Steve,
I am truly surprised to hear anyone say that a Tiger "oversteers". Or maybe
you are implying something a little different when you say they are "prone
to oversteer". Now, a Porsche is a car that I believe is "prone to
oversteer" because of the large rear weight bias. Of course, if we go all
the way back to the original setup, stock springs and skinny bias ply
tires, just keeping a Tiger going straight under full power was a real
challenge; also attributable in large part to the car having such a short
wheel base.
If we test over/understeer by running the Tiger on a skid pad, I think a
more-or-less stock Tiger will tend to "plow" or understeer; at least that
was my experience. Have you experienced the opposite with your Tiger in
anything near "stock" configuration? Of course, I completely agree that you
need to match the shocks to the springs to get them close to "critical
damping". If Mike likes the way his Tiger behaves in corners now, then
matching the new shocks to the springs will keep the oversteer/understeer
characteristics unchanged, but provide more control relative to bumps. On
the other hand, adding a pair of really stiff shocks in just the rear could
have disastrous consequences. 8-(
Bob
At 11:01 PM 8/24/99 -0700, Stephen Sorenson wrote:
>Mike,
>
>Tigers are prone to oversteer. The Roger Kraus web site has a table
>that shows possible corrections to oversteer. I recommend reading that
>table (at a minimum) before making suspension modifications- even those
>as seemingly benign as shocks.
>
>To greatly over-simplify, to correct for oversteer, set up the front
>suspension tight and the rear suspension loose. With this in mind, you
>may not benefit from assuming that the same brand of shock should be
>used on the front and rear. Match the shock to your suspension set up.
>
>You mentioned that you "don't mind spending bucks on a good shock". I
>have experimented with several shocks on the track over the last few
>months. I have found a correlation between cost and the quality of
>materials used in the shock, but I have not found a correlation between
>cost and suitability to the car.
>
>One caveat: If performance is secondary to period correctness, disregard
>the above, and call Norm for advice.
>
>Steve Sorenson
Robert L. Palmer
UCSD, Dept. of AMES
619-822-1037 (o)
760-599-9927 (h)
rpalmer@ucsd.edu
rpalmer@cts.com
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