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Years before the Mother Jones article refered to it as a "death turn", I've been taking a hairpin turn off the interstate near home very fast. In fact, my tires are worn more on the sides because of that - even with 20,000 miles at 60psi.

Death turn has a negative connotation, but thought of a different name. I've done snowboarding and after looking at my tires concluded this is a lot like a snowboard turn. Sharp turns is how skiiers and snowboards stop in the snow and the side tread wear showed the breaking on my I35E access to Fox Ave turns.

This brings another obvious point: turns steal your momentium.

Hi Chuck:

___Been taking turns like that forever and the RE92’s, the Mich Energy’s and X-Terrains, Integrity’s, and Conti-TRAK’s are not showing any abnormal side wear. High pressure reduces side wear is almost a guarantee :)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

But scrubbing sideways *is* a certain amount of energy hit,
right? I mean, similar to snowboards, that's how you slow a
skateboard down, too -- lots of hard turning back and forth,
and you can hear the little wheels grinding partially sideways
and they get warmer.
.
_H*

given a choice, i take the outside edge of a curving ramp to lessen the scrubbing losses. i am assuming that the scrubbing losses are worse than the extra distance i have to travel versus running the inside line.

But scrubbing sideways *is* a certain amount of energy hit,
right?

of course, you are taking energy that you had going forward and converting it to sideways motion.

given a choice, i take the outside edge of a curving ramp to lessen the scrubbing losses. i am assuming that the scrubbing losses are worse than the extra distance i have to travel versus running the inside line.

I prefer to apex turns (and some highway on/off ramps when possible) this way I can take the turn at the highest speed possible and not have to accelerate as much after I exit the turn.

http://www.porschenet.com/images/stories/driver_education/figure-a.png Pic stolen from http://www.porschenet.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=57

I don't have any edge wear problems and I corner just about as quick as a base Prius on stock tires can manage. The thing about most cars, and particulary this one, is that they start to understeer and make you uncomfortable long before you are in danger of succumbing to the lateral g-forces. They do it on purpose so that the driver will sense danger and let off the gas, at which point weight shifts forward and sticks the front end back down while speed decreases. So what we consider "fast" is really the engineered limit of the car. The real danger IMO is taking a blind turn too fast and coming up behind something but I'm sure nobody here does that. Same goes for taking these turns on damp pavement: common sense applies.

Lately I've had a hankering to install the TRD suspension package. Way too expensive, sadly, but it would be nice to get back a little of the tightness that I gave up with the Accord and especially my old Eurosled.

Hi Hobbit:

___There is indeed some loss of energy but to be able to hold momentum via DWB far outpaces the energy losses. The second reason is to help the proctologists continue on their merry little way. As you exit a roadway onto another side street, moving quickly reduces the chances the proctologists have for using their brakes which kills two birds with one stone so to speak ;)

___ATL, yup, all the time :D

___Tim, great explanation about understeer before the limits of adhesion are breached. Not that you are interested or maybe you are but the 09 Prius-III just as the 08 Corolla will receive an independent rear end … and it is about **** time :)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Yeah. Good for them but idonwannahearaboudit. ;) Maybe in 8 years when I've put 150k on mine we'll talk.

"I prefer to apex turns" yeah, me too. but a 270 degree off ramp does not lend itself to playing race car. :(