<VV> Re: VirtualVairs digest, Vol 1 #1648 - 8 msgs

[djtcz@comcast.net]

> Message: 7 
> From: "Alan and Clare Wesson" 
> To: 
> Subject: Re: Re: EM handling 
> Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 08:28:23 -0000 
> 
> > Stirling Moss said that to make the swing axle Mercedes handle he learned 
> > to accelerate 
> > whenever the back end started to misbehave. I think he said an MD 
> > engineer told him to try it. 
> 
> Have you ever had a look at the swing axle on one of these? A Lancia 
> specialist I went to last year had one up on the ramp, and the design is 
> HORRIBLE! The axles don't actually even appear to have individual inner 
> pivots, but one of them is pivoted from the other, so it isn't even 
> symmetrical. 
> 
> I have never seen anything so odd-looking! How did Nader miss *that*? 
> 
> Cheers 
> 
> Alan 
> 
> --__--__-- 

http://www.mbzponton.org/images/mb_ponton_feature_swing_axle.jpg

It looks pretty odd, but I  think it might be better than "ours" in some ways.  The pivot is at the center, so the camber change per inch of vertical wheel motion is less than a shorter axle.  I think I read the roll center geometry had less "jacking" effect when cornering, which is a big part of the swing axle/instability thing.