinking i had a leak. But it turned out it was just a leak on the roundabout - super dangerous imo.

Pretty scary for a new driver too!

Front wheel drive: steer into the sky's but do not lift off accelerator but don't accelerate harder.

Rear wheel drive: steer into the skid and lift off accelerator to stop the rear wheels driving the car further into the skid.

All wheel drive: steer into the skid and lift off slightly but try and control the skid with the accelerator.

My car is AWD and I hit oil on a roundabout a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure what was happening at first but when I felt the rear of the car stepping out I steered into it and feathered the accelerator and managed to control it.

b318isp wrote: »

This may be partly true for power induced oversteer, but for all other instances it would pretty much guarantee a spin.

I'll take your word for that as I have only ever spun a RWD car in anger and so was trying to get the back end out.

Dutchie wrote: »

In my expert opinion always apply full lock and full power...

Outstanding. From the file labeled "Keep the shoe in, hi!!" :pac:

Expertly written post, H3llR4iser. I found myself in a similar, but luckier situation on a roundabout, on which I was aiming for the third exit. Laguna with a dead beam rear axle. Whatever was on that roundabout, it simply would not come back for me. First thing I felt, as you say was that strange feeling in my arse and up my spine. Speed and angle were nice and low so acellerator was about half held. Oddly enough the first thing i remember focusing on was the second exit as it was close enough to me to make it without either spinning out or going off. I looked looked like some pratt to the lad who was rolling up to the second exit. I can still see his stare of derison

Incidentally, in wet weather It always felt... on tge edge, like you were about to lose it any second, on any bend, regardless of how safely you were driving, but all joints were tight. After a week, (I'd only bought it) It turned out the rear tyres were about 7 years old, despite a lack of perishing and reasonable thread dept. New rubber made an unholy difference.

H3llR4iser wrote: »

Or even worse, triggering the pendulum effect: you slide, countersteer, apply a lot of power, rear wheels grip for a split second stopping the slide then slip again due to too much power and send you spinning the opposite direction.

Just on a point of detail, the pendulum effect is difficult to predict.

It may be that a change in power causes a weight transfer, or a change in steering causes a change in roll angle, or even a change in road surface causes a sudden return grip to the spinning wheel.

Opposite lock also has to wound off progressively as the car straightens out as it will destabilise the car again as the pendulum effect swings the other way.

Here's a very old video of me getting a fishtail as I came off the gas a bit too much (note, LSD fitted):