John Ha wrote:
It's nice work but (and I don't mean to be a curmugeon) I don't see the point. It looks to me like you've created fundamentally the same thing as was on the car stock.
That is a fantastic question and in some ways you are absolutely correct. This is, from a basic standpoint, a recreation of the stock suspension and, adjustable strut rods, roller perches, and good set of shocks and springs will function in a SIMILAR fashion to this design... BUT it will not drive the same.
John Ha wrote:
Other that it's all fundamentally the same, isn't it?
The first advantage to a coil over setup like this is as you said adjustability. You can dial this suspension in for any application from the Sunday driver to an autocross car, but that is not where the magic lies. By passing the coil-over through the UCA to the LCA and by getting it as close to the LCA ball joint as possible you totally change the way the suspension reacts to changes in the road. Much more harshness is absorbed by the spring and shock immediately rather than having to pass through a UCA and an LCA that can transmit that vibration to the rest of the car. Yes vibration and harshness can still travel through the LCA into the frame rail BUT most of that is absorbed by the coil over. And that is not even the biggest improvement. It is a common misconception that the stiffer the spring the better the car will handle (makes sense for the track but not the real world) Stiffer springs handle “better" because they limit movement. This reduces over travel and rebound in the suspension but at the expense of ride quality. The reason I mention this is in fact the opposite is true if you want a car that both handles well and has good ride quality. The more easily the suspension can move as designed and then return to ride position as quickly as possible with minimal rebound the better the handling AND ride quality will be. By lengthening the shock/ coil assembly and moving it closer to the road contact point of the tire you change the leverage required to actuate it. Small movements can easily be accounted for and big movements can quickly and easily return to ride height. This is why all modern cars use a design where the strut, spring, or coil over goes to the LCA.
With all that said the proof is in the pudding. I drove my car with a performance suspension al-be-it stock design for years and it handled fantastic and the ride was good but nothing like a new car. Going with a coil-over front suspension like this makes it ride like a new car and handle as good as it did before if not better. If you ever have a chance to ride in or drive a car with a suspension like this you will be amazed at the improvement. That is why the aftermarket can charge so much for a suspension like this. When I started my build they were about $1800-$2000 and now they are $3000 - $4000 way more of an increase than inflation, and they would not be able to charge so much if there was not a vast improvement.
With all that said your original observations are dead on for the coil over kits that mount the bottom of the coil over on the top of the UCA.
Other than adjustability there is IMHO no advantage there over a stock type performance suspension.
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)...I was thinking IF a front suspension like you made was say....
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