triumphs
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: Swing axle saftey (long)

To: Nolan Penney <npenney@erols.com>
Subject: Re: Swing axle saftey (long)
From: John Matthews <matthews@sj.bigger.net>
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 21:46:02 -0700
Cc: triumphs@Autox.Team.Net
Organization: Serena Industries Inc. http://www.moonglowmall.com
References: <33A5D10E.5180@erols.com>
Nolan Penney wrote:
> 
> >7. Run the cable through the pulleys, behind the spring.
> >8. Attach the ends of the cable to the bottom of the shock mount by
> >making a loop in the cable and putting it on the stud behind the shock.
> 
> I'm missing something here.  It seems to me  the cable would be under
> tension if the whole rear end drops (jacks), but slack with the car
> sitting steady, and very slack over bumps.  So what's to keep the cable
> from promptly flopping off the pulleys?

Nolan,

I forgot to say you should use pulleys w/guards. 

> 
> Also, this design seems to only partally limit jacking, as in the first
> turn, the outside wheel is compressed, so the cable slides up on that
> side, and the inner wheel is extended, so the cable slides down on that
> side, leaving you well set for jacking as you go into the second turn.
> I  take it I'm missing something here as well?
> 
> Maybe a picture of what I'm seeing will help.
> 
>       Tire   pulley cable   pulley tire
>       ____   __________________   ____
>       |  |  /O                O\  |  |
>       |  | /                    \ |  |
>       |  |/                      \|  |
>       |__|                        |__|

Great picture!!!
This is exactly what you want to do. I don't know if you would still get
some jacking or not with a more mild setup than mine. In practice once I
got the cable installed there was very little travel left in the system.
Most of the travel seems to be in the downward (jacking) direction, and
that's what you want to limit. I have driven this setup pretty hard, and
haven't had any problems yet. 

The main thing is without some kind of camber limiting system (straps,
this cable setup, or the factory camber compensator that I haven't seen
yet) you risk having the wheel jack up unexpectedly. I'm not saying this
setup is for everybody, but it works great for auto-x. It was described
to me by a guy who really should know about these things seeing as he
writes a column for the SCCA's SportsCar magazine. At the very least
it's fairly easy, totally reversible, cheap, and addresses a know design
flaw that can be deadly.  As always YMMV.

Cheers,

John Matthews
'61 Racin' Herald

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>