Practical Corner Weighting: Driver Induced Handling Issues
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Driver Induced Handling Issues
02.21
| 00:00 | - Before we try and fix a perceived handling balance issue in our car, we need to understand if the handling issue is a result of a genuine problem with the car or whether the issues are a direct result of the way the car is being driven. |
| 00:13 | Driver induced handling issues are common even at professional levels of motorsport so it's understandable that at the grass roots and enthusiast levels it's very prominent. |
| 00:23 | What we need to understand is that the tyres can only generate a specific amount of grip, both laterally and longitudinally and that they can't generate maximum grip in both directions at the same time. |
| 00:34 | What this means is that if we're braking at the limit of the available grip, there will be no excess capacity available from the tyres to also turn the car. |
| 00:43 | In other words, as we transition from maximum braking to turning into the corner, this requires us to reduce the braking effort to free up some of the tyre's capacity to start turning. |
| 00:55 | With this in mind, the driver can induce a range of handing evils by simply demanding too much from the tyres. |
| 01:01 | A good example of this is the situation I've just mentioned where the driver is braking at the tyre's limit of adhesion. |
| 01:07 | If the driver now attempts to turn into the corner without reducing the braking effort sufficiently, the car will exhibit corner entry understeer. |
| 01:15 | Likewise, once the car is past the apex of the corner and the driver begins to apply power, weight will be transferred towards the rear of the car, reducing the grip available to the front tyres and this can cause understeer, particularly in a powerful front wheel drive car. |
| 01:32 | There's also a number of ways the driver can induce oversteer and probably the most obvious situation would be where the driver is too aggressive with the throttle application in a corner exit in a powerful rear wheel drive car. |
| 01:45 | Despite the acceleration transferring weight onto the rear wheels where it's needed, if the amount of engine torque exceeds the available traction, the result will be wheel spin and a big oversteer slide out of the corner. |
| 01:57 | Another way the driver can cause the car to oversteer is by attempting to turn into the corner while still braking which is referred to as trail braking. |
| 02:06 | When we're braking, weight is transferred towards the front of the car and the grip available from the rear tyres is reduced. |
| 02:12 | This can mean that the rear tyres can't generate the required lateral cornering force and they'll begin to slide. |
