race cars can be very entertaining but they also can be very frustrating
it's a lot like life all our operators are busy at this time please hold
thank you for calling
hi I have is probably your call is very important to us
hello please hold life can also be really good to you
sorry to keep you holding Mr. Pobst we will issue that refund for you right now
are you really like life
cars can be so good to us but sometimes they can frustrate us to no end
as a race car driver there's one thing that binds me up like nothing else too
much understeer and that's what we're talking about today on The Racing Line
understeer is really simple all it means is the front tires have less traction
and the rear at the limits of grip which is where you always want to be the car
won't steer enough and so you're going to run into whatever is on the outside
it just won't turn when there's no understeer the car is balanced and it's
easier to carve the perfect racing line with the steering if there's understeer
the front tires don't respond and the car tends to plow wide that is
understeer
so why is understeer so frustrating
it's like a mother who's overprotective and keep saying no ma can I
go play on Billy's bitchen skate ramp
no mom can I go skydiving
please no mom can I start chain smoking please
absolutely not now you're sweet mother has your best interests at heart
she doesn't want you to get hurt but like understeer
this can be frustrating on the other hand the opposite of understeer
oversteer is like your mother saying
sure sweet do whatever the hell you want awesome as a kid that may seem great and all
but the chances in you breaking your neck increase significantly
yeah
as a driver you're telling the car to turn and it does just too much
now be a good girl and turn just a little I want my mommy
this can end up in a spin you can end up in a crash which can end up in a broken
neck
if you had an understeering mother that cared the chances are being laid up in a
neck brace would have been a lot less
so how do you correct for understeer understeer is not a problem of the
steering wheel
it's a problem of the gas and brake fix it with the pedals
if the car is already understeering turning the wheel more will not help you
can crank it to full lock that will only make it worse
the steering wheel obviously works great until you start to slide the fronts and
this is where you've reached the cornering limit understeer is the front
tires screaming for more load to create more grip put some weight on them ease
off the throttle squeeze on the brake smoothly or you will create bigger
problems like oversteer
on this tire rack minute we brought in one of the world's top suspension
experts Frank Vasquez of KW Suspensions to find out why most cars understeer
Frank I drive a lot of cars and they tend to understeer from the manufacturer
all the time you know a big issue that the manufacturer space when they release
these products to the public is safety
they want to deliver the safest product possible to their customers and there's
a big liability concerns from manufacturer that you know the car is
easy to handle and so its easier to control understeer from a safety standpoint
understeers much more driver friendly
to correct right you just ease off you know what the car settle back down and
you carry on your way
a lot of times if the car understeers a bit you may not even notice it
that is a great point Frank because I'm thinking that if a driver is driving
along and you start sliding the front like you just said he made barely notice
it but if he starts sliding the rear eyes get big
screams maybe it's it can be frightening that it can be dangerous you know your
risk spin out going out of control
what what manufacturers do to create that understeer what kind of adjustments
what do you see in a chassis you can provide a stiffer spring and shock
package in the front you know when the result of that is to you know it
overloads the tires more quickly
so the the front end is more likely to break away from then the rear you can
play with the wheel and tire sizes which are you know it's very common nowadays
to see a car with more narrow tires in the front and a big wider tire in the
rear to make the back and more stable as much more important in a car
depending on the drive type front wheel drive cars or more understeer thrown
by nature of rear wheel drive car is always going to be you know
traditionally more tail happy but a lot of that goes back to you know the setup
of the car
you have a lot of different ways of fine-tuning that set up to make it
behave the way that you'd like
yeah just a lot of understeer is probably the most frustrating thing
there
there is a race car it's got to feel like you can't control the car it's hard
to drive a car fast around a racetrack when you feel like you can't steer it
right
it makes me cuss at it understeer
it doesn't have to be a dirty word it can also be your best friend
kinda like your nagging mother can mold you into a better human being Randle Lee
Pobst fix your hair mom I'm working here
on that note load your fronts driving enthusiasts and we'll see you next time
on The Racing Line if you like watching The Racing Line
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rear-wheel drive
front-wheel drive all wheel drive
how do we handle them on track and why that's what we're talking about today on
The Racing Line
watch the latest episode of the racing line right now on Motor Trend On Demand