Understeer....

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S4INT
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Understeer....

Post by S4INT » Sun Sep 18, 2005 8:28 pm

Does anyone have any tips for reducing understeer?

My S4 Avant has already got H&R coil-overs, but under moderate to hard cornering it seems to understeer quite early. Is this what the S4 does when it's pushed or is it just mine? Wondering whether my tyres are past their best or perhaps I need to uprate something else? (RS4 ARB's?)

My other car is a BMW 330 Sport and the handling on standard suspension is far better resolved than the Audi, with little understeer unless you are really pushing it.

Any advice/tips welcome!
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RE: Understeer....

Post by jeffw » Sun Sep 18, 2005 8:46 pm

What tyres are you running ?

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Post by S4INT » Sun Sep 18, 2005 8:50 pm

Michelin Pilots - I'm on RS4 replicas so 225/40/18's.
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Post by Dippy » Mon Sep 19, 2005 3:12 am

My H&R's give me a bit of oversteer at low and medium speeds, and I only get understeer when really pushing hard. Have you had your alignment checked?
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Post by kies4 » Mon Sep 19, 2005 6:35 am

I'm no expert but i thought a more rigid anti roll bar on the back would solve this problem.
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Post by Nige_RS4 » Mon Sep 19, 2005 8:56 am

The H&R ARB's will sort most of your problems out, unless you go in too fast, then you have to expect a bit of understeer. My car used to push wide at slow to medium speeds on tight roundabouts, but it's great now, actually better than my BMW!

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Post by BRETTCOLLINS » Mon Sep 19, 2005 10:30 am

The H&R ARB's did sort my problems out. handling is much better thank you.
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Post by don » Mon Sep 19, 2005 11:59 am

An H&R fat anti-roll bar upgrade is definitely the go.

http://www.rs246.com/index.php?name=PNp ... 8&start=30

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Post by S4INT » Mon Sep 19, 2005 12:38 pm

Thanks for the info guys - looks like the H&R ARB's are the way to go.

Haven't had my alignment checked, so maybe that would be the first port of call, and my steering wheel is slightly off to the right so would be a good opportunity to get that sorted as well.
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Post by dazzer » Mon Sep 19, 2005 7:42 pm

Please let me know what caused your steering wheel to be off to the right, I have got the same on mine.

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Post by cpufreak » Tue Sep 20, 2005 12:28 am

dazzer - getting your tracking sorted should fix that.

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Post by tartan_rob » Tue Sep 20, 2005 8:59 am

Get tracking done by some with laser equipment that knows what they are doing.
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Post by fade2grey » Tue Sep 20, 2005 10:46 am

you can reduce understeer buy reducing grip at the back end, either by tightening it (a-la anti roll bar), tyres/pressures/alignment..

or slow in, fast out in the corners...
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Post by DavidT » Tue Sep 20, 2005 11:13 am

I agree, driving style is the biggest factor by far, regardless of what suspension setup you have. You can only really practice that on a racing circuit, lap after lap. A datalogger would help too.

The other thing to consider is that the more you move from understeer through a neutral balance into oversteer, the more nervous and 'pointy' a car becomes. Fine for the track when you have little or nothing else to worry about and are close to the limit, but not what you want for an emergency situation on the public roads, which is why car manufacturers design understeer in.

The 4wd Audi's understeer for sure, but driving a quick front wheel drive car recently was a real wake up call for me :-( and :-)

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Post by eddiecrawford » Tue Sep 20, 2005 8:36 pm

if you are a woose like me and only really provoke the car into under/oversteer in the wet, then the cheap option is wait until your front tyres are a mm or 2 more worn on the front than the back then swap them (as above, just reducing grip at the rear)

easy to make it neutral, when you are thinking of getting new tyres soon, if you know what i mean.... :)

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