what the hell is lift-throttle oversteer?
 

been reading up on the reviews of my frs. what is lift-throttle oversteer?
I think it came from a car and driver review.

When you lift, there is a weight transfer from the rear wheels onto the front wheels. That means more traction on the front, and less traction on the rear.

So if you lift while cornering, there is an increased tendency for the rear end to slide out. Hence "lift-throttle oversteer."

ok....so is this a positive or negative???
I would think its a negative.
Is it a big deal? what can fix it?

Depends on what you are trying to do. Sometimes it can help you get some rotation in a corner if needed, but usually it catches drivers out and makes them spin. You really have to be pushing the car to get it the lift-throttle oversteer, though, and the traction control has to be off.

Well, if you autoX or do track days, its definitely a positive. Swinging the rear end out is a quicker way to make a corner.

Toyota even equipped us skinny tires to make it easier to swing out the rear end.

That is what got some Porsche 911 owners a bad day. Old 911s are sensible on throttle lifting.

2nd gen MR2s are too!

Yep, conversely, if you're right on the edge of grip and take your foot off the gas - around you'll go.

S2000 also, you can "fix" it with griper tires, soft suspension in the rear
and sometimes less presure in the rear tires also aid

Learn something everyday. This day was noteworthy.

These front-engine cars are relatively immune.

It's really only likely to 'catch you out' in a mid/rear or rear-engine car.

And only then if you're really pushing it through a corner, as was mentioned.

Most of the mid/rear engine cars have around a 42/58 weight bias. Pretty far from 50/50.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lift-off_oversteer

Wrong...wrong...wrong. Maybe fun, but not a benefit in most situations. If your tires are sliding and therefore not gripping, in most cases you are losing time.

Like said you can change it with suspension tweaks but you are not really "fixing" anything as it isn't broken.
Now having said that it also isn't a problem for your average day to day driving but more of an occurrence when pushing the car to it's limits Again like said the guys tracking actually want it to some extent. I will sometimes do it on purpose when entering an on/off ramp when I am feeling playful!

Yeh lifting the throttle in an oversteer situation can be bad for RWD cars on the track.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsbk3vBMMow"]Autobahn - South Course - Trailing Throttle Oversteer - YouTube[/ame]