Race Car Front Suspension

[racecar builder]

hobby machinist's

ok, this is the latest version.

here's pic of some kind of oval track spindle.

i say some kind because they have divided up

circle track racing into a bunch of classes.

so the used spindles are almost unusable

for a road racing racecar.

they don't quite give you what you want.

even worse some are different left and right ones

because they go around in a circle only.

so that leaves me with just fabricating from scratch.

have a nice day!

 

[racecar builder]

racers

here's pic of Wide 5 spindle snout.

that's foundation of fabricating front spindle.

the parameters for the spindle are:

1 hold the spindle/mount wheel

2 provision for upper and lower control arms ( where the ball joints go )

3 steering and drag link arms ( each spindle gets a drag link arm, left one gets steering arm up top )

4 hold/mount brake caliper

have a nice day!

 

[racecar builder]

etard

this is the planning stage.

have a nice day!

 

[racecar builder]

racers

here's a ready made upper control arm.

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speed...rm-Aluminum-Cross-Shaft-8-1-4-Inch,30187.html

one good reason i want to build these

'standard' front suspension pieces is

a warm up for Indy Car front and rear suspension.

now, THOSE ready made ones are super expensive!

i can 'lift' features from this A-arm, use the same ball joint, for example.

have a nice day!

 

[racecar builder]

racers

i've shown the ready made spindle and

the upper control arm.

here's the lower control arm for

a certain class of circletrack car.

it takes a strut that goes off to the rear ( the tab in the foreground ).

there's triangulation on the top and bottom control arms.

also they hold the ball joints to hold the spindle.

this lower control arm has brackets for the coil over shock/spring.

this is a jumping off point, that's generally how the ready made stuff works.

later!

 

[Bill Gruby]

So -- you know what you are after, when will you start the build. I'm anxious to see your version.

"Billy G" :thinking:

 

[racecar builder]

Billy G

once again, still in the planning stage or

'casting around' for the best way to do this.

for example, it turns out all these oval track

upper and lower A arms can be used to build

a sports car, it's just look out for the spindles.

some of the spindles are set up for left handing.

like one spindle will be 10 degrees and the other 8.

later

 

[Rbeckett]

You also control a lot of the basic steering geometry by controlling the length and offset to adjust caster and camber. I used to wedge an X frame GM right frame rail 4 inches down in the front corner. That really helped plant the right fron into turns and helped rotate the car through the centerline. Lots of caster offset kept the rear hooked off the corner. Gotta watch caster hop and excess camber wear cause goodyear slicks are really thin near the shouders. Had a blast building control arms and spindles back in my racing and wrenching days fer sure. Not sure I would build them anymore, too much product liability exposure for me in my old age and financial situation these days. Never thought I would ever say something like that, or be sacared to just weld one up to meet my needs. Scary....but I think common sense moved in, or maybe just self preservation took over.
Bob

 

[racecar builder]

bob

i better strike while the iron is hot, before you go fishing again!

1 so you're an expert at the stock car racing like the picture

NOT sprint cars. yes/no?

2 this is what's giving me a headache.

'Rules for construction of a Late Model race car varies from region to region and even race track to race track.'

what a neat part! Oh, can't use it.

later

 

[Rbeckett]

Yeah our local rules vary between the two tracks in the immediate vicinity. Even though they are owned by the same guy. I never understood that, but he sold the closest track this year so maybe the track will rebound from the turmoil and get busy racing again. I'm not an expert, but I do know a little bit about suspension geometry and car set up. Built a few modified tube frame chassis using GM x-body parts for a lot of stuff. 355 CI max displacemet .575 lift and 300 duartion cam. Headers and manifold mods are OK too. Theoreticaly you could run a late model or super late model engine in modified class so the costs were getting out of control lately. Speeds were up and safety improvements were coming so I kind of fell by the wayside when I couldnt afford to play anymore.
Bob