the guy kind of gets it, but makes it waaaaaaaaaaay too complicated at the end.
Ackerman means the inside tire turns more then the outside tire because the outside tire has further to go. To get "correct" Ackerman you do indeed know the wheelbase of the car.
However, lets look at the simple case. When you are going straight changing the distance between the rear tires (rear track) does not change how hard the car rolls down the road. I suppose there are wind resistance issues but that isn't what we are talking about.
Now another extreme. Imagine a kids wagon, and we turn the front 90 degrees and pull sideways. Again, it doesn't matter how far apart the rear tires are, the wagon turns quite easily.
If the front and rear tracks are different, the car will indeed wander down a rutted road. But it will wander down the road quite easily.
Changing rear track does not change rolling resistance.
For the mac strut guy, Caster is the angle you are talking about. Caster does a few things including changing the camber as you turn the wheel. but it doesn't really change the "direction" the wheel is turning when you turn the steering wheel.
FWIW, all cars have caster - between that and mechanical trail it is what makes the car go straight down the road instead of wandering randomly all over the place.
|