>Jim Muller writes:
>> be true that the Spridget can be made to go quite fast, I am not going to let
>> G.E. get clean away after an inflammatory shot like "The Spridget has a
>better
>> suspension..." :-)
>
>I had a problem with that remark too. In fact, my impression has
>been exactly the opposite -- I see lots of Spridgets which are very fast in
>a straight line (of course, some of them have rotaries or other engines in
>them ...) but my impression was that in anywhere-near-stock trim the Spitfire
>(even the early swing-axle models) should far outhandle a Spridget.
That turns out not to be the case. Early Sprites have a
very interesting rear suspension geometry that gives them
a mild dose of roll-oversteer in stock trim -- four-wheel
steering 1959-style. They achieve this by using quarter-
elliptic rear springs at the bottom of the axle and a
trailing arm mounted to a support that comes up off the
top of the axle. As the spring absorbs roll, it becomes
ever-so-slightly longer, which points the outside wheel
toward the rear and steers the back end of the car. The
magnitude isn't enough to cause you to spin (though of
course it won't exactly *prevent* it), it's just enough
to give a real boost to initial yaw rates and make turn-
in really quick.
The later Spridgets went to a more conventional leaf-spring
(half-elliptical) in the rear, but kept the roll-oversteer
because of the spring mounting points. I haven't read my
Puhn in a while, but the inclination of the rear springs on
Spridgets (please, let's talk about those made before
September 1974 only) makes them very responsive to minor
throttle changes. (And in a stock Spridget, the throttle
changes are pretty minor no matter what you do...:-)
>Admittedly, I have never driven a Spridget (I've ridden in stock ones).
>The last time I drove a Spitfire it was an 1147 with a 1500 rear spring,
>slightly lowered front springs, and Hoosier tires. It handled quite as
>well as my X1/9 (which is to say, about the same cornering loads as a
>go-kart). I think you'd have to do serious mods to a spridget (much more
>elaborate and expensive than the mods this Spitfire had) to get that
>level of handling.
Not really. A good thick front anti-roll bar does wonders, as do
real shock absorbers, but the roll axes and roll rates of the
Sprite/Midget give it an amazing balance between stability (not
the long suit of any swing-axled car) and responsiveness to the
throttle. That is, you can get oversteer either by lifting or
by adding throttle, and you can provoke understeer by dialing in
more lock with steady gas. Great fun to play with.
The amazing thing about Spridgets is that they demonstrate that
the *kind* of parts almost doesn't matter -- more important is
the balance between *how* the parts work.
I've never driven *your* X 1/9 (hint, hint), but the one I have
driven didn't have anything like the responsiveness of even a
stock (<= '74) Midget. The classic new-to-Midgets mistake is
clipping curbs with the right rear wheel because it turns so
much quicker than you're used to...
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