Torque steer - what's with that?

[PackardV8]

None of the magazine road tests I read mentioned the full-power torque steer. The good news is the Bolt has enough power to cause torque steer. Once the driver becomes accustomed to it, there's no real problem, but ICE FWD designs engineered out the torque steer many iterations ago. Also, It's the only FWD car I've driven in forty years which has torque steer at highway speeds. I've also noticed a couple of rear seat passengers makes torque steer more noticeable.

Of course, several others say, "I haven't noticed any torque steer, since I've never driven mine that hard." The performance is what sold me on the Bolt and I drive it like I stole it.

jack vines
.

 

[hodad66]

I have to correct for mine all the time.....

 

[LeftieBiker]

The gold standard way to avoid torque steer is to design a FWD car with drive axles of exactly equal length. For some reason GM decided to not bother doing this. Do I remember something about one axle actually running inside the other one at some location...?

 

[GetOffYourGas]

The gold standard way to avoid torque steer is to design a FWD car with drive axles of exactly equal length. For some reason GM decided to not bother doing this. Do I remember something about one axle actually running inside the other one at some location...?

Actually, the gold standard way to avoid torque steer is to design a RWD car. Done.

 

[PackardV8]

Or 4WD. It's technically less difficult to have a 4WD EV, so when can we expect same from Bolt?

jack vines

 

[user 387]

Actually, the right way to do it is to have axles of exactly the same torsional rigidity. This can be done and is done successfully in cars with unequal length axles, it just takes some engineering. VW Golf is a prime example of how to do it right - virtually no torque steer.

 

[oilerlord]

Jack,

While it's fun to murder electrons once in a while, I think you need to embrace the car for what it is, and learn to accept what it isn't. There are several FWD hot hatches you can buy that nearly eliminate torque steer (the Focus RS comes to mind). The Bolt isn't one of them. If you're looking to improve handling / performance, perhaps a set of Michelin Sport Cup tires would help...the OEM energy saver tires aren't doing you any favors.

 

[Pigwich]

The torque steer isn't nearly as bad as it was on the Spark EV. That car was downright squirrelly, which I came to enjoy. I again suggest tires with a higher speed rating ( more plys, belting, stiffness) and theoretically making sure they're all at the same pressure. These things helped me in the past, but by no means eliminated the behavior.

 

[oilerlord]

The Spark EV is a rocket off the line, and was my the first time driving an electric car. Those 400 lb-ft of torque come on like a sledgehammer, and was by far the coolest part of the car for me. I was hooked, and almost bought one before the mrs. convinced me (rightfully so) that we needed a larger car for our dog crate, golf clubs, etc. If we could have fit our dog crate behind the rear seats (without folding them down), there is no question that a Spark EV would be in my garage right now.

 

[Robaroni]

GM chose to address torque steer with the traction control. I've jumped on it and it's not out of control. While I prefer RWD cars, I'll live with it for three years and see what's out then. The car is so good that I figure the few times I nail it are what you get in a first gen car. It's not a game changer, most of the time I drive for range, the regen is the best I've ever used.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Why do people keep pretending that torque steer is an inevitable, unavoidable consequence of having front wheel drive? It isn't. I drove a 1986 Civic Si for 23 years, and never had to deal with it. Likewise none of the other four or so FWD cars I've owned, including my Leaf. My Sister's Plymouth TC-3 had it, along with numerous other design and build defects, but it was in the minority. GM either screwed up or has some bizarre plan, involving ergonomics and drive-ability, to limit the number of people who want a Bolt to no more than half of prospective EV drivers.

 

[PackardV8]

Why do people keep pretending that torque steer is an inevitable, unavoidable consequence of having front wheel drive?

Agree completely. A well-designed FWD doesn't torque steer. I've driven Saab turbos for almost forty years and they have lots of horsepower/torque and don't torque steer.

I drove a 1986 Civic Si for 23 years, and never had to deal with it. . . . my LEAF. My Sister's Plymouth TC-3

No horsepower and no torque = no torque steer.

