LHD/RHD and handling

[davislove]

Another thread got me thinking about the virtues of LHD or RHD with respect to handling.

Its a fair bet most performance cars are developed in LHD guise at the Ring etc. So dynamically are they optimised for LHD with average weight of passenger on that side and how does that translate into the RHD examples and do you think any changes are made? It strikes me that we hear the motoring hacks harp on about the benefits of car X losing 20kg or something and how its transformed the handling but nothing about ~100kg moving from the left to the right side of the car.

I'm probably missing something but you get my gist I hope!!

[The Moose]

Most of the weight saving in certain 'lightweight' models is usually rotational or unsprung weight (e.g. wheels or brakes etc). This is where the massive handling differences come from - and it really does make a big difference!

Cheers

The Moose

[TheStoat]

If you're that fussed adjustable suspension and geometry on performance cars means you can compensate:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/understa...

[LandingSpot]

Yep, with unsprung mass being worth four times that mass inside the car, the huge gains are in wheels, hubs, nuts/studs, discs, calipers and the like.

Secondary lightweightness comes from losing the sound-deadening (typically 20-30kg), lighter seats etc.

Lightweight wheels are the best thing to change. On my car, losing 4kg per corner has seen better acceleration, turn-in, braking, handling of bumps and huuuuge improvement in cornering. As an added bonus, an extra 2mpg for free!

[Kong]

In theory RHD should be better at the 'ring as it's a clockwise circuit so the drivers weight has less inertia on the inside of the majority of the corners. All other things being even that is.

[anonymous-user]

for fwd cars, which typically have the engine on the o/s and transmission on the n/s, LHD gives a more even static mass distribution. However for modern cars, occupants are getting nearer the centre (for crash safety) cars are getting wider (for space) and transmissons now weigh just about as much as the actual engine (for torque handling).......... ;-)

And as modern cars get heavier, the drivers mass becomes less important.

On something like a Caterham, where you are sat on the driven axle, and the car only weighs 4 or 5 times what you do, there is a noticable difference in traction in lh and rh bends with just the driver on board (unfortunately, with a passenger there is also a noticable difference in accel with the extra mass....... doh!)

[ChevronB19]

Set corner weights with driver on board....