Oversteers way to much...

[Nick C]

Hi all..

did a track day yesterday -

and the car was very, very tail happy. I struggled on nearly every corner.
tyres "were" almost new yoko advan, as per factory spec, pressures were set at around 14psi.
coilovers (we tried a few different settings) was 8 front and 7 rear. camber/castor etc was somewhere in the middle between road and track..
so I cant understand how it handled so badly at the rear...

any pointers would be great... oh, and I can send you a link to a video if anyone wants to view it.

thanks

[wasp]

Hi Nick,

I'm not sure which track you were at, so faster circuit (Silverstone) would have been fine with your suspension settings, Brands Indy would perhaps need to be a little softer, especially depending on your experience in Atoms. Tyre pressure seem right but was that hot or cold?

They do definitely have a drive from the rear characteristic but oversteer everywhere is not normal if you had tyres fully up to temperature and you were applying the throttle using a good handful of sensitivity.

Beyond that, I'd struggle to be of any help without knowing a tad more.

Cheers,
Stu

[Nick C]

Hi Stu...
thanks for the reply.

the tyre pressures were cold... when I came in, they were about 18-19psi. - hot.

the track was quite course and a bit bumpy in places... I will put up a video in a minute. just uploading to youtube now.

[Nick C]

here is a short video clip.. only been on track for bout 3 mins, so the tyres had not "gone off".

[phil4]

That looks a bit lairy.

I'd definitely try less throttle out of the corner. Tyres and tyres pressures too, much lower.

As a few will agree I'm not the fastest on track, but never had it anywhere near as oversteery as that.

[tuscanracer]

What were the ambient temps?

[wasp]

Hi Nick,

Well held on a couple of those corners, it was an interesting ride!!

In general I'm with Phil. I think tyre pressures need to be lower but there are a couple of other things I was wondering please baring in mind that I'm certainly no driving god (as many will attest!!)

The first is car related. has it had the 3.5 map installed? I only ask as the early 3's had a terrible on/off map so that when the charger kicks in it kicks in way too hard. This could easily be the entire issue here as you weren't being silly at all. The other 3.5 upgrades (especially steering) also make huge difference.

The charger was definitely spinning hard very early in the corners which would mean the map is harsh or you were being a tad optimistic with the loud pedal. Is it possible that you were riding the clutch a little? This would push the weight forwards on the car when you want it going backwards, pushing down on the rear wheels.

Hope that there is something there of use but I'm sure more knowledgeable folk will be along soon.

Cheers,
Stu

[Nick C]

What were the ambient temps?

Hi.. about 17c yesterday

[Nick C]

Hi Nick,

Well held on a couple of those corners, it was an interesting ride!! : THANKS.

In general I'm with Phil. I think tyre pressures need to be lower but there are a couple of other things I was wondering please baring in mind that I'm certainly no driving god (as many will attest!!)

The first is car related. has it had the 3.5 map installed? I only ask as the early 3's had a terrible on/off map so that when the charger kicks in it kicks in way too hard. This could easily be the entire issue here as you weren't being silly at all. The other 3.5 upgrades (especially steering) also make huge difference. THE CAR WAS UPGRADED FROM A N/A 3 to 3.5 with Supercharger 2 years ago... and I assume along with a map. All done at Ariel factory. So I would not know for sure.

The charger was definitely spinning hard very early in the corners which would mean the map is harsh or you were being a tad optimistic with the loud pedal. Is it possible that you were riding the clutch a little? This would push the weight forwards on the car when you want it going backwards, pushing down on the rear wheels. DEFO NOT RIDING THE CLUTCH. FOOTREST ONLY, AS I KNOW THAT UNSETTLES THE CAR MID CORNER. plus I don't want to wear it out.

Hope that there is something there of use but I'm sure more knowledgeable folk will be along soon.

Cheers,
Stu

Hello again Stu... please see answers above...

[Nick C]

I will try lower tyre pressures next time.... but I a man not convinced that's the entire issue here.
. I have raced a lot of years in various cars, and tyres don't do that to a car, in the extremes I am experiencing here...

I am sure it's in the set up somewhere...

[smokin]

This may help with the analysis

[Nick C]

Wow...! Never seen that chart before. Looks great.
Thank you for that.

Makes a lot of sense. Going to try lowering the rear I think.

[Nick C]

Also.... I have noticed the passenger and drivers shocks are different lengths... I assume this is normal?

[Anon]

Shocks should not be different lengths on any car at least same track.

Looking at your video I noticed you lose traction at corner entry i.e.: 1m 29s and then loads of other places on corner exit like 2m 42s. I could be completely wrong but I'd say this looks like driving style, at least from the videos. The corner entry is possibly due to letting the car just rev when letting the clutch up when scrubbing speed making it unstable instead of a little blip of throttle. The corner exit is just being way over aggressive on the power like at 2m 42s, you got to feed the power in like a touring car.

Again could be wrong, as watching videos is never easy and I'm the slowest guy on track anyway haha

[Nick C]

Hi...

I agree my corner entry speed may well be too aggressive and I may have upset the balance of the car... I should be smoother on the turn in.

but regards oversteer, the other guys that had a drive in it (slower and smoother than me) also complained of oversteer on exit.

and the shocks/coilovers are definitely different lengths on the front. I just assumed this was normal to compensate for the driver ?