How to drive a KART with UNDERSTEER

How do you drive a kart that has understeer? Well as long as tire wear isn't a concern like with indoor karts, this is a good method for making the kart rotate better.
A lot of inexperienced drivers automatically steer more when the fronts start to wash out, but this actually makes the understeer worse since you're past the maximum slip angle of the tires.
To reduce the understeer, you actually have 2 options:
1. Reduce the steering angle when you reach the point of understeer (smooth, but likely slow)
2. Stab the rear brakes with simultaneous sharp steering input... like pulling the handbrake and initiating a drift. It takes some practice, but it's very effective in karts like this!
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[@CameronDasRacing]

The BEST entry-level HELMET… 1st helmet I owned! geni.us/besthelmet

[@HiHi-gi5sy]

What music do you use in your videos?

[@RoyBoyGamingYT]

Can I meet up and the track and race with you

[@JulianLara-zn1sx]

What go cart place do you go to

[@stanpol1921]

You can also move the seat a notch or two forward if it’s ‘super understeary’

[@franciscoovarela]

Sometimes that’s hard when you’re a tall guy tho

[@bigdawg77]

Fitting in go-karts is hard enough when you're tall

[@druginducedfeverdream1613]

That's why you lean away from the apex!!! If you're turning right, lean left, if you're turning left, lean right. It might be tempting to lean into the corners but you want the weight on the outside, as if you're trying to get the inside wheel in the air

[@-pyrosef-]

​​@@druginducedfeverdream1613 would you do that when there is too much friction on the ground and tires. Do you do the opposite when there is not enough friction? So the inside tire is getting more traction, know what I'm saying? Im finding it hard to express my thought lmao

[@raphdutra2941]

⁠@@-pyrosef-yes that’s exactly what you do

[@Youre_local_idiot_hear]

I liked doing it too much and getting oversteer. So much more fun to control the drift through a longer corner and as my older brother always said you attract more girls that way so it's an added bonus.

[@fahrezafseie7883]

i like it to when drift it feel good and the way he said using break and stering and how he show to do make me remember initial D legend 2 when takumi tape hand steer against civic.

[@marcofuenmayor3017]

@@fahrezafseie7883negawatt

[@Loza_1703]

It is actually very cool and fun to get a slight oversteer, not only you’d be doing a little bit of slip angle, but also not losing too much grip or using too much grip, yes it could make you faster but my main point is that it is way more fun to do slip angle than just conering like him and fighting understeer. Either way, opinions may vary, and i shared mine. I’d like to know your opinion too!

[@nativenugget]

​@@Loza_1703 i wish i could ride a gokart!

[@Lianpe98]

Normal girls don't really care about cars or driving, get a puppy if you want their attention.

[@ubidooby]

I noticed this recently while driving electric rental karts. Got a super understeery kart and couldn’t make the corners, but then figured out I could scrub the brakes and flick the wheel, and the back end would come right around. Then I got my best time of the night with that kart 😂

[@AndrewTSq]

The problem with any gokart is the rearaxle. That is where the understeer is (if there is no other problem with the kart). You have no rear differential so both tires rotate at the same speed, making the kart rearend want to go straight forward, and understeer thanks to this. When I raced in karts, to make the kart steer, you lean the wrong direction to lift the innerwheel in the corner, making only the outerwheel have traction, and therefor making the kart turn. Now you know how to be even faster next time, you turn left, you lean right. you turn right, you lean left. :)

[@jetstream.]

@@AndrewTSq omg, that's actually a genius idea!

[@AndrewTSq]

@@jetstream.well its a genious idea, but its not mine. this is how we always raced in karting.

[@Manu-Official]

That's pretty much Fernando Alonso type of oversteering into corners.

[@TheTSRush]

Definitely a tip/trick that takes a while to get a handle of. Im still learning. I like all the tips from you and other drivers.

[@Placeholder1-777]

I never have done indoor carting, but have mostly done outdoor small tracks. Used your techniques the other day and got me a fat W!

[@Churro_EYT]

Im so glad I grew up playing games like Gran Turismo and Forza. Legit noticed this my first time on the track but it felt natural

[@Abdul-wahaabKhalil]

Having understeer actually makes steering easier as you can control the steering more. Let's say you want to turn to the right but not to much that understeer will help you as you dont have to put the steering wheel at the right angle and the moment you want to turn even more just apply the brake and it will turn even more.

