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Lateral Load Transfer and Coefficient of Friction

Suspension Tuning & Optimization

Relevant Module: Lateral Load Transfer Basics > Why Load Transfer Is Important

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Discussion and questions related to the course Suspension Tuning & Optimization

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Hi there, I was digging on to the Load Transfer part of the course to undestand it a little bit more, but an aspect that i can't get my head around it is why when we transfer vertical load form the inside tyres to the outside tyres, the coefficient of friction decreases. I assume that more load applied to the outside tyres genereate more grip, and less load applied to the inside tyres decreases grip.

Sorry if something is not wirtten very well, English is not my first language

Thanks in advance for the help

The inside tires still contribute to the overall grip level, so if load is taken from them then they provide less lateral force to the overall total. If the outside tire is saturated, i.e. it's reached its lateral load limit, then increasing load on that tire through LLT will lower the overall grip as the inside tire is contributing less.

The best grip is normally when both inside and outside tyres have the same loads on them - obviously this isn't the case as the load increases on the outside at the same rate it decreases on the inside.

If one were to look at it as a pure co-efficient of friction situation, where the lateral (cornering) limit is in proportion to the load, it wouldn't matter as the same total load would give the same total lateral limits.

However, for many reasons, such as the tyre distorting, the tread 'locking' into road/track irregularities, and even the tyre rubber physically tearing away (the black lines one sees), as the vertical load increases the grip doesn't increase quite as quickly, and the unloading may also reduce more quickly.

This means that by increasing the load to the outside tyre more at one axle than the other, by adjusting the roll resistance (springs, ARB, and/or geometry), one can reduce grip to bias the vehicle towards under, or over, steer.

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