Oversteer

Oversteer is a handling condition where a vehicle's rear wheels lose traction before the front wheels, causing the car to turn more sharply than intended and the rear end to slide outward during cornering.

In everyday terms, oversteer makes a car feel "tail-happy" or like the back end wants to swing around. This can happen when entering a corner too quickly, applying too much power in a turn, braking hard while turning, or suddenly lifting off the throttle mid-corner. While it often feels scary to beginners, skilled drivers sometimes use controlled oversteer to navigate corners more quickly.

To correct oversteer, drivers must counter-steer (turn the wheel in the direction of the slide) and carefully adjust the throttle to help the rear tires regain grip. Oversteer is the fundamental principle behind drifting, where drivers intentionally induce and maintain this sliding condition.