Yes / This paper reports on an experimental investigation into braking-related steering drift in motor vehicles, and follows on from a previous paper by the authors in which it was concluded that braking can cause changes in wheel alignment that in turn affect the toe-steer characteristics of each wheel and therefore the straight-line stability of the vehicle during braking. Changes in suspension geometry during braking, their magnitude and the relationships between the braking forces and the suspension geometry and compliance are further investigated in an experimental study of wheel movement arising from compliance in the front suspension and the steering system of a passenger car during braking. Using a kinematic and compliance (K&C) test rig, movement of the front wheels and the suspension subframe, together with corresponding changes in suspension and steering geometry under simulated braking conditions, have been measured and compared with dynamic measurements of the centre points of the front wheels. The results have enabled the causes and effects of steering drift during braking to be better understood in the design of front suspension systems for vehicle stability during braking.

No / A vehicle that deviates laterally from its intended path of travel when the brakes are applied is considered to demonstrate ‘instability’ in the form of an unexpected and undesirable response to the driver input. Even where the magnitude of lateral displacement of the vehicle is small (i.e. ‘drift’ rather than ‘pull’) such a condition would be considered unacceptable by manufacturers and customers. Steering ‘drift’ during braking can be caused by several factors, some of which relate to vehicle design and others to external influences such as road conditions. The study presented here examines the causes and effects of steering drift during straight-line braking. A comparative analysis is made between two types of vehicle model: one built with rigid suspension components and the other with flexible components. In both the cases, the vehicle behaviour is simulated during braking in a straight line, and responses including lateral acceleration, yaw rate, and lateral displacement of the vehicle are predicted and analysed under fixed steering control. Suspension/steering geometry characteristics, namely toe steer and caster angle, have been studied to understand how the effect of variations in these parameters differs in models with rigid or flexible components drift during straight-line braking. Results from both vehicle models show that differences between rigid and flexible components can affect the predicted steering drift propensity. The differences between the two models have emphasized the importance of using flexible (compliant) components in vehicle handling simulations to achieve better correlation between prediction and experiment.