Re: Gyro Stabilizers

[Brian M Kennedy <kennedy@xxxxxx>]

Kurt Gibble wrote:
> 
> > Do any of the current high tech racers use gyro stabilizers .. to control body roll on the
> > track?  Conceptually, this could be a massive flywheel mounted low and
> > center on the car, rotating front to back on a shaft belt driven off a
> > modified drivetrain.  The axis/shaft of the flywheel could be directly
> > coupled via suspension links/mounts to the large chassis plates and the
> > spinning mass help mitigate much of the chassis lean.
> >      Spin a bicycle wheel weighing a few ounces a few hundred RPM and feel
> > the force when you attempt to tilt it sideways...now imagine the effect of
> > a rotating mass weighing 75-100 lbs (or more) spinning a few thousand
> >
> Hi Steve!
> 
> Cute idea but so sorry.  What happens when you try to tip a spinning
> wheel?  You feel a torque that trys to rotate the wheel in the
> horizontal plane and the direction of that torque depends on the
> rotation direction of the spinning wheel.  Moreover, the bigger change
> in direction for the spinning wheel is the actual turn of the car (90
> degrees typically) and this will induce a large torque causing the car
> to lean A LOT.  You could imagine more complicated arrangements but they
> get large, heavy, and I haven't, in this short time, figured out one
> that will do what you want.

Agreed.  But I think there may be an application for gyros:  set up a small gyro as
an inertial sensor -- then use a computer to analyze it and adjust the suspension
accordingly.  For example, rather than have anti-sway bars which not only reduce
sway but also stiffen the ride, you could instead have a small gyro sense lean and
then electronically stiffen the shocks on the side you are leaning towards.  The net
effect would be a much softer ride while the car is level (i.e., when you are
driving straight but simply hit a bump in the road), but still have strong
resistance to roll.  Theoretically.  ;^)

Well, just a thought,

Brian

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