What suspension does a standard FD have

[AshRX]

i know it has front independent, but which one?

Ta

[Timmy]

You mean like fully independant front and rear. Or double wishbone.

[AshRX]

fully independent. The Mrs is doing her final project on suspension for drag, street and track for uni and the lecturer wants her to base it on a S13, but she wants to do it on a FD.

Is it macpherson suspension? sorry about spelling

[Timmy]

I think it\'s differnt, it\'s a double wishbone aka upper and lower a frame setup tho it does incorpirate a MacPherson strut aka strut brace.
I think a MacPherson setup has only one wishbone. Double wishbone is better as you can do more adjustment and have better control of wheel movement over the stroke of the suspension.

[AshRX]

dam looks like she has to do it on a S13 now

[Kieron]

MacPherson strut on the S13

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacPherson_strut

[AshRX]

yeah she didnt want to do a S13 but has to do a rwd car with MacPherson

[Kieron]

She may find this link useful:

http://www.driftworks.com/resources/200sx-s13-s14-suspension-front,1.html

[Nik da Greek]

I\'m no expert, but IIR correctly, MacPherson strut suspension uses a single wishbone  as the bottom mount whilst the strut itself forms the rest of the mounting system (plus steering linkages etc). It\'s a very old, now usually low-budget solution, which is cheap to manufacture and reasonably compact as the spring is over the shock strut, but does need substantial top-mounts due to the stresses of not only providing shock absorbtion but physical stability, too. It\'s compromised in operation because the wheel cannot deflect vertically without also affecting suspension geometry in terms of camber etc, because the strut being part of the suspension means the wheel must descry a slight arc to perform its travel, since it\'s fixed at one end. A double wishbone, like on FDs, means that the wheels can maintain more or less the same relative geometry throughout the suspension travel, which is why its a far more efficient system for performance applications, though far more complex and expensive due to number of components involved, and more fragile for the same reason (plus millions of