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Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
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Making adjustable strut tops...
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Thu, 20 May 2004 12:17
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Thinking about making a set of adjustable camber only strut tops. Who thinks this is a shit idea (why?)?
I have access to a Mill and Lathe so the machining is not a problem.
For my design (i'll get around to drawing it up in CAD soonish) I was thinking a spherical bearing, mounted in a lathed piece of polyurethane (to have some absorption/avoid metal on metal), sand witched within aluminum (as the part that adjusts to give the camber. And a 8mm thick or so (haven't sourced sizing yet) piece if Aluminum for the top part (would this be better made out of mild steel?).
A few questions...
1). Can anyone recommend a good bearing shop in Brisbane for the spherical bearing, and about how much they are worth. Also what type of spherical bearing is recommended (I hear the Teflon lined ones are the best, why is that?).
2). Can anyone recommend a good source for the polyurethane (in Brisbane pref) stock to lathe up for the bearing seats?
(the yellow pages has many stores for the above listed, just thought I'd ask for personal reconmendations first tho  )
Cheers
Wilbo
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Location:
SOR, Perth
Registered:
October 2003
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Location:
Kita-Ku, Sapporo, Japan
Registered:
January 2003
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Re: Making adjustable strut tops...
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Thu, 20 May 2004 12:51
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LOL, thanks for the link  saves me finding it..
i basically used a turst bearing below and above the plate (2x 5mm random aluminium sheet). the spring top is squished between the shock rod and the strut top and the top nut.
basically, it does work.
it is not ideal as if the nut is too tight, it can actualyl stiffen the steering up.
the ally plates are starting to bend.. after 4 or 5 years of service (or is it 6??)
i also had to grind off some of the shock rod to allow the spring seat to mount further down, since the total thickness of the bearings was greater than stock.
i think a good design would be...
spring top hat free to move up and down shock rod.
thrust bearing above this (some AM ppl do this) to take the weight. thin poly bush (5-10mm?) above this to reduce harshness.
then shock rod that tightens onto the spherical bearing.
only needs to be spherical to allow for offaxis movement. self aligning ballbearing could also be used. the teflon lined cushions things a bit, as metal to metal would wear faster.
i saw an awesome bearing a while back. basically a thrust bearing, with a self aligning base (like hemispherical base). rated to something like 200 tonnes  was a big sucker
anyway, the point is. even a shit setup will work. anything you do to better my design has to be a good thing
oh, i'd also not really bother with making those slots to adjust the position.
a carefully shaped top plate with a few different sets of holes will suffice.. if the bearing plate mounts uder the top plate, then so easy to just swap out the top plate for major alignment changes....
Cya, Stewart
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Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Making adjustable strut tops...
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Thu, 20 May 2004 13:54
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I had seen that site in my travels, but I didn't realise that it was oldcorollas!
Fantastic
Hopefully I'll get the tops out of the parts car on Saturday (as well as the radius rods to put more thread on) and be able to do some measurements and maybe wack something up in CAD...
Cheers
Wilbo
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Location:
Perth
Registered:
May 2003
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Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Making adjustable strut tops...
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Fri, 28 May 2004 03:49
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Hmm well it does appear that it isn't as easy as I had first suspected!
The total height from bearing bottom (where the spring seat sits) to where the strut top is designed to mount to the chassis is only about 22mm. Ideally I would like to mount the bearing on the top of the main plate, but in that case I would prbly take up 60mm at least! I really need to get some pics up so I can explain myself better I think...
Anyway atm it looks like I will have to make the base out of something 22mm thick, machine a larger groove (in the direction of adjustment) in the main plate for the bearing, and secure it in place with another piece of metal from the top. This should allow the bearing to be mounted only 8mm or so above where it is located in the stock setup, allowing me enough thread to still secure the nut above the bearing. I will use a small tube of metal as a spacer to located the spring seat in the stock location (and not foul on the material that is used to hold the bearing in on the bottom).
I'll try and get some diagrams of the planned setup soon  lol
Cheers
Wilbo
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