View Poll Results: Which steering technique do you prefer?
Hand over hand
38
40.43%
Shuffle
42
44.68%
Other (please elaborate)
8
8.51%
I don't steer, I dorifto my turbo into the curbo.
6
6.38%
Voters: 94. You may not vote on this poll
Poll: Shuffle, or hand-over-hand?
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 321
Likes: 0
From: Raleigh, NC
I autocrossed for many years, now club race in SCCA, and instruct for several marque clubs' driving schools. Each club seems to have their own preference re: shuffle vs. 9:00 and 3:00.
Here's my take - for autocross, I think shuffle steering does help you be smoother, therefore faster - especially on a tight, technical course. On the track, however, I prefer the 9 & 3 technique, not letting go of the wheel. The reason is that with experience, your brain gets tuned to your car, and how much steering input results in how much front wheel steering angle. It's very rare on a road course, even in a street car with a relatively low steering ratio, to get your arms crossed much, even if you don't let go the wheel from the 9 and 3 positions, so you really don't need to choose between hand over hand vs. shuffle steering. If you cross the limits of adhesion, however, and get into more than a controlled drift, and have to react quickly, if you never let go from the 9 and 3 positions, your brain will react correctly to get you out of trouble - whereas if your hands are in some other position as a result of shuffling or hand-over-handing, it's a dicier situation - you have to think through it, rather than react - and sometimes you don't have that much time.
Now to be honest, I think it's fair to say that the "don't let go the wheel" technique is a carryover from formula cars which have a steering ratio such that the wheel only turns 180 degrees. I've ridden with good and poor drivers and their skill level was not related to whether they shuffled or not - more related to which club system they came up in. And since the clubs don't agree, I think it's reasonable to assume that any difference is fairly small. Just like those who still insist that you should double-clutch downshift a production car with synchros.
Here's my take - for autocross, I think shuffle steering does help you be smoother, therefore faster - especially on a tight, technical course. On the track, however, I prefer the 9 & 3 technique, not letting go of the wheel. The reason is that with experience, your brain gets tuned to your car, and how much steering input results in how much front wheel steering angle. It's very rare on a road course, even in a street car with a relatively low steering ratio, to get your arms crossed much, even if you don't let go the wheel from the 9 and 3 positions, so you really don't need to choose between hand over hand vs. shuffle steering. If you cross the limits of adhesion, however, and get into more than a controlled drift, and have to react quickly, if you never let go from the 9 and 3 positions, your brain will react correctly to get you out of trouble - whereas if your hands are in some other position as a result of shuffling or hand-over-handing, it's a dicier situation - you have to think through it, rather than react - and sometimes you don't have that much time.
Now to be honest, I think it's fair to say that the "don't let go the wheel" technique is a carryover from formula cars which have a steering ratio such that the wheel only turns 180 degrees. I've ridden with good and poor drivers and their skill level was not related to whether they shuffled or not - more related to which club system they came up in. And since the clubs don't agree, I think it's reasonable to assume that any difference is fairly small. Just like those who still insist that you should double-clutch downshift a production car with synchros.
