Traction

Traction is how much a kart or bike slides when turning. When traction is high, the kart's tires have a better grip on the road surface and as a result, the kart slides less and makes tighter turns. When traction is low, the kart's tires don't have as much of a grip and the kart will slide and make wide, loose turns as a result. In most courses, there is maximum traction. But in some courses, like GBA Luigi Circuit (the rainy course) or N64 Sherbet Land, there is little traction, which causes karts to slide while drifting or turning. Traction is normally caused by mud, ice or rain. In some Mario Kart games, repeatedly hopping (by pressing but not holding the drift button) can be an effective way of changing direction while driving on surfaces with reduced traction.

Courses which feature reduced traction

 * Vanilla Lake 1,2 (SNES)
 * Choco Island 1,2 (SNES)
 * Luigi Circuit (GBA)
 * Sunset Wilds (GBA)
 * Snow Land (GBA)
 * Sherbet Land (N64)
 * Sherbet Land (GCN)