track tips and tweak 5 21 21 LOOSE TOO MUCH NOT ENOUGH JUST RIGHT

[Shannon Whitehead]

#560626

I love your articles. Keep ’em coming! Thank YOU:)

[13COBRA]

#560627

Good read Martin!

[TKO MOTORSPORTS TEAM]

#560628

RT SERPENT said:
I love your articles. Keep 'em coming! Thank YOU:)

thanks RT………. We appreciate your kind words

[TKO MOTORSPORTS TEAM]

#560629

13COBRA said:
Good read Martin!

Thank you. Its a group effort Im not the only one to blame

[Shannon Whitehead]

#37617

LOOSE.jpg

TKO MOTORSPORTS
TRACK TIPS AND TWEAKS

Motorsports are extremely dangerous. Property damage, injury and or death may occur if you choose to participate in any form of motorsports. The following information is strictly for reference purposes only. Techniques, applications described in the following as well the execution of said techniques and applications described in the following is done at your own risk.

OVERSTEER AKA: LOOSE, TOO MUCH, NOT ENOUGH, JUST RIGHT
part 1 of 2
Once again, when we are discussing car setup and tuning at the track, we don’t use the cool technical terms. We keep it simple with down home slang. The technical term “oversteer” and the down home slang “loose” both mean the same thing; a simple definition of oversteer/loose = rear axle loss or reduction of grip or both front and rear axles loss or reduction of grip. Our track setup vocabulary is expanding, with “loose” and “tight”, we are now going to add a new term, “neutral.” “Neutral” in the context of a cars performance simply means very minor bad habits; not loose or tight, it’s “neutral.”
We know a lot of people keep asking, “if you guys are professionals, why do you use the slang terms instead of the proper technical terms; oversteer and understeer?” Here’s the reason why once again, when communicating at the track, on the radio, in the ridiculous noisy pits and garages, or with a driver who may speak a foreign language, it’s very easy to mix up “oversteer” and “understeer.” Communication is very important whether you’re an amateur or a professional. Any miscommunication will lead to mistakes, lost time on the track and a loss overall.
A loose car condition is not always a bad thing, in fact, many times a loose condition can be beneficial. Unfortunately, just like everything in life, too much of a good thing can be bad. There are dozens of factors that can contribute to a loose condition. We will hit on the 10 most common and simple causes of a loose car condition. This is going to be a 2-part series since there is so much info to go over.
10 MOST COMMON CAUSES OF A LOOSE CAR CONDITION
1. Overdriving the car or driving style
2. Broken or worn out suspension components
3. Excessive hot tire pressures
4. Not enough or too much rear camber
5. Too much rear spring
6. Too much rear bar
7. Not enough downforce
8. Too much rear shock
9. Roll bind
10. Track conditions

PART 1
1. Overdriving the car or driving style
100% the most common cause of a loose car condition is the loose nut behind the wheel. Many amateur drivers will simply overdrive the car, exceeding the grip of the rear tires and mistakenly think that the car is loose. Unlike a pushy car condition caused by the driver, which is easier to fix, a loose car condition induced by the driver is much more difficult to fix. The difficulty in fixing the driver induced loose condition is that most amateur drivers believe that dirt tracking your car into and out of every corner on a paved road course is the fastest way around the track but nothing could be farther from the truth. The tried and true way to fix this problem is a simple lap timer and back to back lap times. Drive a few laps like a 17-year-old who just got their license; slide it in and dirt track it out of every turn like you’re auditioning for the next false and ridiculous movie and you think your really laying down some lap times. Then run a few laps trying to be as smooth as possible.

2. Broken or worn out suspension components
A loose condition caused by broken, damaged or loose suspension components is an easy fix and 90% of the time preventable. If you are an amateur racer or hardcore track junkie you should always be inspecting for broken, worn or loose components. “Nut and bolting” should be part of your pre-race or track weekend ritual. While you’re nut and bolting your car, you should also be looking for worn and damaged suspension components.

3. Excessive hot tire pressures
Excessive hot tire pressures will reduce your tires contact patch and tire side wall function, which in turn will reduce grip. Adjust your hot tire pressure to increase grip. We went over hot vs. cold tire pressures, nitrogen and their effects on a car’s performance in previous Tips and Track Tweaks. So, if you’re unfamiliar with hot tire pressures just have a look at our Tips and Track Tweaks hot and cold tires pressures write up.

