"Driving by the seat of your pants" means sensing the slight changes in cornering, braking, and acceleration forces that signal that one or more tyres are about to slide. You can sense these change literally in your seat, but you can also feel changes in steering resistance and in the sounds the tyres make. Generally, tyres 'squeak' when they are nearing the limit, 'squeal' at the limit, and 'squall' over the limit. I find tyre sounds very informative and always listen to them while driving.

So, to keep your tyres stuck to the ground, be aware that accelerating gives the front tyres less stiction and the rear tyres more, that braking gives the front tyre more stiction and the rear tyres less, and that cornering gives the inside tyres less stiction and the outside tyres more. These facts are due to the combination of weight transfer and the grip phenomenon. Finally, drive smoothly, that is, translate your awareness into gentle control inputs that always keep appropriate tyres stuck at the right times. This is the essential knowledge required for car control, and, of course, is much easier said than done. Later articles will use the knowledge we have accumulated so far to explain understeer, oversteer, and chassis set-up.