11. Influence of Lateral Asymmetry on Car’s Lateral Dynamics

Research on vehicle dynamics usually works on the assumption that vehicle is bilaterally symmetrical. In practice, however, cars may have laterally asymmetrical characteristics due to different reasons. This investigation looks into how the lateral asymmetry affects the dynamic behavior of a steering vehicle. In order to do so, an unconventional planar model of laterally asymmetric vehicle is built to derive the equations of motion; Matlab/Simulink platform is utilized to simulate the dynamic responses of the vehicle to a ramp steer input. The responses are then put together with those of the baseline for comparison. The results show that, the vehicle with its center of gravity (CoG) deviating toward rotation center produces more lateral grip than the symmetric car; whilst the vehicle with its CoG being on the other side of rotation center provides less lateral grip than the baseline. The most important outcome of this investigation is that, a laterally asymmetrical vehicle turning to the heavier side can produce about 7% higher lateral grip capacity than turning to the lighter side.