Adaptive braking and steering adjustment on a slope

A method of adaptively changing brake force distribution in a vehicle, the method comprising:

• detecting vehicle parameters during operation of the vehicle;
• based on the detected vehicle parameters, determining downhill travel of the vehicle while braking and steering inputs are applied to the vehicle as an enabling condition;
• and
• responsive to detection of a trigger comprising detection of an understeer condition while the enabling condition is satisfied, executing a brake force distribution modification defining a change in distribution of brake forces between a front axle and a rear axle of the vehicle,
• wherein detecting vehicle parameters comprises detecting that the vehicle is operating on a deformable surface, and wherein operating on the deformable surface is also required to satisfy the enabling condition.

A vehicle control system comprising:

• a sensor network comprising one or more sensors to detect vehicle parameters;
• and
• a controller operably coupled to the sensor network to detect, based on the parameters, downhill travel of the vehicle while braking and steering inputs are applied to the vehicle as an enabling condition for execution of a brake force distribution modification,
• wherein the controller executes the brake force distribution modification responsive to detection of a trigger, the trigger comprising detection of an understeer condition,
• wherein the brake force distribution modification defines a change in distribution of brake forces between a front axle and a rear axle of the vehicle, and
• wherein the change in distribution of brake forces comprises changing a percentage of total braking torque that is applied to each of the front and rear axles without changing the total braking torque.