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RobertoX
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Location:
Adelaide
Registered:
May 2002

Re: Coilover suspension why??

Thu, 12 May 2005 23:57

oldcorollas wrote on Thu, 12 May 2005 18:10

forgive my ignorance, but if you adjust both sides at the front, then you are not changing preload at all, since a) the weight taken by the springs si still the same, b) the length of the springs stays the same, and c) how can you adjust preload on a macpherson strut due to b) ??
Cya, Stewart

As far as I understand (its a complicated subject so I am willing to be corrected!), the preload is the force exerted on the spring by compressing it in the strut between the spring perch and the strut top. When the spring is just loose there is zero preload, when you wind it up a bit there is preload. The preload force will be equal the the amount compression of the spring multiplied by the spring rate.

If this force is greater than the corner weight of the car the suspension will not deflect when on the ground, it will only start to deflect once the bump force (be it a cornering force or whatever) is greater than the preload. This will affect the transients of the vehicle in cornering particularly as the strut is really acting like a solid member until a certain force is applied.

Quote:

Only way to set preload is to have an adjustable stroke shock or something like a belt to limit travel.

A belt will move limit of travel of the top of the shock, yes? In relation to the spring perch? This is essentially what moving the spring perch up closer to the top of the shock will do also.

No matter what spring rate you get, if you get a long enough spring and compress it into the strut to a really large force, you can have solid suspension (forgetting at the moment the effects of coil binding etc). I'm not saying that this would be good or bad, just that the effect of pre-loading does exist and can be used in this sort of set up.

[Updated on: Thu, 12 May 2005 23:58]

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