The Scandinavian Flick / Pendulum Turn

[409industries]

The Scandinavian flick, or Pendulum turn, is a technique used in rallying. The technique involves the driver brielfly turning the opposite way to the corner ahead, for example: if the driver is approaching a left hand corner they would turn right; then turn into the corner. This technique is used to help the driver get round corners that had an increasing radius, but it is also used a show off as the result of the flick involves the car oversteering heavily.

Tiff Needell and Pentti Airikkala show us how its done:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6013003826511155604&q=galant+rally

Elliott doing a damn good job at it too! http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~esherwoo/Chicane.mpg

Discuss.

[Rallycat66]

Rauno Aaltonen from "The Rally Master"... 4.8MB, but worth it.


http://webpages.charter.net/carsoft/Pendulum.wmv

RWD car, but the technique is basically the same in AWD. Plus, Plymouth Fire Arrow action footage near the end of the clip! :)

They don't mention it in the discussion on the video, but you can hear it, the throttle blip to stop the rotation and snap the car back into the corner is key for an AWD. Note how Aaltonen (Car #1) gets it right. His team mate (Car #5) doesn't and the car understeers into the corner and he ends up going over the outside embankment.

So the sequence (for an AWD using left foot braking) basically becomes...

Enter the corner on the inside edge of the road
Lift
Turn away from corner
Brake (left foot)
Turn Back
Release Brake
Throttle Blip (timing is critical on this blip)
Brake (left foot)
Counter steer
Release Brake
Accelerate

(try regurgitating that string while demonstrating the technique :lol:)

Get it right and you rocket out of the corner up the inside. Get it wrong and you usually end up going off on the outside.

In a FWD, you use a lot of brake and counter with about 1/2 throttle to keep from locking up the front wheels. With AWD, less brake and less throttle (maybe 1/4 throttle). In a RWD, complete lift off the throttle and little if any brakes.

Practice in a VERY safe place with lots of run off. Getting this wrong WILL put you off the road.

Tim

[Rallycat66]

And for what it's worth - Pendulums are not the fast way around a corner. It's spectacular to watch and is useful if the car is going to understeer on you (i.e. tight low speed corners), but usually trail braking is faster and more effective.

Tim

[Storz]

For me it seems I cant get the initial turn to have enough umphh to get the car to cut back to the other direction. Thanks for the tips and video :D

[Rallycat66]

For me it seems I cant get the initial turn to have enough umphh to get the car to cut back to the other direction. Thanks for the tips and video :D

You might need to be more aggressive coming into the corner. Without the momentum, the first flick scrubs off all the speed and there's nothing left to swing the car back with.

I have a hard time getting a good pendulum in an AWD if I don't have enough momentum when I initiate the turn. Always drives me nuts when demontrating this up at O'Neil's because I don't get enough seat time in the Audi's to do it right every time at "low" speed (the Audi's demand perfect technique and timing or you look like a fool :roll: ).

Now coming tearing into a corner in the Arrow in third? Works perfectly every time! :twisted:

Tim

[Storz]

I've been doing quite a bit of studying up this technique lately and I think that is exactly my problem...not coming into the corner aggressively enough. I am going to try it again this weekend and see how it goes. Thanks again for your advice :)

[Drew84]

And for what it's worth - Pendulums are not the fast way around a corner. It's spectacular to watch and is useful if the car is going to understeer on you (i.e. tight low speed corners), but usually trail braking is faster and more effective.

Tim

But they'ry so much fun! My sig pic is a pendulum gone wrong. I came in really fast, turned to far oppsite corner and nearly got stuck in the mud. It did however make for an awsome pic. Actully in the movie "Cars" Doc Hudson teaches Lightning McQueen to go right to turn left. I thought that was a cool part.

[UP2MTNS]

I've been doing quite a bit of studying up this technique lately and I think that is exactly my problem...not coming into the corner aggressively enough. I am going to try it again this weekend and see how it goes. Thanks again for your advice :)

speed isn't the issue. you have to break the rear tires loose to get the car to swing around. In an AWD car, that's the 'throttle blip'.

If you're going slower, you just need to blip the throttle more, and the rear end will slide right around. You can practice this in a small area on the dirt....go slow, turn the car left....then right....as soon as the momentum turns right....gun it. your car will whip around while only going 8mph.

