Posted by Al Clark

This list is what I use to setup my cars - it's basically a flow chart on correcting wayward handling, or altering handling properties on a front engined car, regardless of drive. I've sort of formatted it a bit better from how it laid out, but it should make sense. Bear in mind if you're a rubbish driver, this won't 'cure' understeer than lots of people complain about. Come on a car control day to iron that bug out!

I've put the 'Problem' in normal font, and the solution in Italics.

Effect of Suspension Changes
Before making changes to suspension components and settings, it is good to know how the changes will effect performance and ride. The following chart will help give you a general idea of the effect a specific change will make to handling and ride.


Spring Rate Changes - Modification Effect on Suspensiom

Increase front and rear rate Ride harshness increases; tires may not follow bumps causing reduced traction. Roll resistance increases. 
Increase front rate only Front ride rate increases. Front roll resistance increases, increasing understeer or reducing oversteer. 
Increase rear rate only Rear ride rate increases. Rear roll resistance increases, increasing oversteer or reducing understeer. 
Decrease front and rear rate Ride harshness decreases; tires follow bumps more effectively, possibly improving traction. Roll resistance decreases. 
Decrease front rate only Front ride rate decreases. Front roll resistance decreases, decreasing understeer or increasing oversteer. 
Decrease rear rate only Rear ride rate decreases. Rear roll resistance decreases, decreasing oversteer or increasing understeer. 



Antiroll Bar Changes - Modification Effect on Suspension 

Increase front rate; Front roll resistance increases, increasing understeer or decreasing oversteer. May also reduce camber change, allowing better tire contact patch compliance with the road surface, reducing understeer. 
Increase rear rate; Rear roll resistance increases, increasing oversteer or decreasing understeer. On independent rear suspensions, may also reduce camber change, allowing better contact patch compliance with road surface, reducing oversteer. 
Decrease front rate; Front roll resistance decreases, decreasing understeer or increasing oversteer. More body roll could reduce tire contact patch area, causing understeer. 
Decrease rear rate; Rear roll resistance decreases, decreasing oversteer or increasing understeer. On independent rear suspensions, more body roll could reduce tire contact patch area, causing oversteer. 



Shock Absorber Changes Modification Effect on Suspension 

Increase rebound and bump rates; Ride harshness increases. 
Increase rebound rates only; On bumps, tires may leave track surface. 
Increase bump rates only; Body roll resisted; outside tire loaded too quickly; car won't stabilize into a turn. 
Decrease rebound and bump rates; Ride harshness decreases; car may float over bumps. 
Decrease rebound rates only; On bumps, tires follow track surface more effectively; car may continue to oscillate after bumps. 
Decrease bump rates only; Body rolls quickly; car is slower to respond to turn-in. 



The Importance of Tire Temperatures
In the course of testing the handling of a car, use tire temperatures and driver feel to make adjustments. It is critical to monitor tire temperatures often. They offer valuable clues to the setup of the car. The areas of adjustment that tire temperatures are used for include: tire pressure, camber, body roll, shock settings, wheel width and transient handling response.


Reading Handling problem; Reason 
All tires too hot; Compound too soft for track and ambient temperature conditions. 
Front tires too hot; Understeer Front tire pressures too low. 
Rear tires too hot; Oversteer Rear tire pressures too low. 
Inside edges too hot; Too much body roll Too much negative camber or too much toe-out. 
Outside edges too hot; Too much body roll Too little negative camber, too little toe-out or too much toe-in or wheel width too narrow for tire width. 
Center of tread too hot; Tire pressure too high. 
Edges on too hot; Tire pressure too low. 
All tires too cold; Compound too hard for track and ambient temperature conditions or car not being driven to limit. 
Front tires too cold; Inadequate load on front tires. 
Rear tires too cold; Inadequate load on rear tires. 



Solving Handling Problems
The key to setting up your suspension is in diagnosing what the handling problems are and resolving how to fix them. While car enthusiasts often baulk at the "black art" of suspension tuning, there's no reason to. As with working on the mechanical aspects of an engine, the trick to suspension tuning is in the troubleshooting; there is always a cause and an effect.


Problem Manifestation; Solutions

Steady state understeer during all corners or low speed cornering;
All turns or low-speed turns only If front tire temps are optimum and rears are low, stiffen rear antiroll bar; if front temps are too hot, soften front (most likely).
If front tire pressures are optimum, decrease rear tire pressure. Increase if chunking occurs.
Improper front camber, possibly caused also by too much body roll at front, causing excessive camber change.
Driver error: Turning in too fast or applying too much steering. 

Steady state understeer only during high speed cornering;
If front tire temps are OK, increase front downforce.
If front tire temps are too hot, reduce rear downforce. 

Steady state oversteer during all turns or low-speed turns cornering;
If rear tire temps are optimum, with fronts too low, stiffen front antiroll bar; if rear temps are too hot, soften rear antiroll bar (most likely).
If rear tire pressures are optimum, decrease front tire pressure. Increase if chunking occurs.
Improper rear camber. 


Steady state oversteer during High-speed cornering only;
If rear tire temps are OK, increase rear downforce.
If rear tire temps are too hot, reduce front downforce. 

Corner entry understeer; 
Front shocks are too soft in bump resistance.
Too much front toe-in; use a small amount of front toe-out. 

Corner exit understeer; 
Rear shocks are too soft in bump.
Front shocks are too stiff in rebound. 

Corner entry oversteer; 
Rear shocks are too soft in rebound.
Rear ride height is too high (too much rake) compared to front. 

Corner exit oversteer; 
Rear shocks are too soft in rebound.
Too much rear toe-in or any rear toe-out. 

Straightline instability; 
Tire pressure is too low in one or more tires.
Too little positive front caster.
Too much front toe-in or any toe-out in rear. 

Straightline speed too slow;
Too much overall downforce.
Too much toe-in or toe-out.
Ride height is too hight. 


Excessive steering effort required during all corners;
Too much positive caster.
Front tire pressures are too low. 
Chassis or suspension bottoms 
Spring rates are too soft.
Shock absorber bump rates are too soft.
Inadequate suspension travel.
Inadequate ride height.