Tips and tricks for AWD cars

[rennsport27]

I've been playing around with a couple AWD cars, mostly evo's, and have been having issues with understeer.
Since I know this is a trait for most AWD cars, I figured I'd ask and see what people have done to counteract this behavior.

Note: I have had some success, I upped the camber angle to 2.6/2.2, the toe to -.10/-.10, and Have 20%/80% torque split. If there is anything else I should be doing to improve my lap times, let me know.

 

[esoxhntr]

for corner exit understeer (which I find is typical for AWD cars) try stiffening the front extension and rear compression dampers - this should help keep more weight on the front during power on corner exit. you'll typically want stiffer springs and swaybar in the rear. having the front ride height lower than the rear will help too. if you have adjustable front downforce, increase it. ultimately though, it is a flaw of awd/fwd.

 

[risewithefallen]

i find that adding a little bit of ballast weight to the rear of awd cars can help them be more balance which can reduce understeer for corners, but if you have to accellerate into/out of a corner it can cause more understeer. i tried that technique in a skyline r34 and it worked fairly well, but the rb26det engine in the r34 has a cast iron block which makes it naturally front heavy (a characteristic of all pre-r35 skyline gtr-'s) so it worked well to balance out the weight. most cars like evo's and sti's dont have cast iron blocks, so theyre not as front heavy. i think a bit of toe out in the front can reduce initial understeer but it only works so much, as having toe out past a certain point causes more understeer. the best way is to use aerodynamics and ballast weight as well as special braking techniques (such as left foot braking- having light pressure on the brakes to keep the weight on the front wheels, a common technique for fwd car drivers).

other than that, some cars just naturally understeer with no real explaination. it comes down to things like chassis structure and engine position, as well as wheelbase and tire size. things that cannot really be changed once the manufacturer has determined them.

 

[Motor City Hami]

I am still struggling to perfect my 4wd tunes. The problem is what to do with the LSD. This is where you'll find your biggest gains, but I'm still trying to determine front and rear changes. I am finding that you can get away with really low LSD settings, even on high powered Lambos. Lately, I have tried extremely low front settings like 5/8/5 and moderately low rear like 10/15/8.

Also, play with front/rear power distribution. On tarmac, I am 20 to 30 front distribution.

 

[veyron1001]

I've been playing around with a couple AWD cars, mostly evo's, and have been having issues with understeer.
Since I know this is a trait for most AWD cars, I figured I'd ask and see what people have done to counteract this behavior.

Note: I have had some success, I upped the camber angle to 2.6/2.2, the toe to -.10/-.10, and Have 20%/80% torque split. If there is anything else I should be doing to improve my lap times, let me know.

Tune the car on the Nurburgring. Tuning the car on a flat track will only show partial potential of the car. The Camber and toe settings are a bit extreme and will eat your tires. Adjust your lsd to allow more exit speed while maintaining control of your front end.

 

[leexr2i]

I found the evo rm faster with ayc than lsd..