oversteer/understeer questions
 

i know this should be in another forum but i never go to the other ones this is my home :) . anyway....FWD cars are supposed to understeer and RWD are supposed to oversteer. well i have had first hand experience with oversteer in a 7...but ive also had oversteering in a FWD car - dodge neon. i was having a little fun when my mall parking lot got iced over a few years ago.... so i would go around this curve and the car would fishtail....since its FWD shouldnt it understeer instead?

not really. any car can understeer or oversteer. fwd cars tend to understeer because power is going to the wheels while they are under load (ie:turning). its also related to conditions, such as tire psi and road surface. if i autox with all the tires at the same psi, my ass end will be all over the place, therefore i run 2psi less in the rear during autox's. theres so many things that can varry.

not really. any car can understeer or oversteer. fwd cars tend to understeer because power is going to the wheels while they are under load (ie:turning). its also related to conditions, such as tire psi and road surface. if i autox with all the tires at the same psi, my ass end will be all over the place, therefore i run 2psi less in the rear during autox's. theres so many things that can vary.

so one possibility could be that the tire pressure in the back tires of the neon were low giving them extra traction. i am guessing the suspension tuning would also play a role?

http://www.miata.net/sport/Physics/

If you are really interested in vehicle dynamics and why cars do the things they do, check that link out. It's a great series of articles.

thanks for the link moses, its way to much stuff to read right now but ill check out different stuff from time to time

You can even understeer in a RWD car. If you don't get enough grip with the front tires and transfer your weight properly, OR you transfer TOO much weight, you can lose traction with the front tires.

I did it in my dad's Dodge fullsize cause it's so heavy, even though my Xtreme oversteers all the time, cause it's so light on those huge 255 tires