Why do RR cars tend to oversteer?

[oohhh yeah]

They have more of their weight over the rear wheels. So why does it have more lift off oversteer than a FR counterpart? This confuses me.

 

[mPWRD]

One of my friends asked me the exact same question. And he's a physics grad student. Whoever answers this, .

 

[Tornado]

Because when you let off the throttle the front tires gain more grip and the rear tires lose grip, which causes all cars to rotate somewhat. The engine being in the rear makes the car act like a pendulum.

 

[xNEVER-ONEx]

Because when you let off the throttle the front tires gain more grip and the rear tires lose grip, which causes all cars to rotate somewhat. The engine being in the rear makes the car act like a pendulum.

Not sure if that makes sense? Wouldn't it be a pendulum if the weight went from the front to back when a car accelerated?

 

[Tornado]

Not sure if that makes sense? Wouldn't it be a pendulum if the weight went from the front to back when a car accelerated?

No. Most of the weight is still there, but when you let off the has some of it has shifted forward and given the front tires more grip than they had.

The reason that RR cars understeer when throttle is applied is because there is so little grip in the front tires (and, consequently, so much grip in the rears) that the car can't turn enough for the rear to step out (generally).

 

[Punknoodle]

I once heard someone compare a RR vehicle to throwing a hammer, sideways. You have all the weight at the rear, and when you loose grip the "head" of the hammer has all the weight and thus momentum, and wants to overtake the front.

 

[skynyrd]

Let off throttle = no longer accelerating = car slows, no matter how lightly, and some weight shifts to the front from the rear (seen as the nose diving down), rear wheels have more of a chance to spin with less weight focused on them.

Using throttle = car is accellerating = weight is shifted to the back onto the rear wheels (seen as the nose lifting) and the effect is made stronger by the engine being over them as well, giving more traction to the rear

The effect is amplified by the engine's location in the rear of the car.

Is that clearer?

 

[oohhh yeah]

Because when you let off the throttle the front tires gain more grip and the rear tires lose grip, which causes all cars to rotate somewhat. The engine being in the rear makes the car act like a pendulum.

👍 I get it now:tup:.

 

[nobuffalo]

An object in motion tends to remain in motion.

 

[CyborgGT]

Which is why a hyena with an elephant's legs is best, because cats oversteer.

 

[Zenith]

Which is why a hyena with an elephant's legs is best, because cats oversteer.

Exactly.. wait... no...

The mass (not weight) in the back wants to keep going in the direction that it was going, thus when the car's front end starts to change direction, the back end is not so easily convinced. Any loss of grip to the back tires makes this a million times more pronounced.

 

[Carlos]

You should see this video:



The difference between that S14 and MR2 is huge!

 

[Azuremen]

Because when you let off the throttle the front tires gain more grip and the rear tires lose grip, which causes all cars to rotate somewhat. The engine being in the rear makes the car act like a pendulum.

Effectively.

The mass being further back in the car moves the moment of inertia back further, thus the back of the car is more inclined to continue in its original direction. FR cars have more mass towards the front, and thus the front end is more inclined to continue on its original path.

When combined with weight transfer, it makes the back of the RR car have relatively little grip, while in the FR car it may reduce grip but you are usually addressing understeer at that point anyhow.

 

[Drewsifer3x]

Which is why a hyena with an elephant's legs is best, because cats oversteer.

Suddenly the entire universe makes so much more sense now, thank you!