Word: fishtailed
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...instructor and co-pilot, Paul Mazzacane, looks as if he's about to blow a fuse. We're on a skid pad, a circular track slicked down with water, and I'm speeding around it so fast that the rear tires lose traction and the car goes into a fishtail. For most folks, this would be the time to let go of the wheel and pray (which is my instinct), but the idea here is to practice the spin so many times that you regain control of the vehicle--by steering in the direction of the skid, waiting...
...Fishtail...
...forward momentum generates a powerful sideways or cornering force at the front axle. The rear tires, however, have to wait until the car has actually started its turn before they begin to generate a corresponding force at the rear axle. That is why a car with two-wheel steering fishtails during lane changes, the back end is trying to catch up to the front. In extreme cases, or under slippery conditions, the rear of the car may fishtail out of control...
...same-side steering. When the rear wheels are turned at the same time and in the same direction as the front wheels, the back end turns with the front, and the cornering forces occur at both axles simultaneously. The car slides smoothly to the side without sway or fishtail...
...worst shape, suffering from a broken pelvis, internal bleeding and unbelievable pain. We were in a little draw, a canyon that served as a wind tunnel, and he, driving a pickup-trailer rig, was doing about 70 when the trailer was caught in a cross breeze and began to fishtail. After the trailer had totaled the side of one car coming at it, the whole rig rammed a camper, flipped and ejected the two riders. One had a few scratches. The other was on the ground...