understeer?

[dion_jay]

first all what exactley is it?

and second of all i think my car has it bad..

if i'm hooning around in the wet and decide to take a corner for a drift sort of entry, all it wants to do is slide on the front end !!?

what mods should i do to fix this?

car is an ae71 lowered shit loads, ae86 struts and RCA's, sway bars front back, and a lockie

hope some one can be of help i'm lost lol

cheers

[Konakid]

get some good front tyres, like a proper sport tyre eg bridgestone re001.

What are your spring rates?

Are you running any camber?

Yes that is understeer haha

[ke70dave]

quick reference: oversteer scares the passengers, understeer scares the driver

understeering sounds like what your describing, with input from the steering doin nothing, and the front just sliding.

locker wont be helping your under steering problem.

what springs are you running? too stiff fronts will cause understeer?
to stiff sway bar at the front will cause understeer too.
a bit of negative camber may help with understeer.
stiffer sway bar at the back will help gain some oversteer.
also if you got crap tyres it wont help with understeer either..

[dion_jay]

thanks mate, i'm new to camber and castor and toe in and toe out and under/oversteer.. but i'm getting there lol

unsure of spring rates but soon ill buy some decent springs or maybe coil overs

i purchased a pair of lca's from an ra40 off a fella on here, these should help shouldn't they?

[Jonny Rochester]

It can be overcome with skill, and a handbrake. And downshifting. Get the drift bible DVD.

Then after some skilz in the wet, you can start fine tuning the car. More camber on the front, better front tyres, better shocks etc...

[dion_jay]

so if i back my front sway bar off a bit it should help? ive got both of them F$%^&N stiff, had to lower the car off the hoist and partially on the ground to get the bolts in for the back one lol

[dion_jay]

thanks for the replies guys

[LittleRedSpirit]

Good tyres.

Get a wheel alignment. What settings do you currently use? Camber/Caster/Toe?

Overtighten rear swaybar bushes. Reduces the sway which is what creates grip.

Raise the rear, this helps create snap oversteer most of the time.

[--Redwork--]

Front tyres... Aways run a good set on the front...

If your front and rear sway bars are adjustable then leave your rear one as hard as it'l go but make the front softer. this will give your more front grip..

My old ke used to understeer on entries alittle when it was wet too. And I didn't have a locker....

Quick yank on the E brake will help you initiate a slid easier too.

Caster and alittle camber will go a long way to making it turn in better...

[Chairs with flares]

Adjusting your front swaybar to a softer setting will make it feel less understeery. A stiff swaybar essentially lowers the roll center of the car and makes the weight shift more sudden; albeit happening later. This way, you car feels more stable and grippy, until that further point when weight shift happens suddenly and then the harsher transition from positive to dynamic traction (grip to slide).

Increasing front track acheives the same result as a stiffer swaybar setting, increasing the feeling of stability until the sudden weight shift moment.

The concept is the same for front and rear suspension; so running a stiff front end (or wider track) with a more compliant rear end (or narrower track) will make the front lose grip suddenly while the rear loses grip gradually and vice versa.

The grip level of the tires is the same, it's just how suddenly they let go.

Most modern cars are set up with wider front track to encourage understeer as it is more controllable than oversteer in a panic situation. Adjusting your trach using different offset wheels or spacers can help fine tune how a car feels at the limit of traction (whether it wants to push wide, step out or just skip sideways).

This is assuming all four tires are the same size and compound. Otherwise, compensation can be made through suspension adjustment. The tendency to oversteer from wider rear track can be reduced with higher traction rear tires (through wider tread or stickier compound).

I'll let someone else do the camber/castor bits...

:-)