Randy Pobst on Over/Understeer and Car Setup
#31
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Originally Posted by Veloce Raptor
Considering Pobst won today (first time in the car all season) at a very tough, slippery, dirty track, I'd say he was spot-on, as usual.
He ran at Road Atlanta, qualified 4th I think, but was under weight and had to start at the back of the grid. Finished 8th in the race.
#32
Originally Posted by Flying Finn
Slight oversteer on slow corners and (very) slight understeer on fast corners is what some pros (EDIT: and I) prefer. Reverse is the worst!
- I play with the shocks and front wheels toe if the understeer/oversteer is present from the turn-in to apex.
- I play with cambers and rear toe if the US/OS issue is from the apex to exit
- I play with swaybars to fine tune the cars handling specially in fast sweepers.
#33
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Originally Posted by Kurt R
Actually that was his second time in the car.
He ran at Road Atlanta, qualified 4th I think, but was under weight and had to start at the back of the grid. Finished 8th in the race.
He ran at Road Atlanta, qualified 4th I think, but was under weight and had to start at the back of the grid. Finished 8th in the race.
Thanks, Kurt. I stand corrected!
#35
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Boy, they seemed to say a lot without really saying much at all. Nothing about shock set up at all, how it really affects handling, which is what the title said the article was about.
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Larry Herman
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Larry Herman
2016 Ford Transit Connect Titanium LWB
2018 Tesla Model 3 - Electricity can be fun!
Retired Club Racer & National PCA Instructor
Past Flames:
1994 RS America Club Racer
2004 GT3 Track Car
1984 911 Carrera Club Racer
1974 914/4 2.0 Track Car
CLICK HERE to see some of my ancient racing videos.
#36
Race Director
Jack that was NOT the article.
The article featured Joe Stimola (or something close to that). He is apparently and Eastern Shock expert and brings a Shock trailer to many SCCA National events. Sells Penske racing shocks.
The article featured Joe Stimola (or something close to that). He is apparently and Eastern Shock expert and brings a Shock trailer to many SCCA National events. Sells Penske racing shocks.
#38
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While I'm supprised that Pros like understeer, as a complete hack I found it faster.
I used setup my car for mild oversteer cause I thought it was faster. It made the car feel nervous in fast corners, but I figured I needed to learn how to drive it that way if I wanted to get any speed out it. With this setup on the car last year, I had a couple of lawn mowing moments when I thought my corner entry speed was too high, and decided to cut the grass instead of risk spinning the car into the corner. This year, I setup the car for mild understeer. Although I still though the oversteer was faster, I decided staying on the track was better. Result? I was slower at first, but by the end of the year, I was 1.8 sec faster than I had ever been. I figured it is mostly due to having more confidence in the car on corner entry. Who woulda thunk it?
I used setup my car for mild oversteer cause I thought it was faster. It made the car feel nervous in fast corners, but I figured I needed to learn how to drive it that way if I wanted to get any speed out it. With this setup on the car last year, I had a couple of lawn mowing moments when I thought my corner entry speed was too high, and decided to cut the grass instead of risk spinning the car into the corner. This year, I setup the car for mild understeer. Although I still though the oversteer was faster, I decided staying on the track was better. Result? I was slower at first, but by the end of the year, I was 1.8 sec faster than I had ever been. I figured it is mostly due to having more confidence in the car on corner entry. Who woulda thunk it?
#39
Rennlist Member
From what I have seen in World Challenge I think Randy is pretty correct. Most of the cars are setup for very slight oversteer during qualifying (where most of us do only one or two laps) and then slight understeer during the race. Driving an oversteering car for any race length can be a hand full and is definitely slower. My car at Road Atlanta went from perfect to oversteer after about 10 laps. From that point on the laps times were about a 1.5 seconds slower than before. At Laguna this past weekend my car developed a very slight understeer and as the grip changed I was able to keep all my lap times in a .5 second difference.
Also something that wasn't mentioned in this thread to take into consideration the tires wearing and the fuel in the car burning off. In Randy's front wheel drive Mazda less fuel weight in the rear puts more weight on the front wheels to help them grip as they wear off. In the BMW I drive as the fuel burns off and the rear tires wear the car tends to go loose.
Also something that wasn't mentioned in this thread to take into consideration the tires wearing and the fuel in the car burning off. In Randy's front wheel drive Mazda less fuel weight in the rear puts more weight on the front wheels to help them grip as they wear off. In the BMW I drive as the fuel burns off and the rear tires wear the car tends to go loose.