The Science of Setup: Part 7 - Steering Geometry ( Ackermann )

This is an ongoing series of articles written by its creator Bob Wright. You can download a free trial version of the software, and learn how to get the most out of your car when you take it to the track.

The Science of Setup: Part 7 – Steering Geometry (Ackermann) 

One thing you will find is if you do any research on the effect of Ackermann (also called Dynamic Toe) is a lot of different opinions. One of the main arguments is most of the turning is done by the outside wheel so the inside wheel has little effect. While this certainly has some merit at mid corner when the inside tire has very little load on it still does have load on it anything you can do to squeeze a little more overall grip is going to give you an edge. Also at corner entry and exit the inside tire has more load on it so it becomes much more effective.

You can adjust the Ackermann settings on your RC car by usually adding or removing shims on the steering bridge to move the ball joints that mount the steering turnbuckles. Some steering knuckles also have two or more settings to change the Ackermann on the outer edge. Remember, moving your front wheelbase also can adjust your Ackermann angle

So let’s have a look and see what we can learn about Steering Geometry. Episode 7 – Steering Geometry 

If you wish to follow along with the demos you can download RC3 here.

The program will install in Trial Mode which means a few file management functions are disabled but otherwise it’s fully functional. All the on road and off road models that will be used in the demos are also pre-installed to make life easier.

Click Here to view Part 1 - Set-up Physics and Terminology
Click Here to view Part 2 - Suspension Properties 
Click Here to view Part 3 - Weight Transfer 
Clich Here to view Part 4 - Overall suspension stiffness.
Click Here to view Part 5 - Camber and Camber Gain
Click Here to view Part 6 - Roll centre and Camber Gain Relationship