Bloody understeer and strange handling.

[Lauren]

Bry is correct here, soften the front and stiffen the rear will make the front turn in better. The same as having the front end slightly lower than the rear has the same result.

Try running 3/4 stiffness on the rear and 1/2 on the front and go from there.
When you make changes be sure you try it for a few days before you make more changes, give your self and chance to get used to them.

John

I'd go for altering the toe. A little more at the front and a little less at the rear will help understeer. Changing toe settings seems to me to make far more difference than playing around with a small amount of damper adjustment.

At the end of the day if you are getting understeer you are trying to carry too much speed into a corner. an MR2 is very much a slow in fast out type car.

I'd add that softening the front damperwise really only increases oversteer rather than reducing understeer IYSWIM. Far better to tackle the problem where it is ie the front end. An increase in toe in will help to get some more heat into the front tyres.

[SimonPearse]

the tyre contact patch cant be that simple.i agree that tyre pressure and weight will be a factor.the tyre width and diameter must come into it.you cant tell me you get the same grip from a 20cm wide tyre as you do from a 40cm wide one.if the pressure is the same you must get more friction from more rubber its simple physics.

contrary to popular belief, frictional force is not proportional to area, only to the coefficient of friction (which is constant for a particular material) and the force applied normal to contact area i.e. the weight

the simple formula F=uR where F=frictional force, u=coefficient of friction and R= reaction force only applies in static situations before the limiting friction has been reached

[SimonPearse]

the tyre contact patch cant be that simple.i agree that tyre pressure and weight will be a factor.the tyre width and diameter must come into it.you cant tell me you get the same grip from a 20cm wide tyre as you do from a 40cm wide one.if the pressure is the same you must get more friction from more rubber its simple physics.

contrary to popular belief, frictional force is not proportional to area, only to the coefficient of friction (which is constant for a particular material) and the force applied normal to contact area i.e. the weight

the simple formula F=uR where F=frictional force, u=coefficient of friction and R= reaction force only applies in static situations before the limiting friction has been reached

[DeusMR2]

the simple formula F=uR where F=frictional force, u=coefficient of friction and R= reaction force only applies in static situations before the limiting friction has been reached

yep true

[CJ B]

I've also had the car in the local KwikFit (they have ramps and dont charge for an inspection ) and they couldnt find any noticable faults but the guy did test drive it and said there was something seriously wrong!

The car went in to my usual (very trusted) mechanic this morning and he checked everything out, the droplinks / bushes / tie rod ends etc etc.... are all fine, he did find a very small amount of play in the off-side steering rack but nothing that should upset the car so much, he said its well within MOT standards. He couldnt make the car clunk at all but it has done it three times now when driving.

When I rock the wheel with the ignition (power steering) off there is a slight clicking noise, when I turn on the ignition (power steering on) the noise goes away.
Anyone got any ideas?

HELP HELP HELP HELP THANKS !!!

Chris.

[Jimbo]

the idea that bigger wider wheels = more rubber on the road is a common myth. The amount of rubber on the road is affected by the cars weight and the tyre pressure. e.g. a tyre inflated to 30 psi and carrying a load of 450 lb will have a contact patch of 450/30 =15 sq in.
If you don't believe me do a web search.

Silly me, I've been running 245s on the back. I'm going to get some 155 Nankangs run them at 3psi and stick some breeze blocks in my boot!!

The things you learn on this site ..

Jimbo