Correcting Understeer

[JimmyNY]

Hey guys, this is my first FWD car, and the understeer has really caught me off guard. Does anyone have any suggestions for correcting understeer? I know that you can "power" through oversteer... so does anyone have an suggestions for understeer? (i.e., stay off the brake, stay on the brake, give it a lot of gas, give it no gas, etc...). Thanks.

 

[Bizzy]

Moving to SHO Maintenance & Troubleshooting - Engine & Drive Line

 

[stevetatro]

Should this really be in Maintenance, Bizzy?

Anyhoo, you can obviously change the characteristics by messing with the air pressure of the tires (different front and rear). Also, check to see what sway bars you have. Different combos will act differently.

You can also firm up either end (front or rear) by using different material bushings, lots of people have done this.

Good luck.

 

[yamahaSHO]

Bigger rear sway bar and a Quaife will do wonders. thumbup

 

[SHOnuff93]

Going with the 24mm fornt/26mm rear doesn't eliminate understeer, but it does help. I have heard from many BaySHO members that the 20.5mm from and 26mm rear is an ok setup. They open track so i don't know if this would be a good street setup, but i do know a larger rear/small front will INCREASE oversteer.

 

[JimmyNY]

Oops! I actually meant more driving techniques... like, when your car starts to understeer, what do you do to keep control? Sorry for the mix up.

 

[svtman]

Well, simply put when you are starting to understeer you are losing against centrifugal force and your front end it going to want to go straight. To minimize it (driving technique), you need to slow down. There are chassis/tire combinations that can be applied to reduce it as well, but in the end, physics will win and your speed and available traction will ultimately decide when and if it happens.

 

[Markus]

JimmyNY:
Hey guys, this is my first FWD car, and the understeer has really caught me off guard. Does anyone have any suggestions for correcting understeer? I know that you can "power" through oversteer... so does anyone have an suggestions for understeer? (i.e., stay off the brake, stay on the brake, give it a lot of gas, give it no gas, etc...). Thanks.

Attend an advanced driving school.

Teach yourself to be ultra smooth with steering/brake/throttle inputs. I cannot over emphasize this. Use two hands on the steering wheel.

Now, when understeer does rear its head:

When you start to understeer give the wheel a quick flick into the understeer and then a smooth flick back to the direction you want to to go, and at the same time make an abrupt change in either the throttle (if your foot is still on it) or the brakes. You should also practice left foot braking. When understeering and going into the corner with the throttle on, modulating the brakes with your left foot will rein in some of the understeer even if you don't lift off the throttle.

*******

Note that it is not always possible to recover from understeer . If you are way too fast into a corner, there is nothing you can do. You need to learn the limits of both yourself and of the car. Usually (and fortunately) in a modern car it is the limit of the driver that is first reached.

*******

You should practice these techniques in a parking lot or other safe area before using them on the street.


*******

If you have never left foot braked before, make sure your seatbelt is on or your chest will bounce off the steering wheel.


******

I honed the above skills during my pro rally days. They work on loose surfaces as well as paved roads.

<small>[ April 07, 2003, 10:24 PM: Message edited by: Markus ]</small>

 

[Huntervf]

I'm assuming your SHO is the 1990 listed in your sig? In that case you already have the 24mm/26mm swaybar setup. All FWD cars will understeer at the limit, but I think the 1st gen SHO's with their stock swaybars do much better than most FWD cars. Unless you REALLY cook into a corner too fast you'll find that lifting off the throttle and perhaps a slight tap on the brakes along with a tug of the wheel in the direction you're turning will get you back online and may even give you a bit of oversteer.

 

[Shoaz]

Just to add a tiny bit to what has already been said, understeer means the front tires aren't gripping as much as the rear. During an understeer situation slowing down by either lifting the throttle or braking will transfer some weight from the rear tires to the front tires and increase the grip there. This will help mitigate the understeer situation.

I'll second that this should be done smoothly. Too much of this near the limit can turn understeer into oversteer in a hurry, and balancing front-to-back grip this way is the basic idea behind throttle steering.

 

[Yamaha V6]

And, this really may not have much to do with engine & driveline maintenance either, since it's more than likely a suspension issue.

Waits for the next move...

 

[billyshoe]

Remove your front sway bar. If you are concerned about understeer, remove the bar. free up the rear. 24mm bar is slow.