Risen from the ashes

[Jac Mac]

Originally Posted by BT SNAKE

Jack,
Thanks again. I don't think you know how much that last
post helped me.
I'm currently trying to understand how the tire slip angle works with all this . Kinda hard to picture . I've heard that tires are the first consideration.
I think I will learn how to set up a suspension but the real secret is knowing what setup to use on a peticular track. It's the undersdtanding of what effects you get when you change something. Like what to change when you need the rear to be more stable in a decreasing radial turn.
I will say one thing, it's damn interesting but confusing at times.
One question Jack... I have seen front and lower wishbones with verticle spherical bearings perpendidular to the centerline of the car. What are the good - bad points of this design?

Hersh

I will answer the last Q first. The vertical bolts allow you change roll center heights and antidive @ front or squat @ rear. As Fran has pointed out you can have combos of both on one w/bone. Take the front lower as an example. If the inner front pivot has the bolt horizontal while the inner rear bolt is vertical then raising the rear of the w/bone will build in some antidive.

Dont sweat the confusion part, without a great deal of thought it very hard ( if not impossible ) to design a suspension layout where one change does not create another unwanted change at the same time- the 'trick' if there is one is to minimise these unwanted changes.

One change at a time is the safest way & keep notes. I can tell you that the car I have been involved with out here has achieved approx 4secs per lap improvement from suspension work only over the last three seasons, most of the problems were built into the car originally. With hindsight it would have been quicker to build a new chassis, but then we were not aware of what we were in for! Strengthening a weak area of the chassis that was causing a mechanical bind in the rear suspension while under power was the single big gain- a simple test of chassis torsional strength showed that up!

Jac Mac