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Plowing Understeer

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Old Aug 9, 2006 | 01:22 PM
  #11  
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Originally Posted by CoralDoc,Aug 9 2006, 04:12 PM
I'll make the suggestion that you may be over-driving the car into the turn. My Spec Miata will understeer into a turn (especially a tight one) if you carry too much speed. Once I learned to slow down my corner entry and rotate the car early before getting on the throttle, the understeer greatly diminished. Not only that, because I could get on the throttle sooner, my lap times improved.
Thanks for the suggestion, I tried slower entry, and got slower lap times. I am sure there is a lot of driver improvement to be had, however the understeer is there unless I am crawling around the corner.

This is not a problem with faster corners
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Old Aug 9, 2006 | 01:24 PM
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If you're wearing out the outside edges of the front tires, less front spring is only going to make the tire rollover problem worse, even if it does sorta help the balance at times.

Suggestions:
More front tire pressure
More front wheel/tire
More front roll rate (stiffen springs/bars)
More front -camber (GFL adjustable arms)
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Old Aug 9, 2006 | 01:31 PM
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Try 245 all around. What sort of pressures are you running? You should be in the 37-38 psi range hot with RA-1s (31-32ish cold).
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Old Aug 9, 2006 | 01:36 PM
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Originally Posted by cthree,Aug 9 2006, 04:31 PM
Try 245 all around. What sort of pressures are you running? You should be in the 37-38 psi range hot with RA-1s (31-32ish cold).
Will a 245 fit on a OEM front wheel?

Yes 37-38 hot, I have to run around 26-27 cold any more and I get over 40

It's the Humidty out here.
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Old Aug 9, 2006 | 02:32 PM
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It sounds like you might just be over heating the fronts. Does the plowing occur all the time? or will it go away after a cool down lap or two?

More front camber will make a big difference. Especially with 3.5 in the rear. I bet your rears are wearing perfectly. With more front camber your fronts will last longer as well, less shoulder scrubing.

So first things first... more camber up front.

This might also be due to driving style. Are you coasting thru the middle of these decreasing rad turns? It sounds like it, having to wait to get back on the gas. If so then wait a little bit longer to get on the brake on turn entry so that you can stay on the brake a little further into the turn. That will keep weight on the fronts longer and reduce understeer. It will also help the rear loosen up a bit to provide a better balance thru the turn.

However, keep in mind this is also harder on the tires and will heat them up more.
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Old Aug 9, 2006 | 03:26 PM
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In addition to above, I'd soften front compression and rebound, and set rear toe-in to 1/8" - 1/4" total (Is the .35 you stated in inches? If so, it's too much.). If that doesn't work enough, I'd also consider going back to the stock front bar instead of the Comptech (I did).
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Old Aug 9, 2006 | 03:32 PM
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Originally Posted by davepk,Aug 9 2006, 05:32 PM
It sounds like you might just be over heating the fronts. Does the plowing occur all the time? or will it go away after a cool down lap or two?

More front camber will make a big difference. Especially with 3.5 in the rear. I bet your rears are wearing perfectly. With more front camber your fronts will last longer as well, less shoulder scrubing.

So first things first... more camber up front.

This might also be due to driving style. Are you coasting thru the middle of these decreasing rad turns? It sounds like it, having to wait to get back on the gas. If so then wait a little bit longer to get on the brake on turn entry so that you can stay on the brake a little further into the turn. That will keep weight on the fronts longer and reduce understeer. It will also help the rear loosen up a bit to provide a better balance thru the turn.

However, keep in mind this is also harder on the tires and will heat them up more.
I am if anything to early on the throttle, no conscious coasting

More front camber sounds like the proper first step .Has anyone tried the SPC camber kits?


Thanks for all the good advice here everyone.

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Old Aug 9, 2006 | 03:36 PM
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Originally Posted by rlaifatt,Aug 9 2006, 06:26 PM
In addition to above, I'd soften front compression and rebound, and set rear toe-in to 1/8" - 1/4" total (Is the .35 you stated in inches? If so, it's too much.). If that doesn't work enough, I'd also consider going back to the stock front bar instead of the Comptech (I did).
I think it's minutes or degrees, from the Hunter print out speceifec TOE is 0.19' to 0.38'


My rear toe could be off since I just changed both rear wheel bearings
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Old Aug 9, 2006 | 03:40 PM
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What corners in particular? Little Bend, Hammer and 18?
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Old Aug 9, 2006 | 04:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Ek9,Aug 9 2006, 06:40 PM
What corners in particular? Little Bend, Hammer and 18?
I am ok on little bend and the hammer, 18 i get some understeer, turn 5 the hook and 14 the corkscrew, the car was better when I was unwinding into little bend.
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