Not trying to drift sasquatch, it was a question because I've been put in situations where it was necc to make a quick u-turn and being that our turning radius' SUCK it got a bit dangerous for me to make a normal 3-point turn, hence the question. I'm not a newbie by any means so please keep your unproductive comments to yourself.

 

Clutch in before you get the engine brake decel. The rest...yup

Try it in a parking lot, dirt road, snow, someplace safe, in a 'controlled' environment and away from society.

 

^^ Of course, safety first, thanks for your input, it's appreciated!

 

Get navigation unit. So you don't pass up your destination.

 

LOL good one Mike!

 

put it in gravel mode which puts more power down because the diff is almost completely locked

 

Not completely true... I got to study the new Motec unit which gives a glimpse into how the stock pump system works. I won't go into it, but it won't change it as much as it seems. Keep it in tarmac mode. The handbrake will open the center whenever the switch it flipped and then from there its pretty much all power down to a point. In fact, if I remember correctly, the gravel mode will open up at a low speed to allow some response on tight turn in.

 

If you want to do a handbrake turn, it is essential you apply the H-brake before turning the wheel. The reason this is done is that you need to have the rear tires locked. If the brake does not lock the rear tires, and you turn the wheel, the car will just turn, and may hit something on the side of the road.

Or you can:
Stop-back up-slow down- crank the wheel all the way as fast as you can. Stop, drive away. The car will turn tighter in reverse than going forward.

BTW, I too have a Datsun 510

 

haha 510s are addictive little things aren't they!?
...
Anyway, I disagree about the handbrake idea. The turn may be delayed if you handbrake first, v. if you turn first, get some weight going, then shock the rear wheels with lack of traction, then you might get a sharper turn. This is just my experience, I have no physics to back it up.

How you like that 510?! I've had a couple, you can see photos of both at my flickr account here

 

Can the Evo parking brake lock the rear wheels? If it won't, the car will not rotate. Many newer cars have ineffective parking brakes. I'm not sure if this is because with rear disc brakes the brake does not self energize like a drum, or if the manufacturers are afraid of someone grabbing the brake handle and spinning the car.

I never have a problem getting the car to rotate, but I do get a lot of practice since I teach evasive driving for a living.

My 510 is retired, but still has the Summit Point ITC lap record.