Digitalis West
2010.04.03, 11:25 PM
I thought my MR-03 would benefit from a front antisway bar. When the front of the car was stiff enough to have the balance I wanted, the car would bounce down the track. Thinking about it, I noticed the different way the spring end of the A-arms move. When the suspension compresses evenly, going over a bump, the ends of the A-arms move together. When the car tips in roll, the arms move in opposition.
I thought putting a spring between the A-arms would add roll stiffness without affecting the spring rate much. I bent up a spring I had and bolted it through the holes in my PN A-arms. I had to mill down the head of the screw I used to clear the springs.
The picture is clearer than my description. Please excuse the RCP fuzz... this it post race.
It works! I can now run a much softer front spring without traction rolling or having too much steering. For me, this makes the car faster and more consistent to drive on bumpy RCP.
There is still some tuning to do. I need to find a way to bend the springs more consistently and I need a wider variety of springs. It takes a lot of manual adjusting to get the spring right. The red springs I am using are a little too stiff.... but it works well enough to make my novice driving much much more consistent.
I thought putting a spring between the A-arms would add roll stiffness without affecting the spring rate much. I bent up a spring I had and bolted it through the holes in my PN A-arms. I had to mill down the head of the screw I used to clear the springs.
The picture is clearer than my description. Please excuse the RCP fuzz... this it post race.
It works! I can now run a much softer front spring without traction rolling or having too much steering. For me, this makes the car faster and more consistent to drive on bumpy RCP.
There is still some tuning to do. I need to find a way to bend the springs more consistently and I need a wider variety of springs. It takes a lot of manual adjusting to get the spring right. The red springs I am using are a little too stiff.... but it works well enough to make my novice driving much much more consistent.