Data Analysis Fundamentals: Steering Application
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Steering Application
02.07
| 00:00 | - If you have a steering angle channel as part of your datalogging package, then this can open up the ability to analyse both the car balance and decide if a certain handling characteristic is an inherent problem with the chassis or if it's driver induced. |
| 00:15 | In order to do this, we want to look at a time/distance plot of the lateral G force trace and the steering angle overlaid together. |
| 00:23 | One of the more common issues we'll come across is a car that exhibits corner entry understeer. |
| 00:29 | And this may certainly be the reality in many cases. |
| 00:33 | This turn in understeer can be induced by the driver by turning into the corner too early. |
| 00:39 | The problem with doing this is that the initial turn in only requires a slow application of steering but as the apex approaches and the driver realises their mistake, they need to rapidly add steering lock in an attempt to reach the apex. |
| 00:53 | This has the effect of tightening the corner radius and can result in understeer. |
| 00:58 | We can see this in the steering channel, was an initial gentle application of steering followed by a more abrupt application as the car approaches the apex. |
| 01:07 | We'll see the lateral G force trace initially track the applied steering angle but then the lateral G trace will stabilise while we see the steering wheel angle continue to increase. |
| 01:18 | This will result in the lateral G trace peaking later in the corner after the driver has begun to reduce the steering angle. |
| 01:25 | While this is an example of driver induced understeer, the same two channels can also show us when there is a mechanical understeer issue with the chassis. |
| 01:33 | In this instance, we will see the lateral G force and steering angle channels increase in unison. |
| 01:41 | If the driver then continues to increase the steering angle we will see that the additional steering angle doesn't result in any further increase in lateral G force. |
| 01:49 | There are more advanced techniques for analysing the handling balance of the chassis however at this level, the lateral G force and steering angle channels are sufficient to get an understanding of what is happening without the need to dive deep into complex math channels. |
