Understeer?

Understeer?

Author
Discussion

GasBlaster

Original Poster:

27,427 posts

279 months

Saturday 31st March 2001
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Having got my rear suspension sorted and new front tyres, a recent sunny day saw me trundling the machine along some nice twisty bits. I was surprised to encounter a fair bit of understeer. I suppose it could be that the new front tyres are still not fully grippy (done about 200 miles in them). Anybody else got any suggestions? Cheers

TVR Engineer

86 posts

278 months

Sunday 1st April 2001
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Understeer in a griff ? I don`t know the story of your rear suspension but I will presume everything is right, so either your front tyres are dubious (no offence but I have seen some pretty dubious combinations front/rear in the past) or your front geometry is complety out. Have the front camber angles checked if you have official tyre size, pressures and compounds, if you have an unofficial mixture... pray ! A last word on paying for geometry checks, TRUST. A full geometry check and further fine tuning by a reputable Engineer won`t come cheap, but when you drive away,the car should make you feel like Michael Schummacher if not he probably has`nt bother`d. All TVR`s are very suseptable to geometry changes and all will benefit from an expert tuning the settings. Please find an `Expert` with a long list of happy chaps and chapess`s. (your local tyre fitter will be falling over with them)...Hmm

zertec

499 posts

283 months

Sunday 1st April 2001
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TVRs unfortunately are handbuilt not exactly precisely. This means that virtually every TVR will handle differently to every other TVR. This can be extremely annoying, not to mention dangerous, especially if you have just being in a very benign example and then step into a vehicle that will turn round and bite you. There is considerable scope for improvement. E-mail Manek (address on main mailing list) for his comments on suspension fixes. Clive Reed Zertec Limited info@zertec.co.uk www.zertec.co.uk

GreenV8S

30,198 posts

284 months

Monday 2nd April 2001
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I assume the front and rear are the same type, standard size, similar condition and running at the recommended pressures for that size? Most TVRs will understeer in tight corners under gentle acceleration, you can convert this to a neutral drift if you apply enough power. Of course it only takes a little too much power and you're into opposite lock territory which may put you into the scenery if you aren't expecting it. What are the rear tyres like? If the front tyres have more tread than the rears they will deflect more which will increase the understeer. Same if they're under inflated. Incorrect geometry and suspension settings can cause understeer too, but I suggest tyre condition/pressure should be the first thing to check. What is different about your new rear suspension? Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)
quote:
Having got my rear suspension sorted and new front tyres, a recent sunny day saw me trundling the machine along some nice twisty bits. I was surprised to encounter a fair bit of understeer. I suppose it could be that the new front tyres are still not fully grippy (done about 200 miles in them). Anybody else got any suggestions? Cheers