Caster Question: Weight Jacking vs. Contact Patch

[MrMigs]

Hey everybody, here's a question on Caster Angle:

Which is the more important effect to gain when adjusting caster angle to reduce understeer...

Increasing the angle enough to increase weight jacking as much as possible...

or

Setting it just right to get the best contact patch when turning...

Any tips/experience on this issue would help. Also, this question applies mainly to turn-in while trail-braking. Thanks in advance :hsdance:

[all stock]

maximize contact patch. too much load transfer to the outer tire results in less traction for the inner. 4 wheels have more grip than 3.

[MrMigs]

Thanks for the tip on the caster setting.

I was getting a little bit confused because from what I understand, kart drivers use weight jacking to get the inner rear to lift - for better turn-in (reduce understeer). Supposedly, its to counteract the fact that karts don't have differentials.

I'm guessing it's a little different for cars, which do have differentials. So that means it's better to seek better front contact patch rather than inner-rear lift for turn-in.

At least... that's what I'll try out next. It's always trial and error lol but thanks for your input; I'll give it a try.

[GSXRJJordan]

That's correct ~ if you have a "live" rear axle, like a kart, you want to lift one wheel to get the best possible drive (without spinning/drifting) out of the corner. Cars need the extra traction in the front that comes from keeping both tires on the ground as much as possible, with a little camber coming from the caster when you get close to lock.