I want to thank everyone who spoke up in my defense. I didn't know I had so
many friends! :)
I would like to say this and then I'll sit down.
Yes, I sell camber compensators for Spitfires. I think I am the only one in
the world doing so. Others have done so in the past and have discontinued
them after their first small production run. Why? I think they discovered
that there is no money in producing them. The costs of having the parts cut
out and the ever increasing cost of steel makes it a losing proposition.
Couple that with the amount of space that these parts take up in a small shop
and it quickly becomes a royal pain to keep offering them.
So why do I do it? Because there is a need, more for safety reasons than
anything else. You don't have to autocross an early Spitfire to experience
the dreaded "Wheel Tuck" that is representitive of the Spitfire Swing-Axle
suspension. I have gone the Swing-Spring route and found it to be inadequate.
I have a lot of profound thoughts about the rear suspension on all Spitfires
including the long axle ones and my conclusion is that the Swing-Spring was a
low cost fix that was developed by Triumph in place of the camber compensator
for later cars. Apparently, they discovered that their first take on the
modification was inadequate, otherwise there never would have been an increase
in the axle length.
As I have expressed several times before, I suspect that a swap to a very
stiff fixed rear spring and the use of the long axles might be all you need on
the later Spits. There are many Early Spity racers who don't use a camber
compensator because they have managed to control the rear end by inducing a
lot of negative camber and have stiffened the spring considerably. If it
works for them, it may work on the later long axle cars as well. Heck, they
are already half way there with the long axles developing the exagerated
negative camber that is representative of the late Spits.
If I had one of those cars, I'd likely try that just to see what effect it has
on the handling. My own thought is that the best thing you can do is control
body roll and the swing-spring actually exacerbates it. If I happened to
discover that my theory about the long axles is incorrect, I could always fall
back on installing my long axle camber compensator if it is needed. I have a
few individuals who have installed it with a fixed spring and have not
reported any negative results.
Finally, I have to state emphatically, that I don't make any recommendations.
What I state is always "what I would do in that situation". What works for me
may not be what works for others and they should take that into consideration
and weigh my thoughts with all other opinions that are expressed. If we have
all the information, we can eliminate what is "too radical", "too expensive"
or "completely rediculous" and then choose a solution from what options are
left. Then we don't need to bash someone for expression an opinion. After
all, opinions are the lifeblood of this and all other forums. Otherwise, you
just go to a single "Expert" web site and get your information instead of
reading endless emails on the subject.
Thanks,
Joe
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