Nolan Penney wrote:
>
> Now about the camber compensator, lets skip the standard cut and paste reply.
> The swing spring rear on the later models like my 1980 are a bit wider.
>Hence all the problems with people putting the wrong main springs on and
>getting the wild cocking games with camber. So what I'm concerned about is
>the physicall fitting of the camber comensator onto the existing stock swing
>spring set up. As in can it be done? your standard reply doesn't quite
>address that point. And you cannot simply bolt on a fixed spring onto the
>wider swing spring rear end. Nor do I want to.
My reply was not boilerplate as you suggest, but my feelings typed in
one character at a time. All that I said is what I know to be true.
The wider stance does not affect the ability to add the camber
compensator. Have you seen the photos on the web site? or have you
seen the drawings in the installation instructions? both show how the
thing attaches and because the vertical links are attached to the spring
component, the extra axle length is insignificant.
Actually, you can bolt on a fixed spring. I have been toying with the
idea of manufacturing some competition springs in sizes for both the
early Spits and the later ones with the longer axles. The only
difference in the early and late suspension is the addition of the box
that allows the spring to wobble left and right so body roll doesn't
lift the unloaded wheel.
>
> I know you're convinced of the problems of zero roll resistance. I'm not.
>Nor are a whole bunch of other racers and automotive engineers. Both have
>their pros and cons. A zero roll rear loads up the front harder. It also
>doesn't unload its inner tires the way higher roll resistance suspensions do.
>Re, Rabbits picking up their inner rear tire.
But rabbits have front drive and it is an established fact that front
drive cars exhibit a whole new set of problems when it comes to
suspension and cornering.
>
> The camber compensators I'm used to seeing are a leaf spring designed to
>catch the axle(s) as they come down to full droop. They don't affect upwards
>motion at all. Some of them use nothing but a rubbing block for the drive
>axle to actually come down against. Some being rigidly mounted under the
>differential, others being swing mounted. Yours appears from the pictures to
>be attached rigidly to the radius arm of the suspension, affecting not only
>drop of the axles, but all motion of the axles, rather like a rigidly pinned
>sway bar or extra spring leaf. Is that the case? It also isn't clear to me
>if your compensator is at a neutral tension in the normal ride height, or if
>it's putting an upwards force in the normal right height, counter acting the
>main spring. Could you clarify these points to me? You also may want to post
>the clarification to the groups, in that it looks to me like others are asking
>the same type of questions.
It is attached firmly to the radius rods, but it is allowed to flop side
to side (much as the swing spring does. The function is more than
catching the dropping axle. It actually transfers some of the force on
the loaded wheel to the unloaded one so that the axle is less likely to
drop so there is nothing to catch!. Notice the single loosely attached
bolt in the center bracket. This is strictly for positioning and the
spring is allowed to move freely side to side. So it is less apt to
cause over harsh ride. (but it does stiffen it up to an extent.
The camber compensator is tunable but a bit of preload is normal. You
can set it to whatever you desire. This is done by adding or removing
length of the link spacers.
But to sum up this conversation, this design is not mine and it is not
new. I have made some small modifications to make it less expensive to
manufacture and to include Poly bushings, but the thing was developed by
Kas Kastner way back in the 60's and he still maintains that the unit is
the single most effective suspension modification that can be done to a
Spitfire. He also thinks the swing springs are crap! While I won't go
that far in my evaluation of the swing spring, I will say that for
competition purposes, the fixed spring with camber compensator beats it
hands down. (JMHO) :)
Regards,
Joe Curry
--
"If you can't excel with talent, triumph with effort."
-- Dave Weinbaum in National Enquirer
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