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In Reply to: Oversteer/understeer question posted by D.R. Dickey on March 10, 2001 at 21:28:30:
Oversteer - the car is reacting with more response to your steering input than you desire (back end wants to come around; car turns in a tighter circle than desired - it is "over" steering)
Understeer - the car is reacting with less response to your steering input than you desire (front end wants to run wide; car turns in a larger circle than desired - it is "under" steering)
Both situations are revealed only at or near the limits of tire adhesion - and are normally not experienced in day to day driving (for most of us, anyway), unless in rain or snow. There are many factors that contribute to the understeer/oversteer characteristics of a vehicle, including spring rates, stabilizer bars, roll centers (suspension geometry), tires pressures, etc..
On the track, a car that neither oversteers nor understeers is ideal - this is called neutral handling, and can be difficult to achieve. Given this, most drivers would prefer a car to oversteer slightly, as a car with this condition can be balanced with throttle and steering, and still be driven fast. An understeering car will almost always require speed to be reduced to regain adhesion, resulting in slower lap times.
Most road cars are designed to understeer at the limit(BMW's a little less than most), as the driver's natural reaction to a car not responding to steering input is to slow down...
Can someone define what oversteer and understeer is? What does it feel like at the wheel? Which is more desirable? What geometry contributes to understeer/oversteer?
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