<VV> early suspension changes question

[Ken Pepke]

Straps used to reduce axle drop were used on mid 50s and later solid axle Corvettes more to limit the axle drop while jacking the car than for performance purposes.  Excess drop required lifting the chassis higher to change a tire and that put too much strain on the 'fiberglass' body, inducing cracks.

Some Corvairs may have got the straps more as a 'monkey see, monkey do' addition.  Remember, under high performance cornering conditions the axle does not drop, it goes up into the body away from the strap [jounce] and the unloaded wheel on the inside of the turn drops down from the body [rebound] which is desirable because if that wheel / tire leaves the road surface, drive power to the outside / loaded wheel is lost.  That strap would hinder performance.  Most of us have seen that happen in the vans when they run out of shock travel ... a known lateral acceleration inhibiter :-)

Even before the start of production Corvairs were tested to destruction by Chevrolet.  Chevrolet was good at that.  They knew they already had a design capable of generating higher lateral acceleration than their competition.  Why would anyone think they had to make basic changes / corrections to the design during production?  For the 1964 production they did add a 'camber compensator' which was not a 'compensator' but was a cross mounded half elliptical leaf spring which artificially modified the rear axle roll center and the vehicle roll axis.  This change altered the 'feel' of the vehicle but made very little, if any, improvement in lateral acceleration.

The 65 and later model suspension did improve lateral acceleration ability a small amount by virtue of keeping the tire surface more parallel to the road surface.

Ken P
Wyandotte, MI
Worry looks around; Sorry looks back, Faith looks up.

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> From: Ramon Rodriguez III <corvairgrymm at gmail.com>
> Date: September 18, 2011 7:49:02 PM EDT
> To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
> Subject: Re: <VV> early suspension changes question
> 
> Thanks for all the replies thus far.  I'd really like some more solid data
> on the "camber limiting straps" since that seems to be the source of the
> idea that GM employed a "fix" in the early suspension to counter handling or
> rollover issues.
> 
> So I'd really like to know when they became available, whether or not they
> were used on all cars eventually or only those with the suspension upgrade
> package, and exactly what they do.  At least one reply seemed to say that
> these things prevented the axle from rebouding UP too far, I assume that is
> a mistake or typo and that they limit the DROP of the axle... therefore
> limiting the maximum camber change.
> 
> I'll also google the term and see what I can learn on wikipedia or whatever.
> 
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Ray "Grymm" R.
> Lake Ariel, PA
>