Vehicle Roll

The Influence of Roll and Weight
Transfer on Vehicle Handling
Christopher R. Carlson
April 20, 2004
D ynamic
D esign
L aboratory
.
Motivation
Design decisions related to vehicle roll directly influence

the stability of the vehicle at the limits
(If you get it wrong, you will probably end up sliding off
of the road)
Stanford University The Influence of Roll and Weight Transfer on Vehicle Handling -2 Dynamic Design Lab
Goal of this Talk
Introduce useful models for understanding vehicle roll

behavior.
• All models are wrong, some are useful
• Primarily static model insights today
Overview
What is a sway bar (stabilizer bar) ?

Simple models of vehicle roll and assumptions
Review approach
Work through the dynamics and algebra of roll
Interpret the mathematical results
Summarize key points covered
Stabilizer Bars
F=Kθ
Essentially roll bars are torsional springs
Stabilizer Bars II
Sf
Stabilizer bars attach to the suspension and chassis and

provide forces through torsion
Modeling Roll
{
{{
h1
hCG
hr
hf { Roll Axis
Roll Centers
The roll axis connects the front and rear roll centers
For small angles, this is not a bad assumption
Modeling Roll II
Sr Sf
Fsir Frr Fsor Fsif Fsof
Fyir
M sr
Fyor
} hr
Fyif Msf
Frf
Fyof
} hf
Fzir Fzor Fzif Fzof
tr tf
Rear Axle FBD φ Front Axle FBD
}
may
mg
h1
Fsif Fsir Fsof Fsor

Frf Frr
M sf Mrf
Sprung Mass FBD
Approach
Solve for the roll angle in terms of lateral acceleration

Solve for the weight transfer on each axle
Interpret the effect of this weight transfer on handling
Discuss how springs and roll bars are used to tune vehicle
behavior
Sum the moments about the roll center
φ
}
may
mg
h1
Fsif Fsir Fsof Fsor

Frf Frr
M sf Mrf
Sprung Mass FBD
Sf
ΣM = mgh1 sin(φ) + (Fsif − Fsof ) cos(φ)
2
Sr
+ (Fsir − Fsor ) cos(φ) − (Msf + Msr )
2
= −may h1 cos(φ)
Stanford University The Influence of Roll and Weight Transfer on Vehicle Handling - 10 Dynamic Design Lab
What are typical roll angles?
Some very loose guidelines
RollRate Application
1−5 Race Cars
3−4 Sports Cars
5 Sport Sedan
7 Pretty soft
8 Late 60’s early 70’s
Even in the extreme, the roll angles are small in the

sense of linearization
Assume Small Roll Angle
Once again,
Sf
ΣM = mgh1 sin(φ) + (Fsif − Fsof ) cos(φ)
2
Sr
+ (Fsir − F sor) cos(φ) − (Msf + Msr )
2
= −may h1 cos(φ)
Assume small roll angle,

Sf Sr
−may h1 = mgh1φ + (Fsif − Fsof ) + (Fsir − Fsor ) − (Msf + Msr )
2 2
The inside and outside forces may be written in terms

of the roll angle
Spring forces
∆x
Sf
Fsof = Fsf s + Ksf ∆x
Spring forces
For the front and rear

Fsof = Fsf s + Ksf ∆x
1
= Fsf s + Ksf Sf φ
2
1
Fsif = Fsf s − Ksf Sf φ
2
⇒
1 1 1
Fsof − Fsif Sf = 2 Ksf Sf φ Sf
2 2 2
1
= Ksf Sf2 φ
2
1 1
(Fsor − Fsir ) Sf = Ksr Sf2 φ
2 2
Stabilizer Bar Forces
Stabilizer bars may be modeled as torsional springs

• Remember that the vehicle body is rigid. The roll angle, φ, is
the same front and rear
Msf = Kstabf φ
Msr = Kstabr φ
You will visit this assumption again in a future lab (it is

a good one)
Roll Moment Equation
From before,
Sf Sr
−may h1 = mgh1φ + (Fsif − Fsof ) + (Fsir − Fsor ) − (Msf + Msr )
2 2
Now,

1 1
−may h1 = mgφ − Kstabf + Ksf Sf φ − Kstabr + Ksr Sr2 φ
2
2 2
⇒

may h1 = Kφf + Kφr − mgh1 φ

= Kφ − mgh1 φ
Solving for Roll Angle
The roll angle depends upon stiffnesses, mass and lateral

acceleration

may h1 = Kφ − mgh1 φ
⇒
mh1
φ = ay
Kφ − mgh1
In other notation
!
wh1 V2
φ =
Kφ − wh1 Rg
Weight Transfer
Sf
Fsif Fsof
Frf } hf
Fyif Msf Fyof
Fzif Fzof
tf
Front Axle FBD
Now that we have the roll angle, we can figure out the
weight transfer terms on the axle diagrams
Weight Transfer II
Sum the moments about the front roll center

Sf Sf tf tf
ΣM = Msf + Fsof − Fsif + Fzif − Fxof + hf Fyif + hf Fyo
2 2 2 2
⇒
wf

1
Kφf φ − tf Fzof − Fzif + hf ay = 0
2 g
⇒
wf
Kφf φ − tf ∆Fzf + hf ay = 0
g
⇒
w

1 f
∆Fzf = Kφf φ + hf ay , and similarly for the rear
tf g

1 wr
∆Fzr = Kφr φ + hr ay
tr g
Weight Transfer III
Now plug in our expression for φ to savor the meaning

of all of this math.
w

1 f
∆Fzf = Kφf φ + hf ay
tf g
!
1 h1
= Kφf + hf may
tf Kφf + Kφr − mgh1
Remember the expression for roll angle is

mh1
φ = ay
Kφf + Kφr − mgh1
What happens when when Kφ increases?
If Kφ increases, then for the same lateral acceleration

the roll angle will be smaller.
If the roll angle decreases, then ∆Fzf decreases, ie, the
weight transfer is less.
Race cars are often tuned to minimize load transfer (load
transfer affects peak side force, more on that later.)
What happens when when Kφf increases?
Is ∆Fzf with Kφf scaled by (a > 1) > ∆Fzf

!
1 h1
aKφf + hf may (>?)
tf aKφf + Kφr − mgh1
!
1 h1
Kφf + hf may
tf Kφf + Kφr − mgh1
a 1
(>?)
aKφf + Kφr − mgh1 Kφf + Kφr − mgh1
a(Kφr − mgh1)(>?)(Kφr − mgh1)
∆Fzf increases, and ∆Fzr decreases
The major points
Increasing the roll stiffness on both the front and rear

axles decreases weight transfer
Increasing roll stiffness on only one axle increases the
load transfer on that axle and decreases it on the other
This load transfer stuff really is critical for designing cars

which behave well at the limits
Tires
Latera Force Vs Slip Angle
8000
6000
Force [N]
4000
2000
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Slip Angle [%]
• As you know, tires are nonlinear near the peak of the curve
• Since this curve is concave down, load transfer reduces your peak
side forces
General Design Rules
Increasing the front roll stiffness will tend to make the

vehicle more understeering
• At the limits it is generally considered safer to understeer
rather than oversteer
Increasing the rear roll stiffness will tend to make the

vehicle more oversteering
• This is ok as long as overall the vehicle is still understeering
This is just the beginning
Depending on how the suspension is designed, vehicle

roll will often steer the vehicle
Roll also effects camber which also affects the force-slip
curves
The force-slip curves also depend upon normal load di-
rectly...
Summary
Simple models show how vehicle roll directly effects limit

handling performance
• Adding roll stiffness to the front tends to makes the vehicle
more understeering
• Adding roll stiffness to the rear tends to make the vehicle more
oversteering
• Increasing roll stiffness in general tends to increase peak at-
tainable side forces
El fin
Questions ?
Minute Sheet
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Vehicle Roll

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The Influence of Roll and Weight

Transfer on Vehicle Handling

April 20, 2004

Design decisions related to vehicle roll directly influence

Introduce useful models for understanding vehicle roll

What is a sway bar (stabilizer bar) ?

Essentially roll bars are torsional springs

Stabilizer bars attach to the suspension and chassis and

Fsif Fsir Fsof Fsor

Solve for the roll angle in terms of lateral acceleration

Fsif Fsir Fsof Fsor

Some very loose guidelines

Even in the extreme, the roll angles are small in the

Assume small roll angle,

The inside and outside forces may be written in terms

Fsof = Fsf s + Ksf ∆x

For the front and rear

Stabilizer bars may be modeled as torsional springs

You will visit this assumption again in a future lab (it is

The roll angle depends upon stiffnesses, mass and lateral

Sum the moments about the front roll center

Now plug in our expression for φ to savor the meaning

Remember the expression for roll angle is

If Kφ increases, then for the same lateral acceleration

Is ∆Fzf with Kφf scaled by (a > 1) > ∆Fzf

a(Kφr − mgh1)(>?)(Kφr − mgh1)

∆Fzf increases, and ∆Fzr decreases

Increasing the roll stiffness on both the front and rear

This load transfer stuff really is critical for designing cars

Increasing the front roll stiffness will tend to make the

Increasing the rear roll stiffness will tend to make the

Depending on how the suspension is designed, vehicle

Simple models show how vehicle roll directly effects limit

Please take a minute to fill out my Minute Sheet

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