[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
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