Anti Roll Bars
Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2013 12:29 pm
Anti Roll Bars
Too much anti-roll bar: overall
■ Car will be very sudden in response and will have little feel
■ Car will tend to slide or skate rather than taking a set - especially in slow and medium speed corners
■ Car may dart over one wheel or diagonal bumps
Relatively too much anti-roll bar: front
■ Corner entry understeer which usually becomes progressively worse as the driver tries to tighten the corner radius.
Relatively too much anti-roll bar: rear
■ If the imbalance is extreme can cause corner entry oversteer
■ Corner exit oversteer. Car won't put down power but goes directly to oversteer due to inside wheel-spin
■ Excessive sliding on corner exit
■ Car has a violent reaction to major bumps and may be upset by "FIA" kerbs
Too little anti-roll bar: overall
■ Car is lazy in response, generally sloppy
■ Car is reluctant to change direction in chicane and esses
Relatively too little anti-roll bar: front
■ Car "falls over" onto outside tyre on corner entry and then washes out into understeer
■ Car is lazy in direction changes
Relatively too little anti-roll: rear
■ My own opinion is that on most road courses a rear anti-roll bar is a bad thing. Anti-roll bars transfer lateral load from the unladen tyre to the laden tyre - exactly what we don't want at the rear. I would much rather use enough spring to support the rear of the car. The exception comes when there are "washboard ripples" at corner exits, as on street circuits and poorly paved road circuits.
Too much anti-roll bar: overall
■ Car will be very sudden in response and will have little feel
■ Car will tend to slide or skate rather than taking a set - especially in slow and medium speed corners
■ Car may dart over one wheel or diagonal bumps
Relatively too much anti-roll bar: front
■ Corner entry understeer which usually becomes progressively worse as the driver tries to tighten the corner radius.
Relatively too much anti-roll bar: rear
■ If the imbalance is extreme can cause corner entry oversteer
■ Corner exit oversteer. Car won't put down power but goes directly to oversteer due to inside wheel-spin
■ Excessive sliding on corner exit
■ Car has a violent reaction to major bumps and may be upset by "FIA" kerbs
Too little anti-roll bar: overall
■ Car is lazy in response, generally sloppy
■ Car is reluctant to change direction in chicane and esses
Relatively too little anti-roll bar: front
■ Car "falls over" onto outside tyre on corner entry and then washes out into understeer
■ Car is lazy in direction changes
Relatively too little anti-roll: rear
■ My own opinion is that on most road courses a rear anti-roll bar is a bad thing. Anti-roll bars transfer lateral load from the unladen tyre to the laden tyre - exactly what we don't want at the rear. I would much rather use enough spring to support the rear of the car. The exception comes when there are "washboard ripples" at corner exits, as on street circuits and poorly paved road circuits.