17 replies to this topic

[Joef]

a mini handles better with its arse up a bit.

please explain, i'm curious

Me too, I'm sure mine handles better now it's arse is down...

[998dave]

a mini handles better with its arse up a bit.

please explain, i'm curious

Me too, I'm sure mine handles better now it's arse is down...

Weight transfer for turn in, with back end up it'll have more weight over the front, giving more front end traction, also better weight transfer under braking.

Another way of doing this is to stiffen the rear suspension and dampen the front, increasing weight transfer accross the car under heavy cornering - this is what causes front wheel drive race cars to lift the inside rear wheel.

D

[Scruffs]

a mini handles better with its arse up a bit.

please explain, i'm curious

Me too, I'm sure mine handles better now it's arse is down...

Weight transfer for turn in, with back end up it'll have more weight over the front, giving more front end traction, also better weight transfer under braking.

Another way of doing this is to stiffen the rear suspension and dampen the front, increasing weight transfer accross the car under heavy cornering - this is what causes front wheel drive race cars to lift the inside rear wheel.

D

If you manage to raise the car's CoG high enough to make a difference to the longitudinal weight transfer then you'll be sacrificing cornering because the lateral weight transfer in cornering will go up too.

Considering rear camber, toe, static roll centre height etc. all stay the same when changing the ride height at the rear of the mini (due to the trailing arm suspension),I'd say any improvement in handling through raising/lowering the rear end would have more to do with shifting the bump/droop balance. (ie higher ride height = less droop, more bump). Effects to the CoG height (and hence fore/aft weight transfer under braking) will be hardly noticeable because the CoG is near the front of the car.

Fwd race cars lift rear wheels because they have increased the weight transfer over the rear of the car (and reduced it over the front), not because they have increased the total lateral weight transfer, this remains the same, but yes, stiffening the rear of a mini will eventually mean you'll lift rear wheels, not so sure about increasing the damping rate on the front through.