Just curious as this is my first FWD car.
Having recently added springs and large rear swaybar, the back end is coming out more often.
What is the correct way to fix oversteer in a FWD car?

 

Stay on the gas

You can try: less rear air pressure; toe the rear in a little more (don't necessarily have to actually have toe-IN, but maybe less toe-out); if your swaybar is adjustable, soften it up a click; soften the rear damping if those are adjustable.

The simple rule of thumb is, "soften the end that slips". It's not always right, but it's a good place to start.

But seriously, don't lift in the corners

 

From http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=58
Guide To High Performance Handling

Adjustments///////////Decrease Understeer/////Decrease Oversteer
Front tire Pressure////Higher/////////////////////Lower
Rear Tire Pressure/////Lower/////////////////////Higher
Front Tire section/////Larger/////////////////////Smaller
Rear Tire section//////Smaller/////////////////////Larger
Front Wheel Camber//More negative/////////////More Positive
Rear Wheel Camber///More Positive//////////////More Negative
Front Wheel Toe//////Toward Toe-out///////////Toward Toe-in
Rear Wheel Toe///////Toward Toe-in/////////////Toward Toe-out
Front Wheel Caster///More Positive//////////////More Negative
Front Springs//////////Soften/////////////////////Stiffen
Rear Springs///////////Stiffen/////////////////////Soften
Front AntiSwaybar////Soften (thinner)///////////Stiffen (thicken)
Rear AntiSwaybar/////Stiffen (thicker)///////////Soften (thinner)
Weight Distribution///More rearward//////////////More Forward


Take steps to decrease oversteer-

Start with a softer setting for the rear swaybar.
Try higher rear tire pressures.

 

What was said before
1.Keep on the gas thru the corner.

2.Dont lift off gas on entering the corner as this it the key to oversteer excitement....

 

Shocks control transient response, so softening the rear/stiffening the front damping would be correct if the oversteer occurs at the start of a turn. However if the oversteer occurs past the middle of the turn, then softer rear spring/bar rate or stiffer front spring/bar rate would theoretically be preferable. As noted, this is assuming alignment and pressures are already optimal. Tire pressure adjustments are a great fine-tuning tool especially good for track day when there is no time for other adjustments.

 

Staying on the gas, is as noted above, the right thing (and by far the simplest !) to do for oversteer. Not trying to be a smartass (really), but if the entry speed is just too high, front wheel drive still won't save you ! Ditto if you just flat out blow the apex, too. Minis are still ruled by the laws of physics (although they do offer compelling arguements against them !)

 

The Phil Wicks Ultimate Mini Driving Academy talks about this in depth. You should go when it comes to your area which will be Summit Point in 2006

 

You should go to Phil Wicks Ultimate Mini Driving Academy where oversteer is covered in depth. If you are in northern Virginia, you could go to either Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw SC on November 13 or to Summit Point next June 29 as part of Mini Meet East.

 

Nobody's given the smart-*** answer of "put the stock springs and swaybar back"?



Seriously, if the amount of oversteer in the car as it is set up right now is a problem, swap back to rear swaybar until you can get yourself in a car control clinic to learn how to handle the car with the larger rear swaybar in a safe environment. If it's an adjustable rear swaybar, make sure it's on its softest setting to help remove some of the oversteer tendancy.

As others have said, be careful when the car is turning not to lift off the throttle too much, and stay away from the brakes. If it just starts to step out a little, the DSC should help keep things in line.

Getting on the throttle should help either "pull" the back of the car back in line, or at least cause the front end to lose traction too - causing the car to just drift wide.

 

Somebody suggested the rear toe. That's a great place to start since the car DOES NOT need toe out to rotate and many people do it anyway. My rear has always been toe'd-in and I get all the rotation I need, from a STOCK car.

The problem is that many people change the car drastically to get rotation when in fact it can be done by driving technique. Drastic throttle lift and brake stabs can always bring a car around. The fact is that many people lift well before a turn and not very hard, then turn in. This will never get rotation unless the car is dialed in for terminal oversteer, which then becomes a problem when you start driving faster.

There are obviously very different setups for track and autocross. The car can be setup looser at the track, IMO, because there aren't slaloms (although a tight "S" will bite you, like Jeferson Circuit at Summit). But, my car still rotates fine on the track with a full, tight, autocross setup.

You'll chase the over-rotation forever, but starting with toe, I'd make sure it's toe'd-in first, about 1/16. If it's already there, then use a pyrometer on the rear tires to get a normal contact patch (as opposed to over-inflation which most people run). If it's still a problem, then you'll start getting into the more difficult suspension decisions.

BTW, the "don't lift" thing? Yeah, that works, except in a slalom...

Email me privately if you'd like to take care of it locally.
garfield@northamericanmotoring.com

Brian Garfield

 

I nearly turned my Street Modified MCS into a drift car with poor setup.

An noted above I had to take the rear Koni's to nearly full soft, rear bar to full soft, add the front bar and add 6 punds of pressure to front/rear tires to get it to be reasonable. I was a smidge away from putting the stock rear sway back in. Of course, I have a couple of variables that most don't have:
Quaife limited-slip differential and r-compound 225/50/15 tires.

Finally, I can drive the car and not vice-versa.

 

Thanks for the responses.
Dont get me wrong. I like how the car is set up right now. H-sport springs and competition rear bar in middle setting. Still haven't had the chance to fully test it out(Autox season is over ) but by the way it's turning, seems like it is oversteering all of a sudden. (snap oversteer?)
I was just wondering if there's something else(in terms of driver's technique) for FWD cars.. keeping the throttle is a good point.
I'll be getting an alignment on Monday and see how things turn out.
I am planning on going to Phil Wick's academy next year.

 

I had the H-Sport springs , rear lower arms and rear H Sport sway bar on medium setting , Then added front sway bar soft , and moved the rear to stiff, the car went to an oversteer and twitchy handling. I then added front camber plates necessitating a four wheel alignment.

I was told by many that it was not necessary to get an alignment after adding the H-sprort springs, not true, my rear camber was way off and uneven side to side. The other mods made the misalignment and poor handling even worse.
After a complete and accurate 4 wheel alignment, everthing is now working well together.
So in addition to all advice above, if you are experiencing handling problems after modding the suspension, head to the alignment shop, it can make a world of difference
Just my experience

 

Alleluia!!! Exactly my experience. Can't say anymore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BGarfield

Somebody suggested the rear toe. That's a great place to start since the car DOES NOT need toe out to rotate and many people do it anyway. My rear has always been toe'd-in and I get all the rotation I need, from a STOCK car.