So, I had pretty much the day free from work today and since I spent the better part of yesterday cleaning my car, I totally decided to do some unauthorized modification to it. I totally took off my front sway bar and replaced it with nothing! The difference is astounding and somewhat subtle at the same time. Straight line, the car is exactly the same (but I'm sure the weight loss is helping) but as soon as I push it into a corner, it rolls a bit more and understeers so much less! I ran around the local rotary which before, if I was driving briskly, I'd start to plow at about 30ish. Now, I ran past 40 with no tire noise at all! I'd go faster but, it was the middle of the day and school was getting out. I'll go out tonight when traffic is super light and see just what I can do!

 

I'd keep the front sway bar and put in a stiffer rear sway bar.

 

I'm putting a stiffer rear one on within the next few weeks. Aside from the poor engine location, I don't want to give my car any excuses to understeer!

 

Hmm... I might have to try this...

Josh

 

Ok, can you explain under and oversteer to me? I've heard about it and just never really paid much attention to it.

 

google is your friend

 

Understeer is when you turn the wheel and the front just keeps going in a straightish direction, oversteer is when you turn the wheel and the back end steps out. Understeer makes you center punch the tree, oversteer makes you clip the telephone pole with your rear quarter.

 

oversteer, like it sounds, your turning more than you anticipated - so you cant see the tree your about to hit.

understeer, like it sounds, your not turning as much as you wanted - so you see the tree....that your about to hit.

Imaging driving on a road, and you go to take a right hand turn, and your hard on the throttle (yes...I know...I typed hard on..) and say your real wheels kick out and the cars a bit sidways...this would be overstreer.

Now, driving down the same road, and you go make that right hand turn, keeping on the throttle.....instead of the vehicles rear end kicking out.....you just dont turn nearly as much as you wanted, causing you to slow down in order to make the turn..or go off the track.

Thats how I understand it, It might not be the most technical explanation, but it should get the basic idea across. I suppose I could elaborate should the above not be enough..thanks to wikipedia:

Understeer is a term for a car handling condition during cornering in which the circular path of the vehicle's motion is of a markedly greater diameter than the circle indicated by the direction its wheels are pointed. The effect is opposite to that of the oversteer and in simpler words understeer is the condition in which the front tires don't follow the trajectory the driver is trying to impose while taking the corner, instead following a more st

Oversteer is a phenomenon that can occur in an automobile which is attempting to turn. The car is said to oversteer when the rear wheels do not track behind the front wheels but instead slide out toward the outside of the turn. Oversteer can throw the car into a spin.

 

Got it, thanks, I guess my car's perfect then.

 

LowA4 - is that McLovin in your avi?