I have studied and learned the correct way to drive Front engine/rear drive, Front engine/front drive and Rear engine/rear drive cars, but have not seen a description of the correct cornering techniques for 4wd cars.

I did read one thread that indicated some possible disasters if you do it wrong.

What is the scoop, or where is it available?

What??

You turn the wheel...

What exactly are you looking for?

The drivetrain in AWD Subarus is most closely related to RWD, but the suspension on almost all US-market cars is setup to be more likely to understeer, as a FWD car would.

Until you stiffen the lateral links between the suspension, it's the safest bet to treat it like a FWD car.

Other factors will play in to this, though. Worn tires (hope you won't have to worry about tires again for a while!!) can make the car act like RWD, where the rear tires could be more likely to step out during cornering.

In any case, if you find yourself in an emergency maneuver, correct as you would in any car (countersteer, don't punch the brakes, etc.) but as you have power to all four wheels, be ready to make a reverse correction when they all regain traction.

Thanks, that is just the sort of info I was looking for. Now to find a wet parking lot..... =)

I've found that my stock WRX behaves most like a FWD car which has good rear suspension. That is to say, it understeers going into a corner, but a wide sweeper or other high-power corner will cause it to oversteer on exit. Judicious use of the brake pedal, gas, and steering wheel (ie, trail-braking) will produce some nice throttle-oversteer in some situations upon entry, but the front-wheel bias in the AWD makes it behave like a FWD car with way more grip. Now, as soon as I replaced the rear sway bar with a stiffer version and tightened up the springs, I noticed a drastic change towards a more tail-happy personality. Now I can basically throttle-steer whenever I want. If you're powersliding or (god forbid) spinning out, though, remember that all four wheels pretty much need to be pointed straight ahead once they catch, otherwise you'll just spin the other direction. A good 15-degree slip angle is achievable fairly easily, though, with only slight suspension upgrades.