4. Not enough or too much rear camber
This mainly applies to rear drive cars. If you’re not running enough rear camber, then you’re not taking advantage of all the grip that’s available. The same is true if you run too much rear camber, sometimes people think more is always better which is not the case. There is a window of operation between camber, tire wear and grip. When tuning the suspension, you’re always looking for that window and how to maximize it to your advantage.

5. Too much rear spring
Oversprung aka: too much rear spring can cause a loose condition simply because the suspension lacks compliance. This is true for linear rate coil springs, progressive rate coil springs, leaf springs, or torsion bars. (In future TKO Motorsports Tips and Track Tweaks we will go over coil, leaf and torsion springs, including the good, bad and ugly of them all). If you have a loose car condition that you just can’t seem to minimize or manage with other adjustments that are available to you, a softer rear spring would be a change worth trying.

PART 2- OVERSTEER AKA: LOOSE, TOO MUCH, NOT ENOUGH, MANAGABLE

6. Too much rear bar
Too much rear sway bar (larger diameter than needed or a low mechanical advantage) or a sway bar that is not neutralized or binding will cause a loose car condition. Sway bars, as we have talked about in the past, are one of your first go to adjustments when tuning at the track. If you have a loose condition and you have an adjustable sway bar, soften the rear sway bar. If you don’t have the luxury of an adjustable rear sway bar, your option can be to disconnect your rear sway bar and run a few laps. What you’re doing in either option is making the car more compliant to the track and conditions.

7. Not enough rear downforce
A loose condition caused by a lack of downforce at the rear can be tricky to work with and unnerving to any driver. Usually, a loose condition caused by a lack of downforce will occur at high speeds and high loads. Simple on-board data can be a big help in solving this problem. GoPro or AIM Solo are simple, easy to use on-board data tools. Test your spoiler and wing angles if you have that option. If you don’t have the option of adjustable aerodynamics or you don’t have any aero on the car to begin with, adjusting your rake angle is a feasible Plan B. Always start with small adjustments and always log your adjustments so that you can go back if you go too far.

8. Too much rear shock
A proper high-quality set of shocks, often times, can cure or reduce a loose car condition. Proper high-quality shocks built for your application with simple compression and rebound adjustability is all that 99% of amateur racers and weekend track junkies need to reduce or even cure a loose or tight car condition. If you have a loose car condition and you have proper adjustable shocks, you can simply try taking out some compression, “soften the shock.” There are lots of variables when adjusting at the track, so you have to take into account the other factors we have discussed; rear sway bar, rear springs, camber, hot tire pressures, and track conditions. Never be afraid to make adjustments, even if you make the wrong adjustment and go backwards, you will still learn something to help you go faster.

9. Roll bind
Roll bind and loose… although they may sound like polar opposites that have nothing in common, in the world of suspension tuning of cars they go hand in hand. Roll bind is probably the most overlooked and least understood cause of a loose car condition. Causes of roll bind are usually very simple and many times easy to fix.

Basic causes of roll bind:
1. Rubber or urethane control arm bushings: FIX – switch to properly made and engineered plastic control arm bushings or use spherical bearings.
2. Poor suspension design: FIX – invest in a properly designed, engineered and built suspension.
3. Rubber, urethane or plastic sway bar bushings: FIX – no bind sway bar pillow blocks with spherical bearings.
4. Spring coil bind: FIX – install the proper length spring for your application.
5. Not enough shock travel: FIX – purchase high-quality shocks that are designed and built for your application.
6. Inefficient or nonexistent bump rubbers: FIX – always run good quality bump rubbers with the correct dimensions and durometer for your application.

10. Track conditions
Track conditions or conditions in general will always play a part in how your car performs. Hot and greasy or wet track conditions are going cause a loss of grip which will induce a loose car condition. You have to manage these types of conditions the best you can with simple adjustments in varying degrees.
Wet conditions such as light rain or a wet track: The go to adjustment is disconnecting the rear sway bar. This will allow the car to be much more compliant and predictable. When experiencing extremely wet conditions, many times disconnecting both front and rear sway bars is the best option.
A hot and greasy track can be difficult to work with. On some parts of the track your car may be loose while in other parts it may be tight. Sway bar adjustments, shock adjustments and tire pressures are all very critical when dealing with hot greasy track conditions.

We left the door open for questions on this installment of TKO Motorsports Tips and Track Tweaks. If you have questions, we may have answers. Q&A and discussions are great ways for all of us learn, be safe and maybe even get a little faster in the end.

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