What the Hell is Corner Balancing?

Corner balancing is one of the most commonly overlooked things in the world of suspension. The definition of a corner balance is the process of shifting the weight carried by each wheel to evenly distribute the weight of the car across all four wheels.  You are properly “corner balanced” when you have even weighed distribution between your driver front and passenger rear tire and also even weight distribution between your passenger front and driver rear corners. Some special applications require a different corner balance setup like 40/60 distribution with more weight in the rear. Some weight can be moved around by physical moving parts of the car (i.e. relocating your battery from the front to the rear, removal of the spare tire, etc.), but the corner balancing process is mainly focused on shifting the weight of the vehicle by adjusting the spring height of each shock/coilover. As with all things suspension related, everything is affected by everything and your corner balances play a large part in the forces that act on your suspension under acceleration, braking and especially hard cornering. A properly corner balanced car has a planted feel on the track and provides predictable reactions under racing conditions and when traction is broken. A commonly used analogy for corner balancing is to imagine a four-legged table. A corner balanced car is like a table with all of its legs at an even length and does not wobble. If one leg of the table is shorter than the other, the table wobbles when pressure is applied to a corner and this represents a car that does not corner balanced. These wobbles translate into unnatural weight shifting and decreased grip overall when it matters.

Corner balancing is one of the most commonly overlooked things in the world of suspension. The definition of a corner balance is the process of shifting the weight carried by each wheel to evenly distribute the weight of the car across all four wheels.  You are properly “corner balanced” when you have even weighed distribution between your driver front and passenger rear tire and also even weight distribution between your passenger front and driver rear corners. Some special applications require a different corner balance setup like 40/60 distribution with more weight in the rear. Some weight can be moved around by physical moving parts of the car (i.e. relocating your battery from the front to the rear, removal of the spare tire, etc.), but the corner balancing process is mainly focused on shifting the weight of the vehicle by adjusting the spring height of each shock/coilover. As with all things suspension related, everything is affected by everything and your corner balances play a large part in the forces that act on your suspension under acceleration, braking and especially hard cornering. A properly corner balanced car has a planted feel on the track and provides predictable reactions under racing conditions and when traction is broken. A commonly used analogy for corner balancing is to imagine a four-legged table. A corner balanced car is like a table with all of its legs at an even length and does not wobble. If one leg of the table is shorter than the other, the table wobbles when pressure is applied to a corner and this represents a car that does not corner balanced. These wobbles translate into unnatural weight shifting and decreased grip overall when it matters.

The actual process of corner balancing involves four specially made scales that need to be used on a perfectly flat surface to accurately read the weight distribution across the car. These individual scales usually connect to a central computer that displays all of the values you are adjusting for. Adjustments are made mainly at the spring perches to adjust the ride height at each corner. These adjustments include changing the amount of weight resting over the spring perch in relation to the other three springs and is a very intuitive and time-consuming process as the values for each corner change in relation to each other so be sure to document everything as you go. When performing a corner balance you must be sure that your car is exactly the same as it would be under track conditions. The weight of the driver over the left front of the vehicle needs to be accounted for, along with all of the fluids topped off or at whatever levels are optimum during competition driving along with proper tire pressures.

TAKE NOTES! Literally. As you should already know one suspension adjustment affects everything and your corner balancing changes are no different. Document every change every time you adjust a spring perch while corner balancing and be sure to roll your car off of the scales every time you make changes. The more time and more often you corner balance your car the more notes you will have. This, in turn, leads to a faster and easier process every time because you have a solid book of adjustments and notes so you’re not building from scratch. Also, take notes. The whole process involves a lot of trial and error along with developing a feel for the actual process in the beginning. A lot of the benefits of corner balancing are seen with higher end and racing spec springs that usually come with higher/stiffer spring rates. Most road cars for everyday use sit on springs that are softer than 300lbs/in. Adjustments on spring rates softer than this have a smaller effect on your suspension than making the same adjustments on a stiffer corner. The whole corner balancing process shows most of its benefits in racing use instead of just daily driving. If you corner balances your daily driver Honda Civic you could have spent that time and money elsewhere because you’ll never be under conditions to feel the benefits. In the end, corner balancing your ride should not be overlooked if you’re serious about your vehicle’s suspension and your track times. This should process should be done in conjunction with suspension tuning to add the final touches to your suspension. With a basic understanding, some confidence and a good set of scales you can dial in your suspension on your own. Ideally, if you can work something out to where you can get your suspension tuned at a track or AutoX event you will be able to see exactly what effects the changes you are making are having on your car’s handling and will make you a better racer overall.