Hi all.
I'm getting my corner weights checked and diagnosed. Let's assume I
have my sway bars
detached and the scales show the RR+LF = LR+RF, so my corner weights are
perfect, and I
take this to mean that my chassis is straight and all my springs are OK and
have the same
preload side to side etc. *IF and only if* that is true, I believe that if
I were to add a load to the
car, such as adding my weight to the driver seat, then the RR+LF will still
equal the LR+RF.
the number will be different, of course, by half my weight, but if the
chassis, springs and
tire pressures etc are all even, then the equation will hold for the new
numbers.
*But* if the corner weights were off, say, initially, and the problem
was not fixed, but
simply compensated for, at the initial chassis load, eg, one weak spring
got more preload,
then even if the RR+LF was tweaked to equal LR+RF as it stood, if I changed
the load, then
the equation would not hold for the new load. The weaker spring would still
travel farther for it's
new load, and the problem would return.
Thus I believe that the true test of a well-set up chassis (for neutral
handling) is that
the cross weights stay equal *under a range of static loads*.
What do you think?
Second part: Once everything is set, should I tighten the sway bars with
the car unloaded,
or with the car loaded as it will be raced? When I sit in it, one side is
going down more than
the other, and should this dial in some preload in the sway bars (if I
tightened them up unloaded),
or should the sway bars be stressless except while cornering, such as if I
fastened their end
mounts with my weight's worth in the seat? Setting them with the car
unloaded seems like
the equivalent of having stiffer springs on the heavy side...
thanks in advance,
Joe Weinstein
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