Caffeinated21

From what I've read here and off of car and driver (i think), lowing the car (ie, stiffer springs all around) increases the cars tendency to oversteer. From what I know of car dynamics however, this doesn't seem to make sense. Stiffer front springs should limit weight transfer to the front tires under breaking or lifting situations, which if anything should lessen oversteer or promote understeer. The only oversteer I could see stiffer springs making more likely would be throttle oversteer, but that is the more fun, less dangerous variety, in my opinion. Any clarification anyone can offer?

Planets

stiffer front, softer rear = understeer

stiffer rear, softer front = oversteer

s2ka

Stiffer all the way around gives less body roll, which is usually good. But it also gives less ability to keep all four tires on the ground on uneven surfaces, and it narrows the feedback window which makes it more difficult to feel when snap oversteer is about to happen.

So the handling limit might be higher with stiffer springs, but you have to pay more attention to what the car is doing, especially on rough or wet surfaces.