Torque Steer on 4S
08-31-2021, 08:47 AM
#1
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Thread Starter
Torque Steer on 4S
I test drove a 4S yesterday and noticed tugs of torque steer. I wasn’t pushing the car very hard at all. It seemed to occur when I was turning at the crests of hills. When holding the steering wheel through the curves, there would be a sudden “blip” where the wheel suddenly tugs in the oversteer direction and I’d have to correct it back on line. Roads were dry. I was very surprised to feel it, and it occurred several times. It was as if the power transfer to the front wheels was abrupt. My BMW435 XDrive is RWD but sends power to the front as needed, but the only time I ever feel any torque steer is when I’m playing in snow and deliberately breaking the car loose. Even then, the transfer to the front is smooth. Is the jerkiness I was feeling on the 4S normal? This particular car also has Power Steering Plus so perhaps that was it???
Last edited by Denny Swift; 08-31-2021 at 08:49 AM.
08-31-2021, 09:31 AM
#2
Rennlist Member
Power Steering plus is only active at very low speeds (I think it is less than 10MPH) - so likely not it. I have the 992 C4S, and have not noticed what you are describing. The transfer of RWD bias to Front wheel is seamless, in my experience. Actually have only seen it on the display (you can put on the far right display the visual of where the power is going to the wheels) in wet and in snow, haven't seen it really put much power to the front wheels outside of those conditions.
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peterdouglas (08-31-2021)
08-31-2021, 09:47 AM
#3
I have not noticed this either. FWIW, I had a BMW 440Xdrive before the C4S. I love the C4S and wish I had switched cars sooner.
08-31-2021, 10:20 AM
#5
First you mention torque steer then you describe it as "blip" and "tugging in the oversteer direction" especially over crests. That does NOT sound like torque steering to me. It's the front axle (more precisely the front wheels) turning into the slip angle. It's designed this way and gives you feedback about what the car, the axles and the tires are doing. When turning over a crest and getting oversteer, having the info "at hand" is something you'd want.
08-31-2021, 10:29 AM
#6
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Yes
No, it is torque steer. The steering on my Spyder is effectively perfect. The tires go exactly where I will them to go and the feel/feedback through the steering wheel is precise even at the limits like when I autocross. On the 4S it felt like when the front end was unloaded, due to cresting the hill, it suddenly transmitted power to the front end, thus pulling the front of the car toward the over steer direction. It’s what I’d expect an AWD (that is normally RWD) to do in slippery conditions. But it wasn’t slippery and I wasn’t pushing hard.
First you mention torque steer then you describe it as "blip" and "tugging in the oversteer direction" especially over crests. That does NOT sound like torque steering to me. It's the front axle (more precisely the front wheels) turning into the slip angle. It's designed this way and gives you feedback about what the car, the axles and the tires are doing. When turning over a crest and getting oversteer, having the info "at hand" is something you'd want.
Last edited by Denny Swift; 08-31-2021 at 10:30 AM.
08-31-2021, 10:29 AM
#7
Never noticed that on my '17 C4S (991.2). Did not have PS+ but had RWS...
Last edited by icanthelpit; 08-31-2021 at 10:31 AM.
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08-31-2021, 10:39 AM
#8
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Thread Starter
Ok, here’s another theory:
ive never owned any vehicle with an automatic transmission; this 4S was the pdk (I’ll be getting a manual). Perhaps the car shifted and that’s what I felt. Now that I think about it, that’s more likely since everything I’ve read (professional reviews and here) says the power transfer is seamless. If the car dropped to a lower gear in the middle of a curve, I’d probably feel that through the steering wheel, so that was probably it. I wish I had thought of that during the test drive. It would have been easy to hold it in gear and test it.
ive never owned any vehicle with an automatic transmission; this 4S was the pdk (I’ll be getting a manual). Perhaps the car shifted and that’s what I felt. Now that I think about it, that’s more likely since everything I’ve read (professional reviews and here) says the power transfer is seamless. If the car dropped to a lower gear in the middle of a curve, I’d probably feel that through the steering wheel, so that was probably it. I wish I had thought of that during the test drive. It would have been easy to hold it in gear and test it.
Last edited by Denny Swift; 08-31-2021 at 10:41 AM.
08-31-2021, 11:16 AM
#9
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Most likely you are correct, A PDK is not as smooth as an automatic transmission and while brilliant will have shifts you can feel, . My wife complains constantly about the PDK in her Macan S thinking its an automatic transmission with a torque convertor, what she is used to. When I try to explain what a PDK is and why, her eyes glaze over and she says "Well, I think there is something wrong with the transmission".
The 4S is marvelous. Especially hard driven at the track, it will pull through corners like no pusher 2WD can.
The 4S is marvelous. Especially hard driven at the track, it will pull through corners like no pusher 2WD can.
08-31-2021, 01:21 PM
#10
Rennlist Member
I test drove a 4S yesterday and noticed tugs of torque steer. I wasn’t pushing the car very hard at all. It seemed to occur when I was turning at the crests of hills. When holding the steering wheel through the curves, there would be a sudden “blip” where the wheel suddenly tugs in the oversteer direction and I’d have to correct it back on line. Roads were dry. I was very surprised to feel it, and it occurred several times. It was as if the power transfer to the front wheels was abrupt. My BMW435 XDrive is RWD but sends power to the front as needed, but the only time I ever feel any torque steer is when I’m playing in snow and deliberately breaking the car loose. Even then, the transfer to the front is smooth. Is the jerkiness I was feeling on the 4S normal? This particular car also has Power Steering Plus so perhaps that was it???
08-31-2021, 03:04 PM
#11
RL Community Team
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
What you are describing is not torque steer.
It is either the RWS, the PDK shifting gears, or a combination of both.
But it is not torque steer. Given the rear engine, all wheel traction (of the 4S), torque steer is just a likely candidate, or a candidate at all
It is either the RWS, the PDK shifting gears, or a combination of both.
But it is not torque steer. Given the rear engine, all wheel traction (of the 4S), torque steer is just a likely candidate, or a candidate at all
08-31-2021, 03:45 PM
#12
Burning Brakes
Ok, here’s another theory:
ive never owned any vehicle with an automatic transmission; this 4S was the pdk (I’ll be getting a manual). Perhaps the car shifted and that’s what I felt. Now that I think about it, that’s more likely since everything I’ve read (professional reviews and here) says the power transfer is seamless. If the car dropped to a lower gear in the middle of a curve, I’d probably feel that through the steering wheel, so that was probably it. I wish I had thought of that during the test drive. It would have been easy to hold it in gear and test it.
ive never owned any vehicle with an automatic transmission; this 4S was the pdk (I’ll be getting a manual). Perhaps the car shifted and that’s what I felt. Now that I think about it, that’s more likely since everything I’ve read (professional reviews and here) says the power transfer is seamless. If the car dropped to a lower gear in the middle of a curve, I’d probably feel that through the steering wheel, so that was probably it. I wish I had thought of that during the test drive. It would have been easy to hold it in gear and test it.
08-31-2021, 06:44 PM
#13
I have read countless reviews and viewed many, many video reviews of the 992, and there has never been a mention of torque steer. If this were a characteristic of the car, the professionals who test them would surely have commented on it by now. Whatever you are experiencing is extremely unlikely to be torque steer.
08-31-2021, 07:37 PM
#14
Burning Brakes
