Suspension compliance, Yahoo

[Will Owen <nashwill@domain.elided>]

Dana Loomis pointed out:

"Taking a more practical view, all other things being
equal, a larger bushing will provide more suspension
compliance, which track nuts call "slop," but
comfort-oriented street drivers tend to view as a
benefit.   
If your plans for the car include track use, the
original trailing arms might be preferable."

A couple of billion years ago, a fellow up in
Anchorage had a Volvo P1800 that he liked to race, but
found the suspension too "sloppy" for his liking.
According to some who knew him (I didn't), he
duplicated all his rear suspension bushings in Oilite
bronze, and proceeded to clean up the
opposition...now, my acquaintance with the rear
suspension layout of RWD Volvos leads me to believe
that they need rubber in there to function at all - as
do the live-axle Alfas - and so what this clown was
driving, even if it did work for him, was essentially
a car with no rear suspension whatsoever, except for
purely vertical movement. Of course, all the racing
venues in Alaska back then were either very smooth
pavement, or ice, or loose gravel, so anything that
kept the wheels pointed the right way would work OK. I
hate to think what a handful it must've been on the
bumpy, frost-heaved public highways, though.

Dana has it right: anywhere but on the track,
compliance is a Good Thing. Not only does it give a
smoother and more comfortable ride, but by introducing
a well-controlled amount of "give," it contributes a
lot towards good handling, especially on the
primitive, rutted tracks we Southern Californians
laughingly call "roads." In fact, I strongly suspect
that a lot of the teetery feeling in the Berlina's
suspension is due to perished, hardened suspension
bushings.

BTW - regarding Richard's note about problems with
Yahoo: yes, I've noticed that at least half of the
stuff in my regular mailbox these days is utter crap,
in spite of my having a Bulk Mail receptacle that's
supposed to get all the (your body part here)
enlargement and porno ads. It's just getting worse. As
it happens, I do have an Earthlink address I've been
using mostly for business, but I guess I'll have to
shift everything over there.
<nashwill912@domain.elided> is it...

Will Owen
Pasadena, CA
Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals.
http://personals.yahoo.com

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