caster

[dfhotlm33c]

I checked the caster yesterday, and somehow the RF caster was only 1*. The left front was the recommended 1.5*. I am not sure if I measured incorrectly in the shop prior to the first night of racing, but that was the number when I went over things yesterday...my question is, what effect would this have on the overall handling of the car? The car felt "unstable", even down the straights. Once the RF tire heated up the car felt a bit better, but I could never really put my foot in it (the track was pretty tacky all night). The car was loose in and in the middle all night, which I am adjusting for next week...I just want to know how much can be attributed to the unorthodox caster in the RF. I moved it to 4.5* for next week...

[rubbinsracin]

think of caster like the front forks of a bicycle the more caster the more the bottom end is kicked out which will make the steering feel more stable and track better...to a certain point. on the other side, think of the steering forks being straig up and down, any slight movement in the handle bars is magnafied.

i think most manufactures reccomend around 3* so i would say going to 4.5* would be a little excessive. i race on a track with long straights and somewhat sweeping turns and i topped out at about 3.5* any more than that and i didnt like the feel.

[FlatTire]

I accidentally set the caster wrong on my car before. It made it very erratic and would dart where ever the track wanted it too. When you started to apply heavy throttle coming out is when it became evident something was wrong.
I had to put the death grip on the steering wheel just to keep it going where I wanted it too. It was scary to apply throttle because you didn't know which way the car would go.

Caster is what gives you directional stability. If you were loose on entry and the middle and the track was heavy, then I don't think the caster being wrong was the exact culprit. The caster issue will show up mostly on exit.

[dfhotlm33c]

Flat..your first paragraph is a perfect summary of how the car felt! I tightened the car up a bit (Stiffer right rear spring, lowered j-bar on pinion) for next week. Hopefully that and the caster fix will allow me to be back where I belong!