Bbrstompit
Member
In theory if you was allowed to have a spring on only the rf of a kart on dirt. Could you make this work? What would be the pros and cons?
Rf suspension on kart
- Thread starter Bbrstompit
- Start date
The kart already has a suspension of sorts. The chassis is a spring.
Most suspended race car chassis use a space frame to make that portion more rigid. The reason is to make spring rates predictable and consistent.
You can add a suspension to the chassis. You are essentially stacking springs, which results in a softer spring rate.
Anything can be made to work. Just how much work you want to do to end up with a usable solution is the key factor here.
Suspending only one corner adds complexity because of trying to integrate the rest of the chassis spring rate to the corner you are trying to hang a spring suspension.
Hard to tell how this would work with no idea what the starting point is.
Might be more doable with a buggy.
Most suspended race car chassis use a space frame to make that portion more rigid. The reason is to make spring rates predictable and consistent.
You can add a suspension to the chassis. You are essentially stacking springs, which results in a softer spring rate.
Anything can be made to work. Just how much work you want to do to end up with a usable solution is the key factor here.
Suspending only one corner adds complexity because of trying to integrate the rest of the chassis spring rate to the corner you are trying to hang a spring suspension.
Hard to tell how this would work with no idea what the starting point is.
Might be more doable with a buggy.
ABR #69
Member
Secondly the dynamics of a sprung chassis vs non-sprung work completely different. You don't really want to think of them beyond the most basics components when comparing the two. How they work dynamically are completely different. So could you make it work, sure, would it be faster than what is currently on the market, absolutely not.
CarlsonMotorsports
Member
We actually did this back in the late '80s, then again in the early '90s when we introduced our first offset kart. We used an assortment of Briggs flathead valve springs. I always thought the car felt wonky transferring weight until we shimmed the snot out of the springs. Now, it did smooth out rough tracks a ton which seemed like a good thing, but the car was always just lazy to react, so we abandoned the idea. We tried it again on syrup with some success, but we never really spent enough time with it to make/get it "right."
FWIW, there were some road course (sprint) karts that had full a-arm front suspension that sure had the attention of everyone back in the day. Shamrock was one kart I remember, there were others.
-----
🏁Thanks and God bless,
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
www.youtube.com
34 years of service to the karting industry ~ 1Cor 9:24
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
FWIW, there were some road course (sprint) karts that had full a-arm front suspension that sure had the attention of everyone back in the day. Shamrock was one kart I remember, there were others.
-----
🏁Thanks and God bless,
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
www.youtube.com
34 years of service to the karting industry ~ 1Cor 9:24
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
TritonJrBluePlate
Member
It seems to me that one could gain more roll speed with more psi in the tires if a suspension were to work. However, I would think that the tires would need a different design in order to be optimized. I assume folks just drop air to manage the rough tracks.
Last week I made a post about mechanical weight transfer to the right side to help stabilize entry. I figured out why our entry was erratic as seen in the picture. If the driver missed his mark this would happen.
Attachments
CarlsonMotorsports
Member
Now THAT is high cross!!
TritonJrBluePlate
Member
Yes! It was tough! we had to ignore the suggested numbers from Slack to get there.Now THAT is high cross!!