The article begins with the elements and works up to some simple equations that you can use to calculate weight transfer in any car knowing only the wheelbase, the height of the CG, the static weight distribution, and the track, or distance between the tires across the car. These numbers are reported in shop manuals and most journalistic reviews of cars. Most people remember Newton's laws from school physics. These are fundamental laws that apply to all large things in the universe, such as cars. The only reason a car in neutral will not coast forever is that friction, an external force, gradually slows the car down.
Friction comes from the tires on the ground and the air flowing over the car.
The tendency of a car to keep moving the way it is moving is the inertia of the car, and this tendency is concentrated at the CG point. This law is expressed by the famous equation , where is a force, is the mass of the car, and is the acceleration, or change in motion, of the car. A larger force causes quicker changes in motion, and a heavier car reacts more slowly to forces. Newton's second law explains why quick cars are powerful and lightweight. The more and the less you have, the more you can get.