Hal;
I'll second what Keith wrote. If the surface were as flat as a pool
table you could get away with having no suspension but the real world
isn't perfectly flat---the Flat Earth Society notwithstanding.
You need springs for compliance and shocks for damping; otherwise your
tires are bouncing down the track. When the tire is off the ground, you
have no traction at all. The shock loads are hard on the driveline &
rear end when those spinning tires come back down, too.
Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-land-speed@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-land-speed@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Keith Turk
Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2004 5:33 PM
To: Hal Worcester; land-speed@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Solid mounted axel?
Okay it's worse then a couple of inches... it's actually more like 3/4
of an
inch total travel... but the value of that ability to have the
suspension
interact with the track is huge.... it keeps the tire planted... with
Solid
suspension the chassis is supended off of the tire and with 70-90lbs of
air
pressure...the tire isn't very pliable...
There are those that believe that Suspension isn't nessesary on a smooth
course... and I suppose they are right... only this year was the best
year
we've had and the course still had bumps...
I've instrumented my car to measure suspension travel. At speedweek
this
year for example it moved not less then 3/8ths of an inch virtually
constantly.... that's what suspension does....
It doesn't have to be fancy.... I've proved that with the Camaro's old
suspension.... leaf springs with air bags.. but it has to be Equal... (
proved that too )....
Keith
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hal Worcester" <HWorcester@AdvancedPower.com>
To: <land-speed@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2004 7:16 PM
Subject: Solid mounted axel?
> Hi all,
>
> I am building a new car for LSR and have a question? I am
> contemplating mounting a 9" Ford axel in the rear to replace the stock
> independent suspension.
>
> What are the pro's and cons of solid mounting this? It would be very
> easy to build to the stock IRS carrier mounts from the original leaf
> spring mounts on the axel instead of building a new suspension for
just
> a couple of inches travel.
>
>
>
> All thoughts and arguments are welcome. - Hal.
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