Competitive radio-controlled small-scale drift vehicles closely resemble full-scale drift
vehicles in terms of chassis settings. To acheive the desired driving dynamics of such a
vehicle, appropriate adjustments need to be made. The goal of the task was to determine
suitable springs, dampers and front suspension geometry settings to acheive the desired
understeer coefficient at the initiation of a drift. Driving measurments were conducted in a
circular path at various speeds with combinations of different tire parameters, springs,
dampers, toe angles, camber angles and differences in the front wheel steering angles. The
understeer coefficient was determined using the constant steering angle method. Coordinates
of the vehicle's center of gravity motion were recorded from video footage of the driving
sessions. An accelerometer was also attached to the vehicle to measure its lateral
acceleration. With the obtained data on trajectory motions and lateral accelerations, graphs
were plotted to illustrate the impact of parameter variations on the vehicle's dynamic
behavior. Using the curve and understeer coefficient, the most suitable combination of
settings was selected to achieve the initiation of drifting without understeer.
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