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The Steering Wheel
This connects to the front wheels and
controls your direction by changing the angle of the front
wheels when you turn it. This angle is known as the “lock”, but
don’t get that confused with the locking mechanism on the wheel
when the ignition key is taken out as part of the car’s
security.
The more you turn the wheel, the more
sharply the car turns when it’s in motion. When turning the
wheel, use the “push-pull” technique whenever you can,
especially with sharp corners. The trick to being able to do
this is keep both of your thumbs on the top edge of the wheel so
that your thumbnails are facing you. That way, you don’t get
them caught in the spokes of the wheel and you don’t have to
lift either hand as you turn because this slows the steering
down. Remember also that with sharper corners, you’ll find it
easier if you begin steering by reaching up and pulling the
wheel down from the top.
Where you might get confused:
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Does the wheel being straight mean that the car is
straight?
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If the steering wheel looks straight, is that enough?
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Do the back wheels turn when you reverse?
The reality:
When the wheels are straight, this means
that the car will keep going in whichever direction it’s facing.
Whereas, when the car is straight, that is to do with how the
body of the car relates to its surroundings, so it’s really
important to look as far as you can. This gives you a much
better point of reference to allow you to keep the car straight
– your eyes do the steering!
This also applies when you turn a corner.
Once it's safe to turn, look as far as you can into where you
want the car to be and you can then feel as well as see
if the steering lock you have is enough to do the job. Look at
what you want to hit. Sound strange? If there are
obstructions around, just think about hitting the empty
space.
There’s more to having the wheel straight
than just how it looks. In most cars, from full left lock to
full right lock, the wheel can go around 3-4 times. So it’s
really a combination of the wheel looking straight and how the
car moves. That’s part of the reason that you need to avoid “dry
steering”. (Turning the wheel without the car moving.)
Even if you are reversing, it’s
always the front wheels that control your direction, but you
need to steer the way you want the back of the car
to go. Because of
this, the car will take a little longer to respond to the
steering when you reverse, but it will respond, so you just need to be patient and
keep the car slow.
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