Guys
I have a setup question that I've never been able to answer by my own experiences... the track I race at sees its grip changing so much from the morning practice to the evening mains that I cannot isolate easily what handling changes come from grip changes vs. those from the car itself....
so here we go.
The question is: how does reducing wheelbase, via front or rear, change the handling characteristics of the cyclone?
In my theory books, reducing wheelbase from the rear leads to a more loaded rear end, which means more weight to the back on-throttle, ie more rear traction on-throttle. However it also means more overhangs, hence more "backpack" effect, ie the car is more prone to get into a drift from the rear (think off-throttle oversteer) and sustain if once the rear tires have lost traction.
Likewise, reducing wheelbase from the front should have the opposite effects - more front grip on throttle, and more understeer off throttle (you have to make that much more weight away from the front tires contract patch rotate around).
In both cases, a shorter wheelbase should mean a shorter turning radius no matter what (geometry 101), but I suspect this effect is marginal compared to those mentionned above.
What do you guys, who spend your lives at the track, think?
Thanks
Paul