Why does my car lift a wheel in a corner?

[steve91tt]

I noticed that my car tends to come very close to lifting the inside front wheel in a corner on the track.

I assume this is a symptom of something being off in my alignment or suspension geometry. Anyone dealt with this before in a 240Z?

[LeonV]

It actually doesn't have anything to do with alignment or geometry. It's dependent upon the lateral force generated, and the "axle's" cornering stiffness. When the inside wheel lifts, that means that all the weight has been transferred and there will be no additional lateral force generated at that end.

[Zed Head]

I read an article in one of the car magazines years ago about a 67 Malibu turned in to a fast track car. The owner adjusted his anti-sway bar settings to lift the front wheel for photos, but he didn't race it that way. There was commentary in the article about how the suspension was so tunable that the owner asked the photographer how high he wanted the wheel for the shot.

So I would guess sway bar adjustments as a possible solution but I'm sure the track guys will know more.

Edit - by the way, you didn't say if you wanted more lift or less. Looks cooler with more...

Edited January 24, 2012 by Zed Head

[steve91tt]

Would you then stiffen the rear sway bar to keep the front tire on the ground?

[LeonV]

Would you then stiffen the rear sway bar to keep the front tire on the ground?

Yes, that's one way to do it. That would shift your cornering stiffness distribution to the rear, thus delaying full weight transfer at the front. That should make the car more neutral. When the inside front lifts, you're increasing understeer (unless you break the rears loose). You may be better off downsizing the front bar to somewhat decouple the left and right wheels, however that will likely dictate an increase in spring rate.

[240260280z]

Lots of Datsun Examples in this one.

or wait for John to chime in.

[jmortensen]

The question is: "Is the car faster lifting a tire or not lifting a tire?" Yes, if you lift a front tire off the ground that might cause you to have less traction available to turn the car at that particular part of the turn, but maybe you gained more traction in the rear for acceleration and realized a net gain. Usually the front tire comes up when the power goes on. You can stiffen the rear to stop it, but this might make it harder to put the power down.

There is more info on this kind of thing at Hybrid Z than you will find here.

[steve91tt]

Blue, I picked up a copy of "How to Make Your Car Handle" from Amazon this morning. Looks like a great book.

Jon, I will dig into Hybrid Z and see what I can find on the subject.

[John Coffey]

Looking at the pictures the balance seems about right. Maybe reduce rear roll stiffness a bit. With these cars you generally want the inside front tire very light in a corner. Helps with traction out of the corner.

You as a driver need to relax your shoulders and tighten your shoulder harnesses so you don't lean into the corner as much and don't have to hang on to the steering wheel.

[steve91tt]

Thanks John. Good to know that it's typical for these cars to have a light inside wheel in a corner. I've been working to be as relaxed as possible on the track but I don't have a harness and even with a decent seat and the stock belts as tight as I can make them I'm still fighting to keep my body planted in a corner. This should all change soon as I'm taking my car to a builder tonight to have a custom cage made and 6 point harness installed. Hopefully that will help with safety and stop me from being thown around so much in the corners.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

The 6 point harness is the money buddy.

But a poor mans way to hold your butt into your stock Datsun seat was given to me by Frank C. on this board.

A nice roll of kitchen drawer liner, that rubberized bubbly stuff. I put in on my Datsun last time around Grandsport and it was AMAZING how stuck to the seat I was...

[steve91tt]

I used the rubberized liner trick until I got the racing bucket. I agree it works great on the stock seats. I don't have a problem with my butt moving in the new seat it's my head and shoulders that are getting tossed around. Yet again, my swollen head gets me in trouble.