TROUBLESHOOTING - TABLE OF HANDLING CAUSE AND EFFECTS

EFFECT ON VEHICLE – POSSIBLE CAUSES

Straight Line Instability

 Too much rear wheel toe-out.

 Not enough rear downforce.
 Too much front downforce.
 Not enough rear toe-in (under hard acceleration) –presumably for RWD.
 Too much front toe (either in or out) – car darts over bumps.
 Front ARB is way too stiff – car darts over bumps.

Instability Under Brakes

 Front end darts or wanders – too much front brake bias.

 Car wants to spin – too much rear brake bias.

Response

 Car feels heavy and unresponsive.

o Too much downforce.
 Car feels sloppy and is slow to take a set in corners.
o Too little shock.
o Too much body roll (not enough spring and/or ARB).
 Car responds too quickly, is twitchy, and slides easily.
o Too little downforce.
o Too much shock, too much spring, and/or too much ARB.
o Too much tire pressure.

Understeer

 Corner entry understeer – car won’t turn in at all.

o Front tires not wide enough.
o Too much front roll stiffness – ARBs and/or springs.
o Not enough front bump – shocks.
o Not enough front downforce.
o Too much dynamic camber on front wheels (not enough static negative camber).
 Corner entry understeer – car turns in initially then starts to push.
o Too much front toe-in.
o Rebound too stiff – shocks (not enough droop travel).
o Not enough front downforce.
o Bump not stiff enough – shocks.
 Corner entry understeer – car turns in and then darts.
o Insufficient front suspension travel in either or both directions – shocks.

Oversteer

 Corner exit oversteer – gets progressively worse from the time throttle is applied.
o Too much rear roll stiffness.
o Too much rear camber.
o Too little rear downforce.
o Too little rear toe-in.
o Not enough rear spring, shock, or ARB – allows car to roll over on outside rear wheel.
 Corner exit oversteer (sudden) - car takes its set then breaks loose.
o Not enough rear suspension travel (too much shock in either bump, rebound, or both).
CAUSES – EFFECT ON VEHICLE

Springs

 Too much spring – overall

o Harsh and choppy ride, lack of tire compliance.
o Can’t put power down on corner exit - excessive wheelspin.
o Car slides too much.
 Too much spring – front
o Initial understeer.
o Front end breaks loose in corners.
o Front end breaks loose over bumps.
 Too much spring – rear
o Oversteer when power is applied on corner exit.
o Excessive wheelspin.
 Too little spring – overall
o Car bottoms out.
o Car feels like it’s floating.
o Sloppy response.
o Car is slow to take its set.
 Too little spring – front
o Front end hits ground under brakes.
o Too much body roll on corner entry.
o Initial understeer – car won’t point in.
 Too little spring – rear
o Too much squat under acceleration, and the resultant increase in negative camber.
o Car falls over on outside rear wheel causing power-on oversteer.

Anti-Roll Bars

 Too much ARB – overall

o Very sudden turning response and little feel.
o Car slides or skates instead of taking its set.
o May dart over one wheel bumps or diagonal bumps.
 Too much ARB – front
o Corner entry understeer that gets progressively worse.
o Steady state understeer in the middle of sweeping turns.
 Too much ARB – rear
o Corner exit oversteer when throttle is applied.
o Excessive sliding coming out of corners.
 Too little ARB – overall
o Car is sloppy and lacks response.
o Car is slow to transition, especially in chicanes and esses.
o Car rolls too much resulting in too much dynamic, positive camber and the resultant loss of
cornering power due to decrease in tire traction.
 Too little ARB – front
o Car rolls over onto outside tire on corner entry then ‘washes out’ (understeers).
o Car lacks steering response and is slow to change direction.
 Too little ARB – rear
o Back end doesn’t want to rotate on corner exit under power (difficult to throttle steer).
Shock Absorbers

 Too much shock – overall

o Very sudden car with harsh ride, sliding, and wheel patter.
o Car crashes over road surface irregularities.
 Too much rebound adjustment
o Wheels do not return to road surface quickly after displacement.
o Inside wheel pulls off the road surface in a corner.
o Lack of tire compliance over bumps and surface undulations.
o Car may be jacked down in long corners.
 Too much bump adjustment
o Initial reaction to bumps and curbs is harsh.
o Initial chassis roll slow to develop.
o Car slides rather than sticks.
o Driven wheels hop when the power is put down.
 Too little shock – overall
o Car floats a lot in ride and oscillates after bumps (underdamped).
o Slow and sloppy response.
o Chassis rolls too quickly.
 Too little rebound adjustment
o Oscillates after bumps.
o Doesn’t put the power down well.
 Too little bump adjustment
o Initial bump reaction soft.
o Car dives and squats a lot under brakes and under power.
o Car rolls quickly and falls over outside tires – front tire on corner entry and rear tire on exit.

Wheel Alignment

 Front toe-in – too much

o Car darts over bumps, under the brakes, and during corner entry.
o Car won’t point into corners.
 Front toe-out – too much
o Car wanders under the brakes.
o Straight line instability especially over one wheel and diagonal bumps.
o Car may point into corners then refuse to take a set
o Understeer as a result of tire scrub in long corners.
 Rear toe-in – too much
o Rear feels light and unstable on corner entry.
o Car slides a bit in corners rather than rolling freely.
 Rear toe-in – too little
o Power on oversteer during corner exit.
 Rear toe-out – any
o Power oversteer during corner exit.
o Straight line instability.
 Front wheel caster – too much
o Excessive physical steering effort (probably non-applicable with the XBOX controller)
 Front wheel caster – too little
o Too little steering feel and feedback (also probably non-applicable with the XBOX controller)
 Camber – too much negative
o Inside of tire will be hotter than the rest and wear faster.
o Front tires – reduced braking capacity (dive)
o Rear tires – reduced acceleration capacity (squat)
 Camber – too much positive
o Outside of tire will be hotter than the rest and wear faster.
o Rear tires – corner exit oversteer and reduced tire traction.
o Rear tires - If extreme may cause corner entrance instability.
o Front tires – too much body roll and understeer after car turns in.
Tires

 Too much tire pressure

o Harsh ride.
o Excessive wheel patter, sliding and wheelspin.
o High temperature at center of tire.
 Too little tire pressure
o Soft and mushy response.
o High tire temperatures at inner and outer edges.
o Reduced contact patch