Playing f zero with snaking is incredibly fun and tactile, I recommend ignoring the people who bash it. However, realize playing it without it isn't to be frowned upon. It isn't comparable to wavedashing, which grants you an inherent spacing advantage and nothing else; it instead destroys gameplay and makes it so its snaking vs snaking.
Bad? No~! But just remember to not let a non snaker face you when you're under a full acceleration setting because quite frankly you'll be playing completely different games, and not to mention F Zero GX, technical as hell or not, is incredibly single player orientated. Theres a clear line between the two gameplay styles.
It works best with heavy weight cars, it seems to be to do with the dynamics of a cars weight and shape, since this game has an obscure yet attentive physics engine, a subject of intrigue indeed. Upon setting yourself to full acceleration, I recommend any Mute City except Serial Gaps as a testing ground; press right, left, right, left, in tune with your shoulder button power slides.
Keep in mind that the wider the slidey turn is after your first movement, the greater the speed boost as your car seems to collect excess momentum during the length of each 'Snake.'
Some courses, such as those with pipe physics and those with ridicolously screwy layouts are sometimes, actually better played in a typical 30/70 setting instead of a 100/0 like snaking requires, purely since the gaining of aforementioned momentum is interupted by strange course surface things.
Bear in mind this game is primarily played by the japanese and you won't find much competition for snaking anyway outside of the immensely abusive staff ghosts; You can also make some ridicolous custom vehicles that are great for this job, even above Dark Schnider and Black Bull. Look around youtube for them.