Anyone have the spec for the Bolt front-rear weight distribution? That also makes a difference on torque steer.

jack vines

 

[sgt1372]

What torque steer? LOL!

In order to control it, you just need to avoid stomping on the accelerator before or while turning.

If you accelerate SMOOTHLY into and during a turn, there is no problem. It's about properly positioning of the car before and while making the turn and exercising proper throttle control throughout the turn. Easier said than done but, with practice, it can be done.

Softer/stickier tires and lowering the front end might help but is an unnecessary cost unless the tires are worn out and the alignment already needs adjustment; that is, unless you want to track the car, which I think would be silly. Fiddling w/tire pressures is a no cost option that may be helpful in controlling torque steer but that probably will not be conducive to maximum tire life.

 

[PackardV8]

What torque steer? LOL! In order to control it, you just need to avoid stomping on the accelerator before or while turning.

No, it's not a serious problem and I happily live with it; just surprised to still find it on a 2017 clean sheet design.

Yes, I know how torque steer works and how good designs don't have it, I've been driving powerful FWD cars for forty years now. LOL! My Bolt has torque steer under full acceleration in a straight line at any speed up to and including 75 MPH. Is it defective? No, just not as good as it could be.

Yes, it's worse on uneven pavement, which are most streets here. Washington is one of those numbnuts states which still allow studded tires; they chew deep ruts into pavement; bad everywhere, but DEEP on hills.


jack vines

 

[LeftieBiker]

No horsepower and no torque = no torque steer.

That's a terrible oversimplification. My '86 had a much better power to weight to gearing ratio than the '95 Civic EX that replaced it for a few years. It would easily beat the '95 with its 39 more HP in a drag race, and would happily light the tires up in first and then chirp them in second. If the axles weren't equal in length it would have had torque steer. The modest HP was an issue above 30MPH but that's also above the speeds where torque steer is most bothersome.

 

[gpsman]

There are online reports that the RWD Teslas are horrible, even dangerous to drive on wet, snowy, or icy roads.

To much power / torque and no way to keep it on the road in reduced traction.

I do not vote for RWD.
AWD would be an improvement.

 

[Robaroni]

Right, EVs have instant torque, ICEs do not so it's more noticeable. It's not a race car and if you keep slightly under full pedal there is little if any torque steer. The Michelins are very good tires, there's really no reason to complain about them, if you want a 'hot hatchback' go buy one this is a spirited EV. The EPA classifies it as a "small wagon".

Weight distribution is 56.3 front, 43.7 rear.

Here's a link to the Bolt's specs. I'm always amazed at how good a car this is!

http://media.chevrolet.com/media/us/en/chevrolet/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2016/Jan/naias/chevy/0111-bolt-du.html

Rob

 

[bro19991]

The Bolt's chief engineer's comments about torque steer:

“We’ve got some special controls in there for that. Our steering system and our EBCM (electronic brake control module) has some pretty slick calibrations in there to combat torque steer. You can feel a little bit of it but I think it feels fine. There’s a lot of power up there so if you were to remove the controls we put in place the torque steer would be pretty wicked.”

http://insideevs.com/exclusive-inside-the-chevrolet-bolt-with-its-chief-engineer-new-details/

 

[sgt1372]

My Bolt has torque steer under full acceleration in a straight line at any speed up to and including 75 MPH.

Haven't noticed any straight line torque steer in mine; only under hard accel while turning. Just lucky I guess.

 

[sgt1372]

There are online reports that the RWD Teslas are horrible, even dangerous to drive on wet, snowy, or icy roads.

To much power / torque and no way to keep it on the road in reduced traction. I do not vote for RWD. AWD would be an improvement.

Like Porsche 911's? Haven't heard complaints about this "yet" on the Model 3 Tesla forum.

Are the Tesla AWD (dual motor) versions better/ Not sure if they are coming out w/a dual motor version of the 3 initially. Something to pay attention to after the Model 3 roll out begins in earnest.