This is technically interesting and makes me excited

[Flieger]

Very Interesting New Suspension

[DucktailCTR]

Originally Posted by Flieger

Very Interesting New Suspension

I always like alternatives. havn't read it yet but already like the look of it. is it applyable to 911s?

[Flieger]

Not yet, as no production kits exist. You would need to fabricate it yourself, with some support from the inventor, I imagine. He was sort of looking for people to test it- you would be rewarded for early adoption. He is an off-road racer, so his first project will probably be his on his own rig.

[Flieger]

Apparently, you can get them for your RC car, though.

[Quicksilver]

Interesting suspension variant but the designer is a little weak on suspension theory though. His assertion that making each of the tires move exactly straight up and down in relation to the chassis constitutes "zero track change" is very off base. Zero track change is when the distance between the center line of the contact patch of each tire doesn't change. This thing has pretty serious track change. It has a geometry that is basically like a Morgan's sliding pillar suspension without the friction.

That being said, any idea that is truly new in suspension design opens up new possibilities when combined with other ideas. I'm wondering what could be done with active suspension technologies applied to this sort of foundation.
Pretty interesting.

[Flieger]

I do not understand how you mean it has serious track change. The wheels move up and down vertically. There is no scrub.

The beauty of this suspension is complete control of camber. It is like two A-arms joined back to back, sort of like a scissor lift. The track change from one is cancelled by the track change from the other. There is a camber link that joins the upright to the lower A-arm. Changing the length and attachment points of this arm changes the camber curve.

This system can be set to maintain whatever camber one wants throughout the suspension travel. Zero or negative. This is relative to the road- in other words, it has perfect camber recovery in roll. It can also be set so that it gains camber on jounce, so if you want more camber dialed in to account for roll-over of the tire carcass, you can do that.

On his next prototype he wants to integrate an active camber link. By changing the attachment point on the A-arm, you change at what point the camber zeroes out- so you can change the ride height and adjust the camber for zero at static. By changing the length, it changes the camber curve, so you can add a little camber on jounce or keep the wheel vertical.

[techweenie]

Waiting to see real world test results.

People can get great performance out of the most primitive of suspension setups -- even live axle: Autostream Network » Break-Down Episode 1 (3-link vs Tri-4 bar)

[UrQuattro]

Yah, a live axle can be phenomenal on the track because it doesnt have to dealxwit many bumps or poor pavement situations. It's in the real word when you try to compare a live axle to independent suspensions that you really find out how much more flexible the independent suspension really is in poor road conditions as well as on the track.

Michael

[Flieger]

Live axle is heavy, too.

[UrQuattro]

Definitely true. But the spec mustang class, and the spec rx7 (from y2k season) both have live axles and they both were damn fast around the track.

But yah, lots of metal there.

Michael

[techweenie]

I brought it up partly because the live axle is a 'zero camber' rear suspension and camber settings/changes are part of the equation with most independent rear suspensions that don't use parallel a-arms. Porsche has had some luck with dynamic toe change in the rear as well, another complexity over live axle.

I've just been continually amazed at how well a rigid rear axle setup can work. It seems so primitive.