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 | XUV full view of steering and front suspension |
The XUV is equipped with rack-and-pinion steering and MacPherson strut front suspension. These automotive-type systems exhibit excellent handling characteristics as well as responsive steering, and low steering effort.
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Automotive-type rack-and-pinion steering features include:
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Steel ball-bearings secure the steering shaft and delivers smooth, responsive operation
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Tight turn radius of 12.4 ft. (3.8 m) for excellent maneuverability
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Completely sealed rack-and-pinion for long life
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Low steering ratio (lock-to-lock) provides more responsive steering and less operator input
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Shaft U-joints are phased for a smooth, uninterrupted motion of the steering wheel
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Ackerman steering design provides more responsive steering, decreases tire wear when used on hard surfaces, and is turf friendly (see description below)
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Minimal bump steer eliminates unintended vehicle direction changes when traversing terrain and permits less feedback to the steering wheel (see description below)
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The Ackerman Steering Principle defines the geometry that is applied to all vehicles (two or four wheel drive) to enable the correct turning angle of the steering wheels to be generated when negotiating a corner or a curve.
The red lines in the picture represent the path that the wheels follow. One can notice that the inside wheels of the car are following a smaller diameter circle than the outside wheels.
If both the wheels were turned by the same amount (parallel steering), the inside wheel would scrub (effectively sliding sideways which wears the tires on hard surfaces and scrubs or tears the turf) and lessen the effectiveness of the steering. The tire scrubbing, which also creates unwanted heat and wear in the tire, can be eliminated by turning the inside wheel at a greater angle than the outside one (Ackerman Steering).
Note: Some competitors use parallel steering instead of Ackerman Steering.
Bump Steer defines the change in forward steering angle (thus wheel position) as the suspension travels through it full motion. A large amount of angular change (5-7 degrees) will alter the vehicle's direction and excessively move the steering wheel.
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| | | Last Updated : 10-Nov-2008 |
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