Talk about cocking it up

It's a trait of most FWD hatchbacks when set up properly. Most cars of that sort are quite front heavy, and as a result use stiff rear anti-roll bars to help transfer some of the cars weight onto the outside rear wheel in cornering, to help prevent understeer. This ARB lifts the inside rear wheel upwards off the ground when the outside rear one is compressed under bodyroll.

Fitted with a stiff ARB and stuck into a corner hard most FWD hatchbacks will do it.

Most French hatches will do it. Just gotta learn how to drive quickly.

Matt

Years ago, on a misguided crusade BBC Watchdog took after a few french hot hatches (clio, saxo) because people complained that they lifted a rear wheel when turning into sloped driveways. They tried very hard to claim that they were unsafe as they also did this when cornering. Luckily the respective car companies ignored them and they went away.

^^My Scirocco being jacked from the front jacking point. The front wheel's just about on the ground still.

The shock is actually no where near its full travel, but the stiff rear ARB is forcing the wheel up against the spring, lifting it off the ground. The front wheel actually has around the same amount of travel as the rear, but just has a much softer ARB.

It is possible, but fairly unusual for cars without ARB's to do it. The rear suspension designs of most FWD hatchbacks (Torsion beams and the type of beam axle used on VW's and a lot of others) give a certain amount of anti-roll without the need for a separate bar, so even poverty spec examples that people will say don't have an ARB, do have a similar effect, which is probably the case with the Geo shown above.

True when I say propperly set up, I'm not talking about the 100% ideal, but the majority of decent handling FWD cars do it as a result of the compromises made by the designer. Obviously it is better to keep the wheel on the ground, but I guess it's always going to be a compromise.

I've always thought of it as helping weight transfer to the rear end rather than denying the rear grip, the ARB is forcing the rear outside wheel into the ground harder, increasing the load on it, and therefore decreasing the load on the front tyres. Obviously this is a compromise, but it's always going to be on a road car.

A stiff shell helps to, as ably demonstrated by my mates MG ZR rally car. No i'm not lifting it either just pretending that i'm strong.



Matt

Increasing front grip can only be done by softening the front end. Can be detrimental to suspension geometry, especially on little french hatches which have very little camber gain anyway, and zero on the rear. The only good handing FWD cars I've seen that don't cock a rear wheel are the ones on the hills that run something along the lines of 9" slicks on the front and 7" slicks on the back and really good roll control.

Even Ralph Pinders little rocket ship picks up the inside wheel every now and again:

www.zipp.co.uk/gallery/Prescott-2010-04-25/34+0303.jpg.html

I hope it's not a 2CV, no chance! ;d





Well, not a hatchback.

my Ax used to slide first but now its stiffened up it tripods and slides goodness only knows what it will be like with the extra 100horses running through it