I have to say I don't quite understand all the stuff happening in a suspension, but I was wondering if the vertical angle of the wheels could alleviate or exacerbate some of the bumb steer?
On the new 3W, the wheels are set to go outward at the bottom, where on the older ones, they lean outward at the top.
Would it help at all? I mean, I realise they're very different "systems", but could it help a little by placing the centerline of the tyre touching the ground more inward?
I'm thinking, if you shortened the lower arm a bit, and elongated the upper to slightly less extend, you would in effect tilt the wheel just above the center of the hub.
I already read that thread, but most of the talk is about the geometry of the suspension itself (if you know what I mean) and toe-in vs. toe-out, and not much about the angle of the wheel compared to vertical.
Edit:
In this picture, if you made the upper yellow one a tad longer, and the lower yellow one slightly shorter (as in "more cut off than added on the top),
It seems to me, that having the contact area slightly more inwards would alleviate some of the tendency to bump stear. I mean, by lengthening the top portion, say, 20mm, and shortening the lower by 30 or 40mm or how much is needed to get from "minus vertical" over vertical to "plus vertical", the red line would be more vertical, and therefore the wheel going outwards at the top, and slightly inward at the bottom, making the contact area closer to the attachment point of the spring. A couple of centimeters there would mean a world of difference, I would think, hence me trying to solicit a discussion on the merits of the idea. I can't weld, so I can't test it. At least not cheaply, and I sure as hell don't know enough about this to just go for it.
Last edited by AQM; 20/08/1302:40 PM. Reason: Added a bit+photo
The term should you wish to Google it, and edumificate yourself... is camber angle.
All the 2 and 3 speeders are positive camber, the 5 speeder is negative camber. As a general rule, a negative camber front end grips better, but has heavier steering. But the ideal is no camber as that gives the biggest tyre contact patch and the reason you chose negative is when the car rolls in a tight turn, the contact area is effectively maximised as the instantaneous camber is zero.
It's a complicated subject and that's a gross simplification!
Last edited by Martyn Culling; 20/08/1305:45 PM. Reason: fixed title spelling
Just an obsevation In the full frontal picture of the 5 wheeler (teal) you can see the steering arms are horizontal ..( as per early prototypes). In the last picture with the added lines , the steering arms are facing down as per latest iterations
That is a very good observation P964! I wonder what the reason is? Possibly the teal blue car has a lower ride height? It looks like that from the angle of the wishbones, especially the lower wishbone.
I can't help wondering if, like the rubber bumpered MGB, the factory just raised the ride height, to comply with the legislation of one of the countries it is sold in, thus ruining the steering?
