Corner Balance Tolerances

[PaulProe]

What are the desired limits on corner balance (LR/RF vs RR/LF) of a car. At what point are we chasing our tails.

50/50 is perfect. 1/2%, 1%, 2% at what point do you say, "keep working at it?"

Paul

[vector1]

any of the above would work, thing is, depends on how sensitive your suspension is. if you are using poly or delrin bushings or things "stick" a little and you can't get the car settled it can be difficult, or if the frame is not real stiff. try an experiment and after you get it where you think it should be let it set overnight and take another reading. on my jbl i make 1/4 turn of each shock and the change in % was predictable and repeatable. driver wt. installed and sway bars unhooked.

[jmimac351]

I reference this article and it says 1/2 degree:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/art...orner-weights/

[vector1]

you might set it at 1/2 degree difference, but will the rigidity of the frame or suspension know the difference, that was my thinking.

[patrickt]

Remember that your car's weight is going to shift by over a hundred pounds as you go from a full tank to an empty tank, too.

[mkassab]

And, if you just ate a big diner! All kidding aside, the avg driver weight should be in the drivers seat, tire air pressure set and a 1/2 tank of gas. Unless you’re a serious race driver, I'd think "close" is good enough. Plus tire compound considerations..... i.e., the bal could be perfect but the tires can't take advantage of it.

Mark

[Tommy]

Originally Posted by jmimac351

I reference this article and it says 1/2 degree:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/art...orner-weights/

I didn't see anything in the article that mentioned "1/2 degree". What did I miss?

[mdross1]

Originally Posted by mkassab

And, if you just ate a big diner! All kidding aside, the avg driver weight should be in the drivers seat, tire air pressure set and a 1/2 tank of gas. Unless you’re a serious race driver, I'd think "close" is good enough. Plus tire compound considerations..... i.e., the bal could be perfect but the tires can't take advantage of it.

Mark

Went through the same frustration years ago with mine.Set the pinion angle,had the car scaled,felt that was as good as it can get and what an incredible difference it made.Now the car does everything quite well drag racing,road course racing,and it is a very good street car.Just have to keep polishing the cornering,the big block wants to kick the rear out if a little too much loud pedal is applied.But in the end that is part of the fun of owning this hot rod.

[jmimac351]

Originally Posted by Tommy

I didn't see anything in the article that mentioned "1/2 degree". What did I miss?

4th paragraph under Cross-weight Percentage:

"On a road course, the cross-weight percentage should be very close to 50 percent, within a half-degree either way, to keep the handling balance similar in a right-hand turn compared to a left-hand turn."

[JBCOBRA]

I sat in the car while they did it

[Bobcat]

Maybe I`m just having trouble today , but how does degrees relate to % ? They were talking about % cross weight and jumped to 1/2 degree .... maybe they meant 1/2 % ????
BTW , my cross weights are 49.7% on one diagonal and 50.3% on the other .... and yes , it makes a tremendous difference in handling , assuming the alignment is correct .

[jmimac351]

That's the way I read it.

[PaulProe]

Originally Posted by Bobcat

Maybe I`m just having trouble today , but how does degrees relate to % ? They were talking about % cross weight and jumped to 1/2 degree .... maybe they meant 1/2 % ????

I was/am using the same GrassRoots article as my reference and couldn't figure out how degrees applied to percentages. If it is an editorial error, then I am in good shape. (Always a pet peeve when the proofer/editor doesn't have a clue about the subject and just accepts what a spell-checker says it OK)

I've searched for similar articles with Google but it appears most are using this article as a basis for theirs - even to the point of quoting/replicating the degree thing.

I am at 49.8% vs 50.1% (where'd the other .1% go? ) so I am calling it good. No matter how many times I jiggle the car to settle it, it seems to come back to the same numbers so it is repeatable. But having a hard time zeroing in on 5050%, that's why I asked if close was good enough

I am going to accept that it is. I know it is closer than my driving expertise could ever notice. Guess I need to work on improving driving skills now, it isn't the car's fault.

Thanks

Paul

[patrickt]

Here's a pic of the scales that we have at our local club. It only has weight and percentage. No degrees.

[Tommy]

OK, I see the "half degree" now. My mind substituted "half percent" when I read it because it made more sense. Surely that is what they meant to say.

[Seagull81]

I think Tommy is right. I have never heard of degrees when doing corner weights, just %.