[DeTomaso] DeTomaso caster
JDeRyke at aol.com
JDeRyke at aol.com
Thu May 3 14:07:41 EDT 2007
In a message dated 5/02/07 12:10:53 PM, dakelm at qwest.net writes:
<< is it more desirable to have the suspension arm rotate around a bushing
that is
held stationary or have the bushing/arm rotate around the stationary inner
sleeve? >>
With rubber bushings, nothing rotates; instead, the rubber twists since both
the rubber AND the inner sleeve are held tightly. With urethane bushings, this
method cannot be used. My preference is to clamp the inner sleeve tight with
urethane and let it rotate around the sleeve. With the inner sleeve a little
loose so it rotates in a tightly-held bushing, its possible the flimsy welded
steel suspension tabs holding the a-arms will not be as well braced, and those
tabs are known to crack (under extreme stress) even if the assembly is bolted
up tight. One style of urethane bushing uses a hexagonal design so that when
the sleeve is clamped tight, it forces the bushing to rotate inside the a-arm
ends; dunno how well that works. Some urethane bushings are sized to fit
inside a stock rubber bushing's outer steel sleeve, which make removing the rubber
much simpler but results in a slightly smaller diameter bushing. Thus if you
completely remove the stock bushing ass'y including the outer steel sleeve,
this style of urethane bushings won't fit. Finally, urethane bushings can be
specified to increase the caster of your front suspension with no other parts
needed, thus cheaply increasing the high-speed stabilty of the car. We met such
strong, gusting crosswinds (estimates were above 50 mph) on our way home, that a
few times it actually felt like something large had hit the side of car, but
at 80 mph it hardly affected the steering; no 'nervousness' in the front end
such as we used to have with stock caster settings. My best guess- J DeRyke
<BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> See what's free at
http://www.aol.com.</HTML>
More information about the DeTomaso
mailing list