It's got nothing to do with my bravery - - I
ain't conna try it at all - - I'm sticking with a
plain old Ford truck box, pitman arm, and drag
link to a solid beam front axle.
But I'm not sure it would slow the vehicle down
any more than any other type of steering. Mayf
can probably talk to this a lot more than I can,
but I think old man Newton's rule means that the
overall drag and loss of energy to the vehicle
resulting from changing it's direction of
movement will be exactly the same, whether it is
done by turning the steering wheels, applying
drag (brake) to one or both wheels on one side of
the car, or leaning the wheel to produce reduced
circumference (ala motorcycle or Euclid road
grader). The overall resistance to going
striaght will be the same no matter what method
is used. That may even apply to fin and
rudder-induced steering. Mayf - is this right???
Dick J
--- dahlgren <dahlgren@uconect.net> wrote:
> and slow it down too maybe ????? really want to
> try differential braking
> at 300 . You are a very brave man
> Dahlgren
>
> Dick J wrote:
> >
> > Mayf, what if there was no steering at all.
> I
> > mean in the traditional sense. Both wheeled
> and
> > tracked tractors have split brakes, and a few
> > years ago dune buggies had split brakes to
> make
> > them turn sharper. It would seem that at
> higher
> > speeds, very slight brake input to one side
> or
> > the other should be sufficient to steer the
> car.
> >
> > Dick J
> >
> > --- "Lawrence E. & Cathy R. Mayfield"
> > <lemay@hiwaay.net> wrote:
> > > Date: Thu, 25 May 2000 16:21:14
> > > To: land-speed@auox.team.net
> > > From: "Lawrence E. & Cathy R. Mayfield"
> > > <lemay@hiwaay.net>
> > > Subject: Front and Rear Steering
> Thoughts...
> > >
> > > Wow, what an interesting thread! I sat
> down a
> > > few moments ago to think
> > > about all that I had read on the thread and
> to
> > > see if what I had read I
> > > understood. First, there were many thoughts
> > > about why do a rear steer if it
> > > is not needed? What are the benefits. Well
> I
> > > assumed that rear steer was
> > > being used (thought about) because the
> wheels
> > > in front are pulling the car
> > > instead of pushing it. Being able to steer
> from
> > > the rear wheels would seem
> > > to reduce the complexity at the front by
> > > reducing the steering knuckle set
> > > ups, CV joints or u joints, etc. Putting
> the
> > > steering at the back wheels
> > > seems so logical in this case because we
> would
> > > then just be running the car
> > > backwards so to speak. And we all have had
> some
> > > sort of experience in
> > > backing up..most of the time we make
> mistakes
> > > (you ought to see my driveway
> > > - car tracks over the lawn on both sides).
> I
> > > attribute this to looking over
> > > my shoulder while going backwards. But in a
> > > purpose designed car I would
> > > hope to be facing forward! So what is it
> that
> > > makes this so difficult.
> > > There was some thoughts about the facts
> that
> > > the drive wheels arrive at the
> > > corner first and we have to think ahead to
> make
> > > it work right. For sure!
> > > However, I don't think this is the reason
> > > straight line cars experience
> > > difficulty.
> > >
> > > Danger Warning Will Robinson...read at
> your
> > > own peril....outlandish
> > > thoughts from here on...
> > >
> > > Ok, now that the disclaimer is out of the
> way,
> > > here is what I think. We
> > > all grew up being taught that in a skid we
> need
> > > to turn the front whel into
> > > the skid to regain contro. And why is that,
> > > well after drawing a small free
> > > body diagram, I see that when the front
> > > steering wheels are turned in the
> > > direction of skid the rear drive wheels
> tend to
> > > drive the car into that
> > > direction giving directional control back
> to
> > > the driver. Thia is all pretty
> > > straight forward.
> > >
> > > Now what happens when a front drive rear
> steer
> > > goes into a skid. Our
> > > training says to turn into the skid. Right?
> So
> > > if we turn into the skid,
> > > the drive wheels pull the car even farther
> off
> > > into the skid. This most
> > > obviously causes consternation and a lot of
> > > over correction. The truth is,
> > > that in a rear steer car the steering
> wheels
> > > must be turned away from the
> > > skid not into it. That way the drive wheels
> > > will pull the rear of the car
> > > around and back into directional control.
> > >
> > > One list member correctly, I believe, hit
> the
> > > nail on the head. It is all
> > > what we grew up with. Had we been driving
> rear
> > > steer all along, we would be
> > > having this discussion about front steer! I
> > > think that a well designed car
> > > with the driver brainwashed into the
> correct
> > > manuevers to get out of spins
> > > and skids would fare just as well as any
> other
> > > car.
> > >
> > > Would there be any interest into building
> a
> > > small go kart size test
> > > vehicle? Heck even a go hart would work.
> Just
> > > need to put the driver and
> > > control in so that the driver faces the
> "front"
> > > drive wheels and rig the
> > > steering. The get out on the skid pad with
> some
> > > wet skids and see how to
> > > control? Heck, maybe this is my "barstool"
> pit
> > > machine...
> > >
> > > Control is now returned to the reader.
> > >
> > > mayf (with migraine so thoughts may be
> fuzzy)
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > L.E. Mayfield
> > > 124 Maximillion Drive
> > > Madison, Al. 35758-8171
> > > ph: 1-256-837-1051
> > >
> > > http://home.hiwaay.net/~lemay
> > >
> > > lemay@hiwaay.net
> > >
> > > Sunbeam Tiger, B9471136
> > > Sunbeam Alpine Bonneville Land Speed Racer,
> > > '66 Hydroplane Drag Boat (390 FE)
> >
> >
>
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