Interesting shock setup
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 30,858
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From: Boston, Dallas, Detroit, SoCal, back to Boston MA
Interesting shock setup
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 9,556
Likes: 288
From: Granbury Texas
OK Brian, I'll bite. Is that photoshopped? From what I see, it's completely unnecessary unsprung weight, because it's a closed loop. The coil spring unit doesn't do any springing, or anything else, cause it can't move horizontally (as it's plumbed). and it does nothing for vertical movement?
Racer
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 347
Likes: 0
From: Somewhere in the Finger Lakes of NY
'Rocker arm suspension'. Been around for years and years in the formula car world, cuz it saves space and moves heavy-ish components inboard (out of the airstream). You need to see it from a different angle to see how the movement in the a-arms gets transmitted to the rocker, then the shock & spring package. Those arms aren't all on the same axis.
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 198
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by Don Keefhardt
'Rocker arm suspension'. Been around for years and years in the formula car world, cuz it saves space and moves heavy-ish components inboard (out of the airstream). You need to see it from a different angle to see how the movement in the a-arms gets transmitted to the rocker, then the shock & spring package. Those arms aren't all on the same axis.
This looks retarded to me as is, not sure what the motivation is or how it would behave. Anyone know?
Racer
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 347
Likes: 0
From: Somewhere in the Finger Lakes of NY
Lee Stohr (I think that's where the original poster found the image - he posted a link to Stohr's web site) is probably the most gifted designer of small-bore sports racers in North America right now. Among other things, they've won SCCA Nat'l Championships in 'D Sports Racer' for the past few seasons. He might be many things, but he ain't 'retarded'. No...I don't know him and I don't have a Stohr chassis (I race in another sports racer class), but I have two friends who run his chassis'...and they're pretty tasty pieces.
As I stated before, the image used doesn't give a clear view of the geometry of the suspension, and how the linkage is connected.
As I stated before, the image used doesn't give a clear view of the geometry of the suspension, and how the linkage is connected.
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 198
Likes: 0
When I say "it looks retarded to me" I'm more indicating my own retardation since I don't understand it.
=)
=)
Originally Posted by Don Keefhardt
Lee Stohr (I think that's where the original poster found the image - he posted a link to Stohr's web site) is probably the most gifted designer of small-bore sports racers in North America right now. Among other things, they've won SCCA Nat'l Championships in 'D Sports Racer' for the past few seasons. He might be many things, but he ain't 'retarded'. No...I don't know him and I don't have a Stohr chassis (I race in another sports racer class), but I have two friends who run his chassis'...and they're pretty tasty pieces.
As I stated before, the image used doesn't give a clear view of the geometry of the suspension, and how the linkage is connected.
As I stated before, the image used doesn't give a clear view of the geometry of the suspension, and how the linkage is connected.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 3,003
Likes: 89
From: Indy IN
It looks like the original linkage ratio wasn't very good. That is, for a given amount of travel, because the shock was so laid over, there wasn't sufficient motion to get the shock to work, and the spring rate had to be really high also.
What it looks like that linkage does is essentially double the amount of motion in the shock and spring for a given amount of travel. This cuts the spring rate in half and gets sufficient motion in the shock to get it to work, and the shock rates can be half as much, so it may be easier to tune, without having as much stiction in the shock...
Maybe three wasn't anything to attach it to higher up on the chassis so that had to band-aid it to get it to work after it was all designed... If they originally designed it this way they are probably dealing from experience, but this is gonna put a lot of tensile load into the lower control arm and, given a clean sheet of paper, I would likely not have done it that way. All said, it probalby works, but it ain't elegant......
What it looks like that linkage does is essentially double the amount of motion in the shock and spring for a given amount of travel. This cuts the spring rate in half and gets sufficient motion in the shock to get it to work, and the shock rates can be half as much, so it may be easier to tune, without having as much stiction in the shock...
Maybe three wasn't anything to attach it to higher up on the chassis so that had to band-aid it to get it to work after it was all designed... If they originally designed it this way they are probably dealing from experience, but this is gonna put a lot of tensile load into the lower control arm and, given a clean sheet of paper, I would likely not have done it that way. All said, it probalby works, but it ain't elegant......
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Pro
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 584
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From: Lakewood Colorado
OK take this with a bit of imagination, but the geometry on that suspention looks very similar to the rear suspention on my 2000 Ducati 996. That's a motorcycle, for anyone that's not familiar. It gives you the ability to change ride height without changing spring rate. Pretty trick setup if you ask me.