Getting the best out of standard suspension components for touring driving today

No rush, this is fascinating and humbling. I was congratulating myself for unpacking and assembling a drill press in just two days.

Hi Danny, I didn’t intend to get into bespoke parts but found many of the parts marketed as “upgrades” didn’t meet the description when I tested them. Bushings, mounts, dampers didn’t seem likely to yield enhanced performance so I’ve set up trials with some of the key parts to see what might be achieved with simple mods that yield interchangeable parts. These are engineering concepts, if they look promising I’ll be happy to assist someone to take the idea further.

With… or without the instructions?

:stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

I’m not falling for that trick - the one where I say “what, those instructions that are all in Thai?” and you jump on me for knowing that.

Installed dumb-guy style - carried down steep stairs unaided, hacked package open with a rusty craft knife and tossed the instructions aside with an arrogant shrug. Assembled it on the workbench, slight problem as the table is at eye level and I can’t reach the lever to adjust the speed. (I’m 6ft 3). Should have looked at the dimensions, not just the kW.

Tomorrow I start making the new bench, 2 feet lower than current…

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Ahh… makes me swell with pride, over the size of your masculine… chutzpah.

:stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

Wiggie asked;“With… or without the instructions?”
LLoyd

I’m suspicious of people who don’t like dogs.
But I trust dogs who don’t like people.

I’m not suggesting it stop , many people are interested in this …I’m just amazed at the twists and turns it has taken from what I assumed to be a relatively simple question…silly me

Speaking of my new drill press - can anyone suggest a substance to put on the column and moving parts of the table and clamps, to keep them moving and clamping in a tropical climate?

Any suggestions appreciated.

Kroil or PB Blaster.

I tend towards ACF 50 or Gibbs brand oil. Both available on Amazon.

Thanks gents, that’s helpful. I need to find a local equivalent as I’ve had some problems shipping fluids here (Thailand). I tried to ship a pair of Quantum front dampers to Australia after some testing here, they were stopped at the airport because they contained oil. No one could explain how that made them more hazardous than the thousands of mainstream struts and dampers shipping in and out every month. I had to take them back and drain the oil, then ship them with the tools to enable Peter to reverse the process when they arrive.

Following some discussion on XK torsion bars:

I’m curious how much the E-type torsion bar works in torsion and how much in bending, compared with the XK bar which is pure torsion around its axis. I think I’ve worked out how to estimate and combine the two effects, would appreciate a figure for the working length of an E-type bar (S1 or S2). Within 5mm accuracy would be fine.

I have a feeling I’ve already asked that or a similar question somewhere, apologies I can’t find the detail and thanks for any information.

761 mm +/- 1 mm. With my old eyes judging where the cylindrical portion ends.

The diameter is 19.9 millimeters with paint.

Just my gut feel but due to the small range of input delection close axes, the effect of bending must be negligible.

I don’t disagree, I’m just curious / suspicious of the mongrel working principle and, never having seen or touched the parts in question, I’m resorting to figures to try to understand what’s going on.

I really should buy a car…

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I’m making the bench boss…it’s only been three weeks to source and cut eight pieces of angle iron.
Hope I’ll remember why I built it.

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Talking of torsion bars, I saw this on one of the US Jaguar suppliers sites:

i have no idea what they mean by “quicker rebound” - can anyone enlighten me or is it just marketing speak?

Marketing bullsh!t…:wink:

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Initial feedback on subframe mounts from our kind volunteer - an experienced professional test & development engineer - suggests a mild gain from a combination of new front and modified rear mounts, relative to old original mounts. He will do further evaluation to confirm in the coming weeks. It’s too early to take this as a positive result but I’m sufficiently encouraged to go ahead and make a pair of fully PU mounts, which should give a higher lateral stiffness (stronger effect) than the hybrid parts (rubber + PU) currently on test.

I see the subframe mounts as a more suitable application for PU than the control arm bushings recently discussed, because they’re not subject to the twisting forces that can cause problems in the control arms.

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Thanks Paul. Telling it like it is in Colorado