Camber compensators - opinions please!

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steve wright
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Re: Camber compensators - opinions please!

Post by steve wright »

This all sounds a bit intellectual for me :) The swing axle when unloaded provides less contact patch - tie it down so it can't go through the same arc and it handles better. Go drive the same bit of road fast, twice. Once without it installed and one with it installed, that will demonstrate the difference better than any chat on a forum :) !!! Always better to experiment in the real world… :)
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john ruston
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Re: Camber compensators - opinions please!

Post by john ruston »

Our gang have decided camber compensators are waste of money!
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Re: Camber compensators - opinions please!

Post by mycar »

john ruston wrote:We have them on all our cars race and road.

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john ruston wrote:Our gang have decided camber compensators are waste of money!
That's a bit of a turnabout John, what seems to be the problem ?
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Re: Camber compensators - opinions please!

Post by john ruston »

We did a back to back and found that an engineered roll bar along with decent Konis does same job.
S.J.Szabo
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Re: Camber compensators - opinions please!

Post by S.J.Szabo »

Mr.Ruston:

I trust you will pardon my confusion, but your input lacks some important qualifying detail by which to evaluate your seemingly contradictory conclusions.

If I may so venture, I would suggest that there is more than a little such confusion in this thread that has as its root cause a carelessness in terminology. In the interests of clarity in this discussion, I would be so bold as to suggest the following clarifications:

"Camber Compensator" - A transverse spring that is not anchored at either the center or ends and acts only in one direction to carry static load to "compensate" for softer torsion bars. It has no effect on cornering loads or the movement of axles. Examples are found on the S-90, some Cs, '64 Corvairs, some VWs.

"Z bar" - A "Z" shaped horizontal torsion bar mounted similar to an anti-roll bar, in that the two rigid chassis mounting points are at/near the ends of the center section with each end secured, via drop links, to each axle end. Its sole intended function is to transfer the force of the dropping inside axle to force the outside wheel upward in a turn.

The bar can be small in diameter, as it is not intended to carry vehicle weight, so original torsion bars are employed for springing and there is no effective change in the rear roll couple.

NOTE: There are exceptions to this, as in Formula V where the bars were thicker and were the sole springing medium, but that is another discussion.

The downside of the "Z bar" on a street car is that it requires a rather convoluted and unattractive mounting fabrication either above or below the transaxle.

"Camber Regulator" (ala V.Skirmants) or "Virtual Z bar" - A transverse spring that is pinned/hinged to the chassis (via the transaxle) in the center and secured, via drop links, to each axle end. While it is the case that in stable situations the spring can contribute to the overall spring rate (its characteristic slight pre-load tends lift the chassis a little) in some situations, it has little effect on the rear roll couple as its primary function is to transfer the force of the dropping inside axle to force the outside wheel upward in a turn... just like a Z bar.


So now my first question is this: which of the three above did you have mounted "on all our cars race and road"?

My second is: what is an "engineered rollbar", and on which end was it mounted?

The Part B of this one is: if on the rear, how was it secured to the chassis?

The Part C of this one is: if on the rear, what was its diameter? If it was, as I would suspect, one fat puppy, didn't you simply make a stiffly sprung rigid axle out of the semi-independent swing arms? And if so, don't those rascals ride like an ox cart?

Just wondering...
Keep 'em flying

S.J.Szabo
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