tire pressure is only part of the equation, and not so much as your sources would have you believe. suspension setup is easily as important at all speeds - I believe it is even more so, so long as the tires are in good condition and inflated to within a certain range of psi of each other. for instance, my tc from the factory is recommended to have tires at about 34f/32r. when I increased the pressure recently (my current tires are rated for 51psi), I set it for 48f/45r, in order to maintain the pressure ratio from front to rear within an acceptable relative range.
(my comment in response)
equation,let me play Devil's advocate for a minute here.I don't want anybody's blood on my hands,so I'm gonna be kinda anal on this issue.------------------ Whether I or anyone else likes it,carmakers design low speed understeer into their cars.And yes,understeer resists turning.Thing is,at the limit of adhesion(and I'm talking about typical commuting around town), in a panic situation,if the front of the car breaks loose(and it's designed that they do) all the driver need do is apply throttle and steer in the intended direction.The front of the car will drag the back of the car around with it.With ALL the other parameters mentioned to describe and predict how a car will handle,the last thing they do,is select tire inflation pressures which guarantee that the front will break loose first(understeer).
(original quote)
oversteer can be induced in a number of ways at any speed, but I fail to see how understeer could
ever be considered a desirable attribute under
any circumstance or at
any speed. remember, when a car understeers it is effectively
losing all steering control (like I stated previously), as opposed to an oversteer. personally, I am utterly terrified when the front end breaks loose, because at that point the car is going to go wherever the hell it wants, and I have effectively no say in the matter.
remember class... understeer=bad