[@liubodimaka7272]

that's because understeer slows you down, especially in karting, where you mostly rely on maintaining momentum around corners

[@Abdul-wahaabKhalil]

@@liubodimaka7272 depends on the turn really. Understeer in some occasions means you keep your speed or even go faster around corners.

[@duckoronies]

I like to pump the brakes to break traction in the rear tires. It works especially well in cold weather.

[@crustydownunder]

Same thing I do on a dirt bike in some corners. Grab some front brake and twist on some throttle.

[@james.bob32]

THIS IS WHERE I GO AND ITS SOOO GOOD

[@Preston__]

Thanks for this tip! I went junior karting at autobahn and I had a lot of understeer, I used this trick and I got amazing laps in. Love these!❤

[@T3KFTW]

This kinda works in regular cars but differently because the brakes will add traction by shifting weight to the front wheels

[@soulreaper359]

Also works well for some sort of heavy cars u can literally push them around the corner but do t get to cocky :D

[@SIlverranger]

Weight transfer is always key to reducing understeer. Either use the brakes to shift the weight to the front or let off the gas. You could also try changing the position of the driver or you could try a little Scandinavian flick to pursuade the rear end to rotate.

[@jackaed]

Oh I've been to this track! Its in Farnborough. Was a good time, I went with my dad. Part of the TeamSport go kart tracks.

[@ninaferreira2887]

This is Farnborough not crawley

[@jackaed]

@@ninaferreira2887 oh shit yeah it is oops

[@MaxVerstappenGlazer]

I learned this recently and shifting the body weight to the outside of the kart adds more weight to one side and it can make the kart oversteer a bit

[@7jaymc]

How had no else said this!? Leaning to the outside of the corner is probably the best technique with these crappy rental carts

[@nevi5158]

I've played enough mario kart in 200cc to know that technique

[@paulhope3401]

Tipping point needs moved rearward which means the centre of mass needs moved forward. Sit or Lean further forward and also lean outside the direction of the turn, brake while you turn in and/or Scandinavian flick.

[@rylanmesa4556]

Thanks this helps out a lot

[@KillBillVaggeli13]

That's something i learnt while playing with a controller and FF cars when I was a kid. The brake pedal and gas pedals are also steering inputs!!

[@HardhitterHardhitter]

This technique of using breaking while in turn is usually referred as left foot breaking trail break or corner breaking mostly done in fwd cars

[@mad576wastaken]

Breaking news: "Man discovers drifting"

[@Jaymodtm]

I went go carting yesterday and i found this trick out really quickly

[@tristanchadderton6062]

I massively over work the fronts to get heat in them. The action of multiple bites of lock can give them chance to grip

[@Dino_24]

My man learned this trick on Gran Turismo

[@mxlta4221]

i like whoever edits these videos bc when the text shows up on the screen the color of the word changes on its significance

[@AkramENZO]

I am so happy that I do this instinctively .. Proud

[@krevo6c]

I never realized but thats what i do in my car as well. When i feel it starts to understeer i tap the breaks before corner entry so the weight is shifted forwards. Feels much better than.

[@erdngtn9942]

I keep seeing this explained this way but when you say “just right” the term is “lift off oversteer “

[@didothecat9941]

One of the best racing channels on yt. Please keep up the content and helpful advice. Maybe go back and film a couple of videos in Jessup so I can copy your line (:

[@ianconklinmusic]

I know this is different, but on ACC when I sim race and have understeer, sometimes switching down a gear to get a little more power in the wheels helps you to get out of it.

[@jacobwebb8818]

0:06 🤭 I heard that sneaky sound effect

[@mouaxiong8618]

Break steer shifting the weight forwards to brake traction of the rear tires. Sometimes drifting is good but sliding is bad. Dont unfersteer.

[@StackOfPancakes2216]

I've only driven rental karts before and so with every heat you get a different one basically, and one time i had one that was basically the 2014 Ferrari F1 car, it both oversteered and Understeered at the same time, it was actually insane.

[@cakeface03]

Fun fact about this, you can actually utilize this with a real car. I don't recommend going at high speeds with it on the first go, do low speeds first but it's primarily only useful with higher speeds on corners, but starting at low speed helps you learn the process without risking a crash. A quick tap on the brake right when you start turning the wheel, of course depending on your car it may need to be held down longer than a quick short tap, more like short pressing of the brakes. I am not responsible for any injury caused by someone trying this, you are at your own risk if you try to do this.

