2/18/2023 0 Comments Fwd circle track cross weight![]() ![]() The longer the wheelbase and wider the track in relation to the height of the center of gravity, the more resistance the car has to weight transfer. Reduce the CG height reduces the product of the forces and vehicle weight. In particular, the higher the CG point is, the greater the effect of the forces. The center of gravity is the fulcrum point through which the vehicle's weight is multiplied by dynamic forces. Reduce the weight, and ou reduce the product the of the forces involved. Weight transfer is a function of the vehicle's weight and the forces acting on that weight. The amount of weight transfer is dominated by the vehicle's weight, location of the center of gravity, wheelbase, and track, and the amount of force applied during braking, accelerating, and cornering. What these components can do is impact how much the suspension moves in response to the load change, and how quickly the load transfers to the tire contact patches. These suspension components cannot change that. Weight transfer is a result of inertia and momentum. How can Weight Transfer be Minimized?Ĭontrary to what you may be inclined to believe, the amount of weight transfer is not altered by springs, shocks, anti-roll bars, etc. By reducing the loss of load on the unloaded tires, we retain the traction they can provide. By reducing the increase in load on the loaded tires, we can reduce the work they have to do. The more it is reduced, the more traction is retained. It cannot be eliminated, but it can be reduced. Overall there is a loss in traction.īecause of this, race car design, and some of the modifications you make to your street car, are designed to minimize weight transfer. What is lost from the unloaded tires is not entirely transferred to the loaded tires. Unfortunately for us, the net sum of the traction of the four tires does not stay equal. This weight transfer has significant impact on traction. We see that when standing still, the front tires have 900 lbs of weight load, and the rear tires have 600 lbs each.Īnytime the car's direction changes through braking, accelerating, or cornering, each tire will experience a gain or loss of mechanical downforce, such as the examples illustrated. We'll assume the car's side to side weight distribution is equal. Referring to the figures, we have illustrated a street car weighing 3000 lbs, and with a typical FWD street car's weight distribution of 60% front and 40% rear. If you were to have a set of scales under the tires while driving, you would see what appears to be a constant changing of the weight at each tire, hence the name. ![]() ![]() These changes are referred to as "weight transfer." Of course, the weight of the car isn't changing, or moving about the car, but the forces on the tire contact patches are changing due to inertia and momentum. While a car is braking, accelerating, or cornering, the effective mechanical downforce on, and therefore the grip of, the tires is constantly changing. As we stated in the tire traction article, this downforce impacts the grip potential of the tire. ![]() Given a certain car weight, there is a certain amount of mechanical downforce applied to each tire. If you do not fully understand weight transfer, you will not be effective in understanding how to adjust the car for maximum handling performance. A fundamental topic in any discussion about handling is weight transfer. ![]()
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