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I have a rear suspension query I would like advice on, if anyone is willing. The car is a 1960 Sunbeam Alpine, with a 302 Ford V8 up front. The rear axle has leaf springs, and Ive fitted a Watts linkage to help control it ( basically Scimitar bits) The telescopic shockers are angled inwards at the top by maybe 30 degrees or so. On the drive to and from the MOT centre ( it passed, yay! ) it feels like the suspension isnt working as it might. As I'm guessing the shock absorbers were originally angled to give a degree of sideways control, might I be better to remount the shock absorbers vertically ?
Thanks in advance, Neil
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tristanh
Part of things
Routinely bewildered
Posts: 990 
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May 31, 2019 10:03:40 GMT
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You work the damper a lot harder the more it's angled and the further inboard it gets. you get a lot of vertical wheel motion for the amount of damper motion.
You can try a stiffer damper, but if it's easy to make it more vertical, and ideally closer to the wheel, that would definitely help matters.
A small inclination inwards at the top is ideal, as if one wheel gets pushed upward, the suspension moves in an arc rather than directly straight up, in most cases.
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Whether you believe you can, or you cannot, you're probably right.
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May 31, 2019 10:27:07 GMT
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Hi, A solid axle and leaf springs are a fairly crude and effective suspension (read cheap). They are quite good at controlling sideways movement so the Watts linkage is not really doing anything. With the V8 up front you might be better fitting radius arms to control axle tramp in extremis. tristanh is right about angled dampers, they are more strongly valved if fitted on an angle because the angle reduces their effectiveness.
Colin
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Last Edit: May 31, 2019 10:27:54 GMT by colnerov
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May 31, 2019 20:28:20 GMT
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I'm not really convinced about leaf springs controlling sideways movement, I have to say, which is why I added the watts linkage. The radius arms are another whole ballgame! Theoretically, they should be under the spring, but in practice, they restrict movement too much. I'm thinking of adding a horizontally orientated shock absorber above the leaf spring to act as a radius arm. I may try a very brief drive with the shock absorbers disconnected to see what happens !
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sowen
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,245
Club RR Member Number: 24
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Any suspension experts here ?sowen
@sowen
Club Retro Rides Member 24
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May 31, 2019 20:44:16 GMT
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Get a small video camera and stick it underneath, go for a drive then watch the footage to see what's really going on. Other than that you're just stabbing in the dark between expectation and reality.
What exactly is it doing and what do you want to improve? Does it feel mismatched front to rear?
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May 31, 2019 22:06:18 GMT
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The leaf springs do give sideways control.
Which may be part of the problem.
With the Watts, you added a 2nd system to control the sideways movement.
So there may be conflicting arcs, and/or bind.
( depending on geometry, and how much of the rear suspension pivot points are rubber/urethane/rosejointed )
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May 31, 2019 23:04:13 GMT
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Hi, The bars you say go under the springs are usually called anti-tramp bars, they work by the front of the bar pushing up against the spring stopping it winding up too far. Radius arms usually go from a bracket on top of the axle to the bodyshell ideally the same distance above the spring front eye so they're parallel but its not essential.
Colin
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