One more thing... the reason why the Roadster has so much understeer, and why Tesla put so much work into the traction control, is the EV drive train. Two reasons:
1. Power oversteer - stomp on the accelerator, all the weight goes to the back, your rears are at the traction limit, and your front tires have little weight on them. You run the risk of the rears breaking loose, and you have a lot less steering control because the fronts aren't loaded.
2. Snap oversteer - you lift off going into the corner, regen braking shifts the weight forward, and your rear tires break loose. This is nasty because the best corrective action is probably to press the accelerator, and few drivers will do that.
So if you do dial back your understeer, be aware of these things. And be very cautious about turning off TC.
I mostly agree with the ideas of this post Doug_G.
That last line there is very good advice for folks.
I would add to be especially cautious if you drive at higher speeds (
even with traction control active), since oversteer and its negative consequences are a serious risk at speed.
In the previous post you go into other topics that are not really a part of understanding what understeer is and what I have done. Some of what you discuss are
consequences of over-steer, and is what I would call
loosing control of the car and spinning out. As I have mentioned in my earlier posts, we all want to avoid over-steer behavior! -the possible loss of control, of course, is why. I am not particularly interested in race track driving the Roadster. That is probably a subject for another thread.
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Doug_G, in reference to this previous statement you made, it shows that you do not yet understand the change I have made, or why it does what it does:
"So, as I understand your objective, you intend to reduce traction on the rear wheels, to lower the limit so it's closer to that of the front wheels. Yes, that will work, but I'm not certain it's the best approach. Increasing the grip in the front, if possible, would perhaps be better. "
-the first line is just wrong.
1) My objective is NOT to reduce traction in any way, and it is
VERY different from adjusting limits of traction.
2) I have
accomplished my goal
quite effectively, and am delighted with the results.
3) If you have different ideas on how to approach this, you can try that instead! Let us know how it goes, if you do.
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Roadster drivers experience understeer pretty much all the time on curves and when taking turns on public roads, just as I did,
before I selected different tires for the back of the car.
I am not saying everyone should do this. If you do not understand what is going on, and the risk of tuning the car in this way, I suggest you keep the car configured as it was delivered.
-Richard