All Terrain vehicle Lateral Stability and the Limits of Control

A general coefficient of lateral stability is examined for its relationship to the lateral acceleration limit of All Terrain Vehicles in turn-circle tests. Measurements were taken for a representative sample of vehicles, and these vehicles were then employed in a series of instrumented constant-radius steady-state turn-circle tests to determine their fundamental steering response characteristics and to quantify limit lateral acceleration. Correlations are drawn between the stability coefficient values and the limit lateral acceleration on different soil surfaces.