The trouble I have is getting off the throttle and LFBing during the last 3rd of the turn. The timing is tricky. If you stay on it (and its easy to do that cause its so much damned fun) it will swing you way wide. you need to let up on the throttle (let up...not let off) and hit the LFB to allow all 4 tires to re-grip and get the car going straight again.....this essentially pulls you in and kills your sideways momentum.



And for what it's worth - Pendulums are not the fast way around a corner. It's spectacular to watch and is useful if the car is going to understeer on you (i.e. tight low speed corners), but usually trail braking is faster and more effective.

I'm not as familiar with trail breaking, and this is probably true on a track, but on the dirt, any car is always going to understeer on you. ESPECIALLY on fast corners. The scandinavian flick is designed to slow you down as quickly as possible on dirt/snow while still turning your car in control.

Maybe the average mph isn't the fastest around the corner, but because you can get back on the gas so quickly, you carrry a lot of speed out of that corner and into the next straigtaway or whatever.

[UP2MTNS]

btw....the best part of that first video Aaron posted is the sound of the PPG gears in that mitsu. damned, I want some!!!!



EDIT: at time 4:40 you see exactly what happens if, after you 'blip' the throttle, you stay on it....the back end stays loose and you just keeeeeep onnnnnnn turrrrrninggggg........awesome.

[I Like It Sideways]

Scandinavian flick...performed by the Saab Performance Driving Team. They have this technique nailed down. And for being a FWD car... dang they nail it.
The video isn't about the flick...I just noticed they utilized that technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZCvQhY4Kdk

Speaking of their performance driving team...anyone ever see their video from the 1980's, back in the days of the Saab 9000? All white... Amazing video

[Shelby Ryan]

Rauno Aaltonen from "The Rally Master"... 4.8MB, but worth it.


http://webpages.charter.net/carsoft/Pendulum.wmv

RWD car, but the technique is basically the same in AWD. Plus, Plymouth Fire Arrow action footage near the end of the clip! :)

They don't mention it in the discussion on the video, but you can hear it, the throttle blip to stop the rotation and snap the car back into the corner is key for an AWD. Note how Aaltonen (Car #1) gets it right. His team mate (Car #5) doesn't and the car understeers into the corner and he ends up going over the outside embankment.

So the sequence (for an AWD using left foot braking) basically becomes...

Enter the corner on the inside edge of the road
Lift
Turn away from corner
Brake (left foot)
Turn Back
Release Brake
Throttle Blip (timing is critical on this blip)
Brake (left foot)
Counter steer
Release Brake
Accelerate

(try regurgitating that string while demonstrating the technique :lol:)

Get it right and you rocket out of the corner up the inside. Get it wrong and you usually end up going off on the outside.

In a FWD, you use a lot of brake and counter with about 1/2 throttle to keep from locking up the front wheels. With AWD, less brake and less throttle (maybe 1/4 throttle). In a RWD, complete lift off the throttle and little if any brakes.

Practice in a VERY safe place with lots of run off. Getting this wrong WILL put you off the road.

Tim

This video is great...excellent post! Where/what year was that?

[Rallycat66]

This video is great...excellent post! Where/what year was that?

If I remember correctly, that was 1982 at the Lobster Rally (Canada). The film crew was there to film Aaltonen's tromping of the competition - until Buffum showed up with his new toy and blew them away. :twisted:

[BlueREX04]

I am still trying to get that down but then again trying to do rally moves on pavement is like trying to .. well you get the idea...:-)

[dome24]

I never really thought that much about this move, i just played with it til it worked properly, then its just about adding speed and hitting it harder. Ive grown up driving on snow and ice and controling the slide is one of the first things i was tought. Now that there is all this theory and directions im probably not even gonna be able to pull it off as well :shootsself: The ebrake is another way to kick the slide into action at first, then i moved up to left foot braking I can't wait till the roads freeze here in about another month hopefully.
as im reading this thread on tv they were having some football bfgoodrich bit and an STi pulled the drift/flick move too "kick" a football off the tee :lol:

[noisycricket]

.

[SoCalBoomer]

Just be wary of what you're trying the flick IN. . . :lol:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LcRAPQW4ZW8

Richard Hammond trying it in a Suzuki mini-van!

[rollo]

LOL yeah, the van episode, they had to find a way to stop the Hamster from running away with it :D

Notice how he tips it onto the passenger side - my brother was driving a similar van a few years ago, when the front right suspension collapsed - it also fell over, but onto the driver's side... chunks of window glass still surface in his arm occasionally...

[RS22b]

thats hilarious!