The Static Directional Stability and Control of the Automobile

An approach to the study of static stability and control of the automobile, that is based on a concept of tethered vehicle testing using a yaw constraint, is described. The supporting theory, however, stands alone as a method of analysis, Graphical methods are developed in which sideforce, yaw moment, and lateral acceleration coordinates define performance plots. These plots reveal certain well-known steady-state performance parameters as well as a new one that defines static stability quantitatively. The theory is presented for the linear automobile with tire sideforce saturation but is applicable, by testing or computer simulation, to the non-linear case.