Cornering Very Slow

Copyright C Racing Car Technology 2007

CofG

Vehicle Inst. Dir.
C/L R Travel

Vehicle
Very slow turning, no slip
path
angles at the tyres. The
curved path of the CofG is
shown. Instantaneous
direction of travel is at right
angles to turn radius, R.
is the attitude angle Instantaneous Turn
Car is pointing out from the Centre
turn.
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 Cornering Neutral Steer,
maintain the intended
Copyright path
C Racing Car Technology 2007

Vehicle
C/L
CofG

Inst. Dir.
Travel
R

Vehicle path, Inst. Dir. Of Vehicle
Travel, turn radius, R all the path
same as previous diagram.
But now the lateral force The neutral vehicle
acting on the tyres forces maintains the
slip angles, , front and intended path
rear. The vehicle rotates in
the direction of the turn. Instantaneous Turn
The car is now pointing Centre
into the corner.
2
Cornering Oversteer, a tighter
path.
Note: The rear tyres Copyright C Racing Car Technology 2007
are not sliding

Vehicle
C/L
CofG

Inst. Dir.
Travel
R

If slip angles increase at the Intended
Vehicle Path
rear, faster than the front, the car
will rotate further in the direction Oversteer
of the turn, increasing the Vehicle Path
attitude angle, . The turn
Instantaneous Turn
radius, R will shorten as shown.
Centre
The vehicle will steer a tighter
path, as shown.

3
 Cornering Understeer, a wider
path.
Note: The front tyres Copyright C Racing Car Technology 2007
are not sliding. Understeer
Vehicle Path

Vehicle
C/L CofG

Inst. Dir.
Travel
R

If slip angles increase at the

front, faster than the rear, the
car will rotate out of the turn,
reducing the attitude angle.
Turn radius, R is lengthened, Intended
as shown. The vehicle will Vehicle
steer a wider path as shown. path
Instantaneous Turn
Centre

4
Attitude Angle at the Centre of
Gravity
Rear axle attitude angle

Attitude Angle Front axle attitude angle

Attitude angle, the angle between vehicle centre line and direction of travel, is
also known as float angle, body slip angle, beta angle. It is a function of
the front and rear slip angles, as shown in previous diagrams.
The attitude angle varies at different points along the centre line of the car. For
our purposes, we consider it at the centre of gravity. In the next slide we
demonstrate how unbalanced lateral forces at the front and rear tyres will cause a
change in attitude angle, and thus be an instant indicator to the driver of the
understeer/oversteer balance of the car.

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Balanced, or unbalanced
lateral forces at the tyres
Moments around the centre of
b a gravity will leave us with a net
rotational force around the CG.

CG
Front
Attitude Angle

FR FF
For neutral steer, FF x a = FR x b, ie the rotational forces are
balanced. FF x a > FR x b, the car is in oversteer increasing attitude
angle. FF x a < FR x b, the car is in understeer decreasing attitude
angle.
It is clear from the previous slides that the car is not rotating around
the CG. The turn centre is moving and turn radius is lengthening and
shortening.
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Oversteer and Understeer
Maximising grip at all four tyres is the initial aim. So tyre
selection, temps, pressures, cambers, toe etc are of
prime importantance. But because of the transient
nature of handling, (corner entry, mid corner, exit), it also
works out we also maximise overall grip with attention to
spring frequency - springs, ARBs and shocks controlling
ride, roll pitch rate.
But suspension tuners also have to be able to balance
the car for oversteer/understeer - grip of the front wheel
pair versus grip of the rear wheel pair as per previous
slides. Ideally we look to stick the loose end so as to
increase overall grip. Sometimes that cannot be done.
So for example, we might choose a compromise balance
that optimises corner exit acceleration at the expense of
some mid corner grip.
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