Handbrake turns

[Huw Powell]

> One of the things I loved about my old 1986 100 Quattro Avant (normally
> aspirated) was hurling it round a private field and performing massive
> power slides with all the seats filled with excited passengers - including
> the 2 rear facing seats in the boot. Liberal use of the handbrake helped
> with the unsettling of the car to get the slide started.

Funny how I can throw the rear out in low traction situations with my
FWD coupe.  I think it's all in when you brake, steer and give it gas.
Anyway...

> Now I have a 1989 200 Quattro Avant Turbo which has a Torsen centre diff.
> Does this mean that I cannot perform handbrake turns anymore?

Um, no, now you have a turbo.  You can throw the rear out by getting a
tiny bit into a decreasing curve then flooring it.  On dry pavement,
with any luck.

As far as the general question, last winter I, um, experimented a bit in
a nearby parking lot with my 90Q each time it snowed, and many times
leaving my own parking lot, turning onto the highway, etc.... um,
anyway, I found it took a great deal of learning, switching from the
fwd.  But it was no problem to get it do some seriously silly, uh,
"stuff".  No handbrakes necessary.  just get it turning a bit and floor
it.  it does some weird things, but once it is sliding around you can
get it to do almost anything you want, with practice.  The controlled
sliding turn onto a road followed by a precisely controlled series of
fishtails is the best one, I think...

it got a lot harder to do this once I put the hakka on, but where there
is a will, there's a way, right?

--
Huw Powell

http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi

http://www.humanthoughts.org/