[McLaren Rulez]

Now, a majority of Indian cars are FWD. In FWD, a phenomenon called torque steer is inherent. When accelerating hard, the car will pull to one side on its own. However, this can be removed if the car manufacturer wants to. I wanted to essentially find out how many of our car manufacturers have eliminated torque steer from the models sold here? If you have a FWD car, try accelerating it on an empty piece of road with your hands loosely gripping the steering. If it pulls to one side, the model obviously has torque steer (or you need wheel alignment). Post your experiences BHPians.

P.S. Be safe when you try this. Make sure there's room for the car on either side and that the road is free of traffic.

[vdiatech]

I have experienced this all the time in my (ex) fiat coupe 20v turbo for years. I never got tired of it and it was sheer pleasure. dangerous for people not used it and in traffic though

[Sankar]

Torqe steers happens to the side which has the longer drive shaft. Happens due to drive shaft flex. To eliminate TS both axles should be of the same length. Some performance fwd cars have same length axles with a centrally placed differential.

[vdiatech]

i dont know if it was because of the axles or what..but i always experienced it when the turbo kicked in on a lower gear and higher rev , pulling me like a rocket.. a little bit to the left/right and zooom !

[Sankar]

Its due to the unequal axle lengths. Longer axle flex more than the shorter axle, thus affecting transmission of power equally to both wheels. Shorter axle transmits power better and thus the wheel connected to the shorter axle pushes the vehicle to the other side.

[pranavt]

Almost all Indian manufacturers have eliminated torque steer from the cars sold here. Sell cars with underpowered engines, and voila, no torque steer!

[amitoj]

Ah torque steer. My beloved e-zen used to have it, loads of it actually. Sadly, that was also the cause of its early demise.

[pulsar56]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Ah torque steer. My beloved e-zen used to have it, loads of it actually.

+1.
Nothing comes close to experiencing the torque steer on a e-zen!

Originally Posted by amitoj

Sadly, that was also the cause of its early demise.

why?

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by Sankar

Torqe steers happens to the side which has the longer drive shaft. Happens due to drive shaft flex.

torque steer is due to unequal drive shaft lengths. IIRC, most of the Suzuki's torque steer to the left while the Honda's torque steer to the right.

Originally Posted by amitoj

Ah torque steer. My beloved e-zen used to have it, loads of it actually.

Going down memory lane eh?

Originally Posted by pulsar56

+1.
Nothing comes close to experiencing the torque steer on a e-zen!


why?

Ever tried a zen with a vtec engine?

[.anshuman]

One example of torque steer is Verna CRDi, Light steering and Sudden surge at 2000rpm multiplies the effect.

[jassi]

i have some in my santro xing, more pronounced after the FFE and CAI.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by pulsar56

why?

Lets just say TS is fun when one knows its coming. Otherwise, it can lead you into a pillar.

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

Going down memory lane eh?

Yeah man! I must be getting old!!

[Sunilb]

Never knew about such a phenomenon untill I got the FFE and the faulty axel parts replaced recently on my OHC.
It pulls hard on the left almost crossing a full lane if I don't hold the steering back.
But seriously I don't like it cause it keeps me a bit low when I plan a "rocket launch" on finding a pole position at a signal.

[GTO]

Torque steer = OHC Vtec on stock 175mm tyres. A whole lot of fun initially, then once you get used to a RWD, it's damn annoying. My Vtec's torque steer has substantially reduced from the time I upgraded to Yokohamas (205 width).

hey Rulez,

i have done 200 kmph in my ANHC with no TS whatsoever !

i have also dome 165 in my earlier LOGAN...no TS in it too.

for info.