Race Car Simulator - Spring Change
The car has grip available at the rear, but is at the limit of grip at the front. Thus the car is understeering or pushing.
The program uses computer graphics to explain the effects of chassis changes. The following effects can be demonstrated:
Static corner weights Weight transfer, both lateral and fore-aft
Spring rates and wheel rates Anti-roll or stabilizer bar rates
Roll center height Aerodynamic effects, and how they vary with speed
Ballast location and fuel cell effects
The Effects of a Spring Change
The primary car with lighter front springs transfers LESS weight at the front and MORE at the rear. The compare chassis on the right has 19 lbs. less load on the critical right front tire and 19 lbs. more on the left front. The 19 lbs. of load on the lightly used left front gains 27 pounds of cornering force. Removing 19 lbs. of grip on the heavily loaded right front only removes 16 pounds of cornering force. This is a net gain of 11 pounds of grip.
At the rear we transfer 22 more pounds to the right rear. This gains us 20 pounds of grip. We lose 32 pounds of grip at the left rear for a net loss of 12 pounds of cornering force. But this car was pushing (understeering) and the net gain of 11 pounds at the front allows the car to corner at 1.280g compared to 1.272sg for the original car. This gain comes in spite of the loss of rear cornering force.