Quote:
Originally Posted by $aint
I'm sorry, I always only have a McPherson/IRS beetle in mind, forgot to add that 
Corcerning the McPherson strut, I assume you mean the camber changes that come from compliance in the bushings?
Or do you mean other camber changes?
I've read some data about tires having the most grip when cornering when they have a fairly large negative (dynamic, ie total) camber (afaik it was >7 degrees).
Don't remember anything about the sidewall hight or strength being said in that article though.
I'll see if I can digg it up. |
The strut on a beetle is essentially pivotted at the top due to the compliance of the top bush and the bottom of the strut pivots on the ball joint in the track arm. at the other end of the track arm there is also a pivot. In roll the track arm describes an arc with the centre at the inner most pivot point of the track arm therefore, the outer ball joint moves laterally in relation to the chassis. As the bottom of the strut moves in or out because the top of the strut is a pivot point the angle of the wheel changes in relation to the body - usually it goes more negative. The actual camber or the angle of the wheel in relation to the ground would be the same if the roll centre of the suspension was at the inner point of the track arm but it isn't it is some distance further away that means the wheel camber would change. A further complication is that the geometry of a Macpherson strut means that as the roll increases the roll centre moves closer to the car and that affects the camber. All up, to establish the camber of the wheel to the road surface requires the input of the roll centre position, compression of the strut the ride height and the static camber.
To get maximum grip from a tyre the tread has to be flat on the road surface. To acheive that the geometry of the suspension and the compliance of the tyre (sidewall stiffness) all play a complex and interrelated part. You will see that on the circuit mechanics will be using a temperature probe to check the temperature across the tyre. The temp. is a function of how much a particular part of the tread is working. The aim is to have a constant temperature across the full width of the tyre
evilC