Usage in Drifting
Whereas pulling the handbrake is the easiest way to start a drift, it's rarely used in racing, because it causes significant loss of speed at the exit of the corner. Racers use handbrake turning only to negotiate tight 180 degrees bends that would otherwise require a three-point maneuver to go through.
In UK and Europe, many cars are front wheel drive. For rallying, cars are often fitted with a "hydraulic handbrake", in this case, a secondary master cylinder is connected to only the rear brakes. By using a hydraulic, rather than the conventional cable handbrake, the rear brakes can be locked up instantaneously and repeatedly. Many rally drivers will use the handbrake to correct the inherent understeer in a front wheel drive car, while maintaining full forward speed. This as opposed, to "lift off oversteer", induced to the chassis through lifting the throttle pedal sharply mid corner to encourage weight transfer, at the cost of exit speed from a corner.
Read more about this topic: Handbrake Turn
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