[@charliecg7v]

Could you do a short like this for particularly oversteery karts? I'm at the Clydebank TS and they changed the karts. I'm still not used to them and I'm 5 tenths off my best I know oversteery rental karts sound weird but trust me on this

[@0xf7c8]

Really oversteer? What surface and what engine?

[@charliecg7v]

@@0xf7c8 I'm not really sure what surface mostly concrete with an electric engine but these karts are like 6 years old and the tyres are worn so they do have some oversteer which is odd

[@thebased2969]

The most realistic sound to use when almost oversteering into a spin out everyone's heard that vilon in their head at some point lol😂

[@ElectronicSword]

Me: my fwd corolla has unlocked drifting.

[@mister.dogo12t6]

I race on a dirt track and this same truck works

[@iluminattipa]

This is valid mostly on indoor tracks because outdoor tracks' tarmac is hotter thus has more grip, what you can do is reduce steering for a second to regain grip and then steer again, the trick you show is hard to pull off because (on gas karts) you have very limited torque so you can just kill the kart losing a lot of time so you have to get just enough angle to break the understeer and still maintain power. On electic go karts like the ones i assume you are using you always have peak torque so you dont really have to worry about it that much.

[@minexyt4052]

I drove a kart that had problems with the steering, it went to the left, it had no power, I almost got stuck on the straights and I had oversteer and understeer problems that was difficult but I managed a 4th place

[@stinbray1120]

I just like top gears discription of oversteer and understreer

[@antggamingkartingcars4873]

Thanks for the tip! The karts where I go tend to be more understeer especially at this one corkscrew turn. Ima definitely use this!

[@PsychoHipHoptos]

that's weight shifting that helps

[@Gretri17]

You can also use left foot braking but thats a different story for another time

[@MrMikeT89]

Thanks man, I've karted a few times and noticed the understeer is atrocious. Will try this out

[@blep6173]

just the other day i was driving my fiero in the rain and i was taking a turn pretty quick, but was underseteering, and i thought this exact thing, but the back really wanted to slide. thankfully so did i

[@JeselynDeJesus]

Love your vids keep it up❤

[@monorailconrad117]

4wd technique at its finest. i remember my first time racing go karts i had to quickly think on my own to do it

[@megamiteexplosion]

Dang I wish I saw this earlier today 😂 on my first race I got a good kart but everyone on the grid was extremely new or just casual, I was only able to get one good lap in out of 14 because every single other lap had people spinning out and the controllers slowed everyone. The next race was 100% more experienced racers than me but I got the worst kart in the whole place. Tons of understeer and it completely killed my times, I got 1st in the first race but 5th in the next by almost a full second. Looking back I should have known what to do but I was just trying to perfect the same lines as before. At least I’ll know next time lol.

[@Officer_duh]

I have the habit of throttling around turns.

[@johnrogers2827]

Had a tire blowout while out gokarting. The only way i could make a right-hand corner with any speed was by jamming the brakes. Still came in second after all of that.

[@tristanpedey]

First time ever karting I got a concussion and whiplash..was lapping people in 2nd place behind a reaaally good racer and I was just following everything he did, he made a sharp left turn because there was a woman completely stopped and I nailed her going 35mph…

[@ApexKarting-f6b]

I've been at teamsport too but at Preston. HOPEFULLY NEXT TIME I GO I SEE YOU THERE!😅

[@Fergusiscool]

I love this track so much I go there all the time

[@recorepro]

I remember going go karting but i couldn't do this as the breaks were very sensitive and you would lose half your speed witb a slight tap

[@m1st4k3-09]

I’m so used to top heavy vehicles that I try not to turn sharp because I feel like I’m about to roll over 😂

[@Farmertadhg]

You shift the weight of it around the corner to make you faster

[@epsilonn193]

This is where I kart! 😂

[@G.G_karting]

Thanks that helps alot

[@BLUEMOON1894.]

Great tip thank you

[@Donnerwamp]

So basically force a loadtransfer to the front wheels, increase their grip momentarily to position the cart and simultaniously use the oversteer to counteract the tendency to understeer/steer the cart with the throttle?

[@JuanSanchez-zz3me]

I meddle with RC cars, and my favorite one understeers as the steering servo probbably has to be replaced. I didnt know this was a thing, about breakung for better steering, but thats what ive been doing with my rc to get better handling with the rc that can go 45-60mph+ depending on the battery

[@th3turb0lag]

I just shortly slam the brakes once in every corner to get it slide just super slightly. It helps for understeer, you need to brake less than normal aaaand it's a shit load fun 😂

[@lilderp4444]

I run into the problem of when I don’t over steer my laps times are much slower compared to when I have oversteer

[@HenryF1000]

What is ur Pb around Farnborough?

[@austinedwards3800]

mine is a 46.4

[@HenryF1000]

42.3s

[@maxplank3955]

40.2

[@MLyddall46]

40.3

[@urmum6678]

I don't go that often so mine isn't good I want to do gokarting more but mines 47s

[@crazylarryjr]

I used to piss off cart tracks doing this, they said it wore down the tires, i told them use softer compound tires on the front it wouldn't happen

[@jeansoto7099]

I thought everybody did that first time I drive a go cart that’s the exact thing I did

[@KendraBlackblade89]

This helps with FWD cars as well

[@BioFake1]

Eats the tyres on FWD though, not so bad no karts because of the light weight but on smth heavier it's going to burn rears very fast.

[@idkbeez31]

I do this in outdoor too

[@iamd3ad_ang3l10]

My favorite trick is forcing an oversteer when I get understeer on a very tight corner... Takes a bit of finessing to get it to work but if done right it's fun but I don't recommend it

[@MrtankiYT]

Hey bro I too am a real good karter and iv been on those exact track and karts with teamsport

[@BladWolfy]

I like a kart that can oversteer a little bit. My driving style is similar to the famous Michael Schumacher. A tad bit of oversteer and let the wheel dance

[@UShaikh69]

“Why shouldn’t I drift the cart round every corner possible??”

[@soggypizza404]

Yo bro! You should come check out octane raceway in Scottsdale arizona, we have the fastest electric karts I’ve ever raced in, and we have indoor - outdoor track!

[@toc1409]

The track in the opening bit was the same track in the video above this wtf

[@The.Magyar]

Best track in Surrey!

[@vickramos9234]

I’ve been doing this for a long except I do it because I want the kart to oversteer a lot 💀

[@kommandantgalileo]

To quote Richard Hammond: “You drive down the road and turn the wheel but the car goes straight on, crashes into a tree and you die. Oversteer works like this, you drive down the same bit of road, turn the wheel but the back of the car comes around and you go off the road, crash into a tree and you die. Now, oversteer is best, because you don't see the tree that kills you."

[@RHochreuter2]

I normally loosen up the top Two Seat belt straps so i Can more freely move my bodyweight forward

[@kabirs7912]

Did that yesterday but I had a lot of tricky hairpins and chicanes so I spun out once due to oversteer

Or steer progressively, instead of "120 degrees, now!"

[@ballsdeep6912]

I just floor it even harder until I get oversteer for more fun

[@SayanDayan]

Basically do drifts like mentioned in initial D

[@pauljason2518]

This is a good way to decrease understeer. But this is not a general method. If you drive a car that the front of it is too heavy and use this skill, I think it will enhance understeer. In this situation, maybe use trail braking can solve it.

[@Spidercat_official]

I do that in dirt racing a lot and its difficult bc its so easy to spin out

[@Steven_DunbarSL]

Lol I started subconsciously doing this on one of the turns on nurburgring in acc for the exact same reason that i felt oversteer in je corner and started experimenting.

[@MLyddall46]

Yeah what’s your Farnborough PB, is my local track

[@boystomen2023]

Sane

[@Shadow_Ender]

I had understeer once but had no brakes

[@gokartnoob]

Welcome to farnbourough!

[@jhinjuicyplays9419]

Handbrake and a curbstomp on the clutch works in a car.

[@bytosti]

Just scrub your front tires, it's easier to rotate the kart if you over turn your steeringwheel really fast just before the turn

[@LightningMccrocs1]

Thanks so much

[@Loey13.01]

“Power slide” and “Drift”

[@Re1ardedHoon]

Shift the weight to the front. I do the same thing in my mustang on the track.

[@themightymitsubishilancere8027]

Im a 11 yo kid that does karting and this guy is right

[@amazingaces4389]

Make the front heavier and increase wheel size

[@BobBob-et9io]

I did this once and got black flagged when I spun into a wall. Gonna tryout for the Haas F1 team