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Joined: Dec 2006
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From: ur mom's place
I will try my best to explain what corner balancing is and what it does to the car. I will tap into my knowledge in setting up karts, as well as basic race principles I have learned through the years. Anybody feel free to add or correct anything on this post.
Imagine a car as a four legged chair. In order for the chair to stand steadily, all four legs should be of equal length and as a consequence applying equal pressure on the floor. If one leg is longer, or shorter than the others, we have a chair that rocks, and is unstable.
By the same analogy, the suspension of the (race) car has to be adjusted so that each corner "applies" the same amount of force on the ground, relative to the diagonally-opposite corner, so that the car does not "rock." Scales are placed underneath each wheel/tire to measure the "weight" of each corner, and a "perfect" corner balance would have the sum of the weights of the right-front and left-rear corners equal the sum of the weights of the left-front and right-rear corners.
For example, we have a 200 lb. car, with the center of gravity positioned exactly at the middle of the car. An ideal situation would be that each corner (tire) would apply 50 lbs. of force.
50--| |--50
| |
|200| (Looking at the car from above)
|lbs|
| |
50--| |--50
Corner balance is perfect at LF + RR = RF + LR = 100 lbs.
By the same token, if the CG is positioned a little towards the rear, as in the case of the NSX, we would have:
40--| |--40
| |
| |
|200|
|lbs|
60--| |--60
Corner balance would still be ideal. The same applies if there was a driver (any good race car alignment shop worth their salt would put a ballast equal to the driver's weight in the driver's seat when corner balancing and aligning the suspension). In this example, say the driver weighs 10 pounds
44--| |--41
| |
|10 |
|200|
|lbs|
64--| |--61
Corner balance is still ideal.
Say, for example, one corner is jacked up so it applies 10 lbs more...(refering back to our "perfect" example)
40--| |--60
| |
|200|
|lbs|
| |
60--| |--40
Corner balance is off, with LF(40) + RR(40) = 80 and RF(60) + LR(60) = 120
It would have the same effect as having a leg on that chair a little too long, so the diagonally opposite corner would also apply more force on the ground, with lesser forces on the other two corners. The car, in effect, will "rock."
A car in this situation will have a very poor handling characteristic, and will handle differently when turned left and right. In contrast, a perfectly corner balanced car will handle the same when turning left and right, and will be maximizing tire contact area on all four corners, thus will have more grip all around.
Obviously, to be able to adjust the corner "weights" requires a suspension that has ride-height adjustability. Coil-over springs are mounted on adjustable (screw-type) perches that go up and down on the shock absorber. This allows you to adjust the ride height, as well as make fine tune adjustments to the "weight" of each corner on the road.
Imagine a car as a four legged chair. In order for the chair to stand steadily, all four legs should be of equal length and as a consequence applying equal pressure on the floor. If one leg is longer, or shorter than the others, we have a chair that rocks, and is unstable.
By the same analogy, the suspension of the (race) car has to be adjusted so that each corner "applies" the same amount of force on the ground, relative to the diagonally-opposite corner, so that the car does not "rock." Scales are placed underneath each wheel/tire to measure the "weight" of each corner, and a "perfect" corner balance would have the sum of the weights of the right-front and left-rear corners equal the sum of the weights of the left-front and right-rear corners.
For example, we have a 200 lb. car, with the center of gravity positioned exactly at the middle of the car. An ideal situation would be that each corner (tire) would apply 50 lbs. of force.
50--| |--50
| |
|200| (Looking at the car from above)
|lbs|
| |
50--| |--50
Corner balance is perfect at LF + RR = RF + LR = 100 lbs.
By the same token, if the CG is positioned a little towards the rear, as in the case of the NSX, we would have:
40--| |--40
| |
| |
|200|
|lbs|
60--| |--60
Corner balance would still be ideal. The same applies if there was a driver (any good race car alignment shop worth their salt would put a ballast equal to the driver's weight in the driver's seat when corner balancing and aligning the suspension). In this example, say the driver weighs 10 pounds
44--| |--41
| |
|10 |
|200|
|lbs|
64--| |--61
Corner balance is still ideal.
Say, for example, one corner is jacked up so it applies 10 lbs more...(refering back to our "perfect" example)
40--| |--60
| |
|200|
|lbs|
| |
60--| |--40
Corner balance is off, with LF(40) + RR(40) = 80 and RF(60) + LR(60) = 120
It would have the same effect as having a leg on that chair a little too long, so the diagonally opposite corner would also apply more force on the ground, with lesser forces on the other two corners. The car, in effect, will "rock."
A car in this situation will have a very poor handling characteristic, and will handle differently when turned left and right. In contrast, a perfectly corner balanced car will handle the same when turning left and right, and will be maximizing tire contact area on all four corners, thus will have more grip all around.
Obviously, to be able to adjust the corner "weights" requires a suspension that has ride-height adjustability. Coil-over springs are mounted on adjustable (screw-type) perches that go up and down on the shock absorber. This allows you to adjust the ride height, as well as make fine tune adjustments to the "weight" of each corner on the road.
