In a simplified scenario, we might go for an equal brake balance, i.e. Drivers will learn to use the bias of their car to their advantage, and it can be altered to suit their preferences. The way that they were designed meant that they inherently offered less grip at the start of the corner, but a lot of grip when he pressed the accelerator at the exit. This example was highly dependent on the tires that his team, Renault, used at the time. By making the front tires lose traction early, he got past the low grip phase of the corner, allowing him to make the most of the car’s rear stability to power out of the corner quickly. The reason this is generally preferential is simply because it is easier to manage understeer, and oversteer is much more likely to end up in a complete loss of control, or spinning off the track.įernando Alonso is a good example to use, as he famously used to force his F1 car into understeer at the corners when he raced for Renault in the mid-2000s. Most drivers favor a slight front bias, but it means the car tends to understeer rather than oversteer. We will discuss each case in more detail below. Understeer is the opposite and occurs when the car is front biased. Oversteer is caused when the rear wheels lock up first. Which set of wheels locks up first is vital for race car drivers, as it will help determine whether or not the car is more likely to go into oversteer or understeer. We don’t want the tires to lock up at all in an ideal situation, but this is a good way of visualizing what brake bias affects. This is key as it will dictate how the car handles when you hit the brakes. In a rear biased car, it is the rear wheels that lock up first and in a front biased car it is the front tires. This occurs under exceedingly hard braking, and we often see F1 drivers lock up their tires in heavy braking zones. Note: Locking up is when a tire stops rotating and skids along the road/track surface. In the real world, when the brakes are applied, one of the sets of tires will lock up first. A Practical ExplanationĪ more practical explanation involves thinking of the bias as a measure of which set of wheels will lock up first. Even a small difference in the corners can make a massive difference over the course of a full race. Brakes are often thought of as simply the part that slows the car down, but anyone with racing experience and indeed driving experience knows that they play a vital role in cornering too. The braking system of a car is extremely important, and how it is set up can have a huge impact on the car’s performance. Other Factors That Influence Brake Bias.
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