torque steer

[Punch]

anyway to limit the amount of torque steer in the pt turbo?

Punch

[SteelBlueGT]

Of course there is, the pedal on the far right side needs to be modulated correctly and that will cut down torque steer to a minimum! The only time I feel torque steer is in wet conditions on slick streets!

[Punch]

Damn, I thought that was just a 2 position switch : )

1 position being up, the other down!

Punch

[GLH_TC 16V]

You can limit the amount of torque steer by increasing the traction to the wheel which is causing the torque steer. Usually it is the passenger front wheel in a FWD car because there is less weight over it. A quick and dirty fix is to reduce the tire pressure in that one tire relative to the drivers side tire. The larger contact patch of the passenger tire with the reduced pressure will increase the traction for that tire and slightly reduce the torque steer.

That being said, it is not a practical solution to the problem as a) the reduced tire pressure will increase the rolling resistance and fuel mileage will go down, b) under normal driving, the car may pull to the right because of the increased traction and lower ride height of that corner of the vehicle, and c) you will experience unever tread wear across that tire due to under-inflation. For the best solution (albeit much more expensive) is a limited slip differential (see the 'limited slip' thread in the suspension forum).

Another 'do-it-yourself-fix' is to shim the front swaybar to 'preload' the passenger side to help equal out the weight over the wheels. For this you will have to experiment with different shim sizes, a lot of trial and error. Just some tricks that I learn from my Turbo Dodge days.

[Ian-PT-GT]

quote:Originally posted by GLH_TC 16V

You can limit the amount of torque steer by increasing the traction to the wheel which is causing the torque steer. Usually it is the passenger front wheel in a FWD car because there is less weight over it. A quick and dirty fix is to reduce the tire pressure in that one tire relative to the drivers side tire. The larger contact patch of the passenger tire with the reduced pressure will increase the traction for that tire and slightly reduce the torque steer.

Ain't the engine on the right side (pasenger side)?????

I would guess the the lighter side would be on the driver side.

Just two cents.

Ian

[GLH_TC 16V]

You are right Ian, I was thinking of my friends Integra in which we just installed a new motor/tranny combo. Those Hondas spin backwards

But at any rate, you'd have to weight each side to determine the weight bias (don't forget to factor in the weight of the driver) and the same principals apply.

[Mike Radowski]

The GT has equal length half shafts and torque steer should be at a minimum, anyway. Right?

Mike

[GLH_TC 16V]

quote:Originally posted by Mike Radowski

The GT has equal length half shafts and torque steer should be at a minimum, anyway. Right?

Mike

Well, that's what a lot of people think but there is more to torque steer than just equal length shafts. If you want to get technical, they aren't true equal length shafts as there is an intermediate shaft which doesn't deflect and is held by a hanger.

_T
/
Sorry for the bad ascii representation but the "T" represents the transmission and the "_" would be the intermediate shaft. The "/" and the "\" are the CV/half/drive shafts which are of equal length.

You don't need equal length shafts to eliminate torque steer. Yes it DOES help a bit, but it is just one piece of the puzzle. I've got unequal length drive shafts on my FWD race car and torque steer isn't a problem at all. Straight and true like the arrow flies.

[DC2-1301]

From what I can gather from reading up on this, Torque Steer is a combination of factors. In the old days, most FWD vehicles had un-equal drive shafts which caused Torque Steer due to the longer shaft having a different "twist" characteristic as well as being on a different angle to the wheel. Now most implement a "equal length" solution by using an intermediate shaft, then the final drive shaft, which has an equal length to the other (closer)shaft.

I did find this link to an article describing how steering feedback settings also have an effect on Torque Steer:

http://www.ukcar.com/sframe.htm?/fea...g/feedback.htm

Notice the authors opinion of: "For this reason MacPherson suspension strut may not be very suitable for FWD cars with very powerful engines." Interesting!!

IMHO: It sounds like a true "Limited Slip" system is the only real solution.

[3BarBoost]

Wait till somebody puts 20inchers with 15-series tyres. That is a sure way to make a darty beast. My GLH is all over the road with low-profile steamrollers, same thing happens on SRT-4s.