Unit Details: Steering

The Primary Steering is determined by the design of rest of the unit. Autodesk Vehicle Tracking assumes that the primary steering is applied at the steerable axle or coupling that is not linked to any other. If there are no such axles or couplings (or more than one) you will be warned Thus if the unit has steering on both front and rear wheels then one of the axles must be specified as linked.

Lock-To-Lock Time is the time taken to turn the primary steering from full left lock to full right lock (or right to left). You can specify a different value for Lock-To-Lock Time Forwards and Lock-To-Lock Time Reverse. Note that this value can be overridden by disabling the steering rate limits in the Model.

Tip: Lock-to-lock time is a term that was introduced in the 1980s. While it is a useful way to describe the steering characteristics of a vehicle, it is a parameter little used in the motoring industry. Far more common is the number of turns of the steering wheel lock to lock. Clearly the two parameters are closely related, and it may be useful when defining new vehicles to think in terms of number of turns lock to lock. Of course the time it takes to complete one turn of the wheel can vary between vehicles according to steering wheel size, resistance to turning and other factors.

Maximum Steering Angle is the angle of an imaginary wheel at the center of the steering (axle or coupling). If you do not have this information on hand, Autodesk Vehicle Tracking can calculate it for you in one of three ways. Select Use Calculated Value if you want Vehicle Tracking to calculate the Maximum Steering Angle. If you know the relevant radius then we recommend that you select either Curb-To-Curb Radius or Wall-To-Wall Radius as the basis for the Maximum Steering Angle calculation.

Finally, if you have speed-related linkages defined then you will also need to specify the speed at which the radius applies. If you do not have any speed related linkages defined then leave the speed at zero.

If you do not know either the Curb-To-Curb Radius or Wall-To-Wall Radius, then use the Maximum Wheel Angle or Maximum Artic. Angle. The Maximum Wheel Angle is the maximum angle of any wheel on the primary axle group (front or rear). The Maximum Artic. Angle is the maximum coupling articulation in the case of vehicles with steerable couplings. The value is taken from the Wheel angle limited to box on the appropriate axle group tab or from the maximum horizontal angle box on the coupling tab.

Important: The Maximum Wheel Angle represents the maximum angle of any wheel in the axle group, unlike previous versions of Vehicle Tracking, in which it referred to an imaginary center line wheel. The imaginary center line wheel angle is now referred to as Maximum Steering Angle.

For Driver/Pilot position, Longitudinal Offset is the distance of the driver (specifically his eye) in front of axle 1. Lateral Offset is the distance of the driver’s eye from the centerline of the vehicle, looking towards the front of the vehicle. You can specify a negative Lateral Offset if the driving convention requires it. Vertical Offset is the height of the driver’s eye above ground level, and is used in driver’s eye viewpoint animations.

The position of the driver on the left or right is defined for the driving convention currently set. If you want the driver to be relocated for the opposite driving convention, select Move Driver/Pilot To The (Right/Left) When The Convention Is To Drive On The (Left/Right).