Torque Steer Torque Steer
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34 A USTRALIA’ S N ATIONAL M AGAZINE F OR C ITROËN O WNERS A ND E NTHUSIASTS 35 he internet is a wonderful of the Japanese guys years ago. the plastic was ‘barbie’ quality… order for the rack to move, a valve thing. It can be an excel- Don’t you think Diravi has some- but I had a lot of fun driving that in the rotating union has to open to Tlent source of information, thing to do with it too? car all over the US and 25,000miles allow fluid to move in the rack. CXs and disinformation. It is great way Gary around Europe living in it after I also have centre point geometry, but to share views and increase your altered it to be the smallest camper it is achieved differently from in the in the world… I presume that title D and SM. No, because until I see something on the internet The D and SM pivot point is verti- TTORQUEORQUE SSTEERTEER Gs and 2CVs to take the crown… probably cal through the top of the tyre and do not torque tomorrow. It would have to be an down to the contact patch. The knowledge, via chat groups. steer. Nor do [proper] Saab 900s. original Mini or Issette made into CX steering pivot is on a diagonal Equal-length driveshafts… a camper. For those of you who are not aware axis through the upper suspension Adrian Chapman the Yahoo website is host to a I keep thinking I might fall for a arm ball joint through the lower number of groups that are relevant BMW Mini, if they would make ball joint and the contact patch. If to Citroën. There are groups for Do not forget the DS and the SM… a Maxi version and stretch it… the tyre and wheel combination on most models from the marque, and for that matter the Traction Avant just stretch it and maybe bump the the car results in either a larger or of these the most active is the CX then eh? top up from the back of the doors a smaller rolling radius, the pivot group. I think that for every one rearward… just a little raised roof point will no longer pass through GS related message in my email Sure, if the engine is going straight of about 3inches for more room. I the centre of the contact patch. then it is easier, but I was really inbox, there must be 10 from the think they could sell boat loads of Many cars have a steering pivot CX-afflicted. referring to the transverse types them as kind of hatchbacks with and dealing with the design limita- point that is well inside of the fold down seats in back....put in a centre of the contact patch. If you The following is the majority of a tions well. surf board, snowboard etc… recent conversation thread regarding turn the wheels on these cars while torque steer. I mentioned it before but just Sorry off topic but still about it is stationary, you will often find wanted to add that the WORST car cars at least marks that form an arc. Such vehi- CXs do not torque steer. Only I have ever driven in this regard was Gary cles will often suffer from torque front wheel drive cars I know a Ford Probe that my sister-in-law steer even if the drive shafts are of that do not. had… if you gave it even SOME equal length. Gary gas when you had the wheels turned Ds and SMs do not have equal to the right it would just about length drive shafts. In fact, the D en- In order to reduce, or eliminate, LOCK the wheels there… it was… gine is located to the right of centre torque steer in these vehicles, the No properly designed FWD car startling – presumably to offset the weight of diameter of the drive shaft segments – with equal length driveshafts the driver. The reason that Ds and must be greater on the ‘long’ side to [which is why there is that centre I always wanted to like Hondas compensate for the natural twisting because when I needed a gas miser SMs have no torque steer it that the support bearing] will. steering has centre point geometry. tendency of the shaft. In effect, if Adrian Chapman during the gas crisis back when, I the shaft on one side is 2feet long loved the economy of the Honda That is, the wheels pivot around the centre of the contact patch. This is and the shafts on the other are 4feet 600 I had, but I cannot believe I put long total [using an intermediate Proving most of them are not prop- up with the other limitations of the also why it is virtually impossible for road irregularities to cause deflec- shaft with support bearing], when erly designed. Especially Honda, horrible little beast for 7 years. torque is applied the 2 outer end even the 2007 I test-drove a few tion of the steering wheel – that and Bad seats, bad doors, bad suspen- of the 2 foot long shaft will receive months ago. Citroën was way ahead the design of the steering system [in sion, bad heating, bad noise… all more torque than the outer end of 36 A USTRALIA’ S N ATIONAL M AGAZINE F OR C ITROËN O WNERS A ND E NTHUSIASTS 37 the other. Preventing this would contact patch, what size tyre does example, during full acceleration require the intermediate shaft to be Scott, The only thing wrong with it work for? Remember, CXs had the steering may pull to one side, made either larger in diameter or your argument is the fact that torque about five sizes fitted by the fac- which may be disturbing to the of a more tortionally rigid material steer does exist. Torque steer causes tory through the life. driver. This either causes a tugging so that the moment of rotation is the car to veer right or left when Adrian Chapman sensation in the steering wheel, or power is ap- else the car veers from the intended path. As the Torque Steer Effect is plied with the The original CX suspension has TTORQUEORQUE SSTEERTEER wheels point- directly related to the engine torque centre point steering when fitted capabilities this problem becomes ing straight with the original tyres [175 14 the same at both ends. This is not more and more evident with high ahead. The effect is exaggerated if – ‘80s from memory] when the necessary on the CX due to the output engines with strong low rpm the wheels are turned in the direc- suspension was at the normal ride steering geometry [and Diravi does range torque. tion of the torque steer. If the dif- height & tyre pressures. Project help, but only slightly]. ferential did, indeed, always apply the swivel axis [it is at about 10 or Torque steering may be confused Bob equal torque to both drive shafts, 15º] down to the road surface and with steering kickback. there could be no torque steer. The its contact point coincides with Causes function of the differential is to And I, unfortunately, must disagree. the centre of the tyre. This unique Root causes for Torque Steer are allow the driven wheels to turn at designed coincidence can only occur Your argument would be quite different speeds in order to prevent [1]: correct, but you have neglected the with the designed tyre diameter/ skittering in turns [skittering being Nonsymmetric driveshaft angles, action of the differential, whose rim/tyre pressure etc. a technical term]. e.g. due to function is exactly to deliver equal As well as tyre size changes there torque to both wheels, regardless Whenever you have two rods of the have been rim offset changes, origi- Nonsymmetric design of the vehi- of relative speed or relative angular same diameter but differing lengths, nally 49 mm. then with the wide cle, e.g. different driveshaft length position. the shorter rod will transfer more track it changed to 45mm, maybe Transient movement of the engine torque than the longer rod – pro- they reconsidered the centre point The worst torque steer car I have vided they have the same stiffness Tolerances in engine mounts driven is an early ‘90s VW Golf – who knows? This offset change characteristics per unit of length. occurred when they went to TRX Different driveshaft torques left GTI. It handled quite well and had Bob lots of power, but hard acceleration and 195 14 70 tyres – which have to right would more or less freeze the steer- the same diameter. Before this tyre Suspension geometry tolerances size changes had the same rolling di- ing wherever you had it. On neither I was always under the impression Unequal traction forces due to road ameters as the original 175 ‘80s. my DS with power steering or my that CXs did not [have centre point surface [µ-Split] in combination Chris Stuart, Perth, Aus rather primitive early CX with, as geometry] – the outboard brakes with Kingpin Offset we say in the States, Armstrong made it impossible – and that Diravi After this interesting, but not quite The open differential cannot fairly power steering, is any torque steer used brute force to provide a similar fruitful discussion, I headed to the distribute torque between the two perceptible. The CX is very subject effect in the event of a blown tyre. internet and did a search. The first to shaking on acceleration if the CV driveshafts, the power may be trans- Also, if the tyre and wheel combi- link was to Wikipedia.