I wanted to discuss reactive caster with you guys.

I have been doing a lot of testing on the carpet track here in Dallas with my 17.5 12th(12R5.2). I seem to have finally found a good tire combo and saucing routine that keeps the car consistent enough over 8 mins. And Ive gotten the rollout and timing in the ballpark. I have a basic setup that is pretty decent. It isn't doing anything that I dont particularly like, it seems to handle quite well.

But given that I am pretty new to 12th carpet, I have been making small changes to see how they affect the handling... and to see if they can result in quicker lap times.

Today, during the last session, I went to from 5* reactive caster to 0*. I kept the static caster the same(3.25*) and readjusted the toe and camber to my previous settings.

I was under the impression that reducing the reactive caster would smooth the car out and make it a bit more mellow? Maybe I had my facts wrong.... either way, it seemed to do the exact opposite. It made the car much more nervous and it felt unstable especially at higher speeds.

Any thoughts on the handling traits I observed?


Edit: Well... nevermind I guess. After making the reactive caster change, I had a decent shunt on the 2nd lap. Hard enough that the motor shifted slightly in the pod and I had to reset the gear mesh before heading back out. I just went over the car more thoroughly and it turns out I snapped the thru shaft on the side shock... not only was there no lateral damping, but it was preventing the pod from pivoting more than halfway in left hand turns.