The drift/grip knuckle has no additional trail offset from OEM. GKTechs Pro-Drift knuckle has more trail offset for stronger self-steer which helps when recovering from extreme lock angles.
the knuckles have some Akerman offset in the geometry and the steering arms are shorter than stock for more angle and a faster steering ratio but no geometry-induced understeer. The knuckles can accommodate 60 degrees of angle which is quite a bit, especially when this is a non-drift-specific knuckle. The knuckles are compatible with an OEM lower control arm if you didn’t have the budget to buy the entire suspension system.
The GKTech lower control arm is a fantastic part. It takes the place of the OEM lower control arm and tension-compression rod. It is CNC machined from billet and is cut out for maximum angle clearance. You won’t need to worry about the tire hitting the T/C rod with this lower control arm.
7 comments
looks fanstastic! I always wondered about these arms and knuckles. Thank you for the in-depth review
“ Road racing cars need Ackerman in their front steering geometry and typically you want a gradually rising Ackerman curve that is slightly less than the geometric true Ackerman. For drifting, you want a digressive Ackerman curve. This tends to understeer in grip driving. GKTech makes 3 different knuckles. A grip driving one, a drift/grip one, and a super angle drift only one.”
^This really is ‘the secret’ to handling with rubber tires and their slip angles. In F1, I know that they even do an Anti-Ackerman setup!
https://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8874
Until you understand these principles in theory and practice, you can’t really have a solid understanding of how to make a car handle.
It’s weird with open-wheel cars, We found that anti-Ackerman causes understeer in road racing in sedan-based cars.
I think it has everything to do with the tire. I am sure that F1 had to change up the anti-Ackerman when they switched to 18” wheel rims this year.
The ‘max lateral load’ (and associated ideal slip angles) for radial street tires is probably way different than the race rubber they run in F1. Also, downforce needs to be factored in.
My Holy Bible on tires is this book, if anyone that wants to race a car is serious about winning, or just being competitive, don’t get a HUGE REAR WING, please read the bleeping manual!
I ordered a copy and the author Paul Haney even signed it! What a guy! So happy for him to take my money!
https://www.standardsmedia.com/The-Racing-and-High-Performance-Tire-8627-book.html
I ordered the book!
they didn’t have it!
the book is out of print, considered a rare book and no one has it!