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Old 09-03-2012, 09:49 AM
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wrogers55 wrogers55 is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Hideaway, Texas, TX
Cobra Make, Engine: Backdraft #318, 418 CI, 532 RWHP, Mass Flow Injected, TKO600-Road Race, BMW M3 Suspension, Race Springs (Wouldn't do it again, rough on the street).
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I spent 30 years designing and refining suspensions on Indy car chassis and driver training schools and on the subject of "toe out", in my opinion, it is useful only on race cars, on controlled surfaces and only on specific type turn ins on very important turns. Otherwise the side effects are just not helpful anywhere else.

All in all, it is only used for those first few moments, before any significant weight transfer starts (other than rear to front under braking) and gives the inside tire a bit more of a chance to help initiate the turn in before it loses most of its gripping ability as it lightens or lifts.

Think about it this way, the only reason the car will go "straight" with toe out on both fronts is the outside tire is offsetting the "turn in" or toe out of the inside tire, they are balanced. Once you enter a turn and steer the outside tire to dead straight, the inside tire has now moved to even more toe out (turned toward the corner more) while it still has significant weight on it and can start the front of the car to turn in before the outside tire has even started to steer toward the corner. A head start so to speak. But when weight starts to transfer to the outside front tire (or rears under power), you lose all the effects of toe out on the inside front because it is losing weight to cause grip. It will have already done all it can do pretty quickly. In the extreme, if it lifts off the surface, its grip is zero (not really a good thing if it can be prevented).

On a street race course with lots of slower, tight corners it can be a blessing to over come some understeer without upsetting the bar balance of the car needed for the high speed stuff (or poor driver technique some cases).

The caution is, on the street it can cause a lot more harm than good. Under hard braking on street surfaces with varying grip side to side, the situation can get ugly in a hurry. Get it really wrong and the front can dart hard enough to cause a pretty good loss of control (think change lanes on you or worse).

On the street, with the power our cars have and the very short wheelbase, setting them up with a little toe in on both ends and soft bars for stability is not a bad idea. Seems like just about every time you want to jump on one of our cars, nothing is warmed up really, including the tires, brakes, oil in the shocks or especially the driver......so stability would have a better chance of letting you continue to play another day.
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Wayne Rogers in Hideaway, Texas

Last edited by wrogers55; 09-03-2012 at 09:52 AM..
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