I believe I have a fairly good understanding of suspension variables and their effects on handling, but I'm still a little lost with rake. I've been searching for knowledge on the internets but found nothing that would really explain it to me.

Here's what I think I know:

- Rake affects ground effect in real life but not in LFS, although even in LFS downforce and drag is slightly changed due to a wing's angle of attack relative to air flow - if the car has wings.

- Rake affects center of gravity of the car, but from what I've read, very little. LFS doesn't take this into account in weight distribution under info tab, but change can be seen in forces view. In an LX4 it seems like half tank of petrol has about as much effect in the yellow force indicators as changing rear ride height from minimum to maximum in a semi stiff setup. In weight distribution half tank of petrol is 1.3 percentage points.

- When rake is increased, some weight shifts to front, but also the CoG (or center of mass?) on the front axle is lowered relative to rear, decreasing roll in front. I assume this is the most important reason for differences in handling between different rakes in LFS.

I wish to be corrected if I'm wrong, and told if there is something else to consider.

In real life, as well as the above, you also want a rake value that maintains diffuser performance (where fitted), and can cope with the movement of the suspension.

In F3, you might run 20mm of rake (rear ride height 20mm higher than front), as the rear end is heavier, more softly sprung to aid traction and to make the car act as a moving aerodynamic device (at speed the rake decreases, reducing drag/downforce), whilst avoiding handling changes at critical times and maintaining underfloor/diffuser performance.

At least, that is a synopsis of my limited understanding...

Some of this is modelled in LFS, and some of it isn't... But then again I don't think any sims really get the effects of rake working properly.

Presumably the roll centre/axis changes with rake. More rake = car rotates more easily and vice versa. As with most things, it's possible to go too far. If you think of an accelerating FWD car, you want weight on the driven wheels to prevent wheelspin, so a bit of rake is useful. In LFS there is no anti-squat/dive or suspension travel limiting, and all suspensions have a 1:1 MR which may not be entirely realistic, and so the effects of rake on the suspension and handling may be a little bit off as well.