Quote:
Originally Posted by svxistentialist
In my layman's opinion it is not safe to suggest whether a car will understeer or oversteer based on the percentage drive to the front wheels in an AWD configuration.
It is usual for designers of FWD vehicles to set up the cars to understeer when driven beyond tyre adhesion primarily to curb over-enthusiastic driving in a safe fashion. It scrubs off speed and limits what a driver can do without the risk of spinning the car.
What I'm saying is the inherent tendency of most cars to understeer is a function of the chassis and suspension, not primarily the split of the power to the wheels.
In the case of the SVX the VTD gearbox by giving a higher percentage of power to the rear does tend to offset the natural tendency of the chassis to understeer.
Joe
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Joe,
What I have detailed in my post is based on safe grounds. Yes all road cars are designed with a tendency to understeer. I refer specifically to
excessive understeer, in line with US members complaints. This tendency is the result of excessive front drive, as occurs with the US models, but not VTD cars.
The tale of front drive pulling a car round a corner, is old hat by 70 years. This was an advertising claim by Citroen when they brought a truly beautiful car to the market.