Re: [DML] Re: Lotus Esprit Rear Suspension

["Tom Niemczewski" <dmctom@xxxxxxxxx>]

David

I agree that no car has perfect suspension and that there are compromises to 
be made. At the same time the difference between a regular street car and a 
sports car is that the latter is driven closer to the limits (or at least it 
can be safely done so). It seems that in case of the D the compromises went 
too far. It is a sports car with a suspension that is far worst than any old 
econo box. Believe me, I know as I am currently driving one :) My little 
Fiat with just 1.1 liter engine has far superior suspension than the D. 
Don't get me wrong, I love the D. I just believe that Lotus didn't do it 
right. And because of their mistakes, cutting corners, compromises or 
whatever the reasons, quite a few DeLoreans had serious accidents or were 
close to having one (bent TABs). At the same time all had ride quality that 
could be greatly improved. This is exactly what I want to do - I want my car 
to drive as good as it looks or even better. I want to be sure that if I 
feel like driving like a maniac I can safely do that (from a mechanical 
point of view) and not worry about the TABs snapping or rear hub carriers 
falling apart. I want to be able to get on a highway and see how fast the 
car will go flat out without worrying that the wheels might come off ;)
In short, there is a lot of room for improvement.

A Heim joint would not work with the current setup for long. With the 
twisting and bending forces at this joint a Heim joint will stiffen things 
up... to a point that after a while something would have to give. It would 
definitely be a very elegant design, but without changing the way the 
trailing arm works it would not be wise to use it. It would be ok for 
regular use, but at extremes (suspension at or close to the end of it's 
travel) it would put tremendous strain on the TABs. Again, a very dangerous 
situation. I will not use that kind of joint in my design.

Well, as you can clearly see my mind is set ;) Wish me luck and wait for the 
pictures! It is a thing of beauty! (of course there are still ways to go 
before I can get in the car and try it out for real)

Take care

Tom Niemczewski
vin 6149 (in Poland!)
Google earth: 52°25'17.30"N 21° 1'58.00"E
dmctom@xxxxxxxxx
www.deloreana.com



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Teitelbaum" <jtrealty@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, June 28, 2008 8:27 PM
Subject: [DML] Re: Lotus Esprit Rear Suspension


> I am sure you can improve the design if you change the weighting of
> any of the factors that went into the design. The Delorean was
> designed as a production automobile so there were many compromises
> that you may choose to ignore. No automobile has "perfect" suspension.
> At the ends of travel all kinds of things start to go wrong. Since you
> hardly ever drive at the extremes the designer doesn't concern himself
> with it as much. Some joint designs don't work correctly at those
> extremes as others but it is, again, a compromise. The Trailing Arm
> Bolt is such an example. In a narrow range in the center of travel it
> works fine. The further you deviate from it's design center the more
> it is deformed. Just another thing to consider if you lower your ride
> height. A better design would be a Heim type joint but from a mass
> production viewpoint it is a lot more expensive.
> David Teitelbaum
> vin 10757
>


------------------------------------

To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address:
moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx

For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com

To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnewsYahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/

<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/join
    (Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
    mailto:dmcnews-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
    mailto:dmcnews-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/