preith Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 I searched on this and didn't come up with much of anything. There was a lengthy discussion on solid axle vs IRS, but nothing on this subject. What are the arguments with stut vs double a-arm suspensions, specifically when building a tube frame car for SCCA competition? It seems like double a-arms are all the rage. Is this mainly because of the rules? In Fred Puhn's book, "How to Make Your Car Handle", he skimmed the surface a bit about roll centers, but that was about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 There's no doubt a well designed double a-arm suspension will have better geometry then a strut based suspension. I don't really think there needs to be a discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preith Posted March 16, 2004 Author Share Posted March 16, 2004 Fair enough, I was kinda hoping for a "suspension geometry for dummies" I have some publications comming in the mail anyhow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Trying to design a strut suspension system into a tube chassis would be awkward to say the least too. Double A arms are much more compact and more compatible in that situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Race Car Vehicle Dynamics, by Milliken and Milliken is all you'll ever need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preith Posted March 16, 2004 Author Share Posted March 16, 2004 Thanks Drax, yeah from the reviews it looks like your right. The best price I could find is $50 used/$70 new. A bit painfull, but oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Another thing to remember is that there is a lot of side loading on the shock absorber on the mac strut. This will give you friction and more heat in the strut. The double wishbones treat the shock independently and you dont have those problems. There still are a lot of good race cars with struts though. Ask any Porsche guy. Another example is the aussie v8 touring cars, the falcons used wishbones, the c/dore's struts (until last year). The c/dore's still won the championship heaps more than the falcons. Go figure? Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j260z Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 check out this link. http://www.heidts.com/heisinfo.htm i'm currently working on installing a mustang II suspension in a 64 Mercury Comet so i can easily fit a 5.0 HO. the more info i read on this suspension setup the more i think of trying it out on a Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 ................................................................................ Another example is the aussie v8 touring cars' date=' the falcons used wishbones, the c/dore's struts (until last year). The c/dore's still won the championship heaps more than the falcons. Go figure? Douglas[/quote'] Not ordinary struts in the Supercars though. They used a variety of low friction arrangements, including hexagonal tubes with roller bearings running on each hex face. But your point is a good one. A good strut setup is very hard to beat, providing the vertical space is there to fit it in the first place. I'd use a Proflex strut suspension setup to my Z in preference to going to double wishbones, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhaag Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 If you want the book but don't want to buy it, check out interlibrary loan. I looked on the World Catalog online and several hundred libraries in the U.S. own the book. With your library card (free) and the assistance (very easy) of your local librarian, you can obtain almost any book. It might take a week to get it but once you have it, you could photocopy the pages you want. Milliken also published a workbook (1998) and Race Car Vehicle Dynamics: problems, answers and experiments (2003). John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlsoRanFPrepared Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Trying to design a strut suspension system into a tube chassis would be awkward to say the least too. Double A arms are much more compact and more compatible in that situation. Exactly. When designing and building my EMOD 240Z the thought of struts and the associated work quickly convinced me that dual A-arms were the way to go. The Race Car Vehicle Dynamics is a great book. Even for the non-engineer there is good information to be gleaned. -Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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