chevaps

I know this might sound like a stupid question, but what is torque steer?

Timmeh

Torque steer is a combination of things. One is the wheels resistance to turning when spinning. Basically, a spinning wheel does not want to turn - if you get a bicycle wheel, holding the ends of the hubs, spin it up to a speed then try turning it left or right - you will notice a resistance to this turning. You dont notice it as much when riding a bike due to the force the handlebars gives you. All cars/wheels get this resistance, so its not torque steer alone, but makes it more noticeable especially if you get wheel spin.

In a front wheel drive, the drive is transmitted to the ground thru the front wheels, very obvious there but important. The components that make that up, including the half shaft and hubs, all want to straighten up under load. This means when using torque, under load, the car wants to steer straight.

It's easy to notice this when under heavy acceleration and turning, such as out of a roundabout. Grab second gear when high in revs, let the clutch out firmly and accelerate hard, and you'll notice its alot harder to keep the steering wheel turned, it wants to kick back to straight.

Another side effect, not included as torque steer but commonly associated with it, is the fact that the car is in an understeer situation. The weight is on the rear wheels as the car accelerates, the front wheels are light, and therefore do not steer as well. As the wheels threaten to, or do, break traction, they no longer provide the lateral traction required to turn the car, so while the steering wheel is turned, the car still propels itself forward and does not turn anywhere near as well.

Hope that helps explain it somewhat.

Regards, Tim

__________________

GTP Girl

im not sure if im right or wrong here...becuase it seems from tims post that he knows what he's talkin about. but i always associated torque steer with the wheels pulling to the left or right under heavey load. ie...in my friends golf vr6...planting the foot whilst the wheel is straight and under the load the car tries to pull left. in a exagerated example i know of pulsars with gtir engines (ie fwd not awd) with huge power figures that will basically involuntarily change lanes when they hit boost. thats what i understood torque steer to be....the involuntary pull on the steering due to the amount of torque pumping through the front treads.

__________________
Cruisin' Junkie

FPV & XR Car Club-SA

GTP Girl

hmmm....by the way this is Kymera4 posting under someone elses login as i couldn't be bothered loging out and in again. sorry for the confusion. again..this is not really GTP Girl but Kymera4. lol

__________________
Cruisin' Junkie

FPV & XR Car Club-SA

brother

I thought torque steer was when the car turned under heady acceleration too. As for how torque steer occurs (if it is not what tim said, that is) I don't know.

__________________
3-Door Focus Zetec manual, Machine Silver

Eibach Pro Kit, 2 1/4" Cat back exhaust, Tinted, K+N panel filter, Zetec mats

Leather/Aluminium Gear knob & handbrake cover, ST170 indicators

www.eurofordclub.com

Timmeh

Properly balanced FWDs should not steer to one side, this only happens when one CV shaft is of a different length to another, say, when the gearbox is not mounted exactly in the centre of the car. This can lead to the condition of pulling to one side under heavy load, which is torque steer, as well.

It's the way the FWD setup is trying to force the wheels to a direction, properly balanced and engineered cars should be straight ahead, again, by matching CV shafts.

You are all correct.

Tim

__________________

whippet_zetec

my take on torque steer was that through the application of power the car (especially a font wheel drive) wants to push the car in a particular direction.

I had thought that the amount of movement in the steering wheel when taking off quickly in my Focus is torque steer, and the pushing out when accelerating through the corner.

Found this on the web:
Torque Steer
A tendency for a car to turn in a particular direction when power is applied. Torque steer is common in front-drive cars because reaction forces created in the half-shafts can generate uneven steering forces in the front tires.
http://www.teamcapri.com/definitions/def-t.html

__________________

whippet_zetec

TORQUE STEER
Torque steer takes place when you accelerate hard in a front-wheel-drive car. At some stage during the acceleration, a lugging may be felt through the steering wheel and the car may try to pull to one side. The effect is generally worse in a turbocharged car.

Torque steer only applies to front-wheel-drive cars and is much more noticeable in powerful ones than in those with standard engines.

Good engineering can minimise torque steer. In many newer cars, it has been virtually eliminated. Older Japanese cars generally suffered more than cars from other countries, with the possible exception of the Mini and older turbocharged Saabs.

Besides being aware that it happened, there is little you can do about torque steer other than keep a correct grip on the steering wheel.

http://www.carscene.com.au/tipstricks/terminology.htm

__________________

WASACL

My car goes BRUUUM BRUUUM when i put my foot on the thingy that makes the car go forward!

Russ

__________________

ST170ish

"Torque Steer" is a thing you get in a ST if you push that little button on the centre consol, and then tromp it in 1st... hold on to that wheel its gunna kick!
I dont think its got all that much to do with the rotational/inertia forces that come from drivetrain weight its more from one wheel getting more traction that the other, thus pulling to one side. I know in the st it doesnt allways pull in one direction all the time, sometimes it goes from side to side...

__________________
Takin it to 7 turnin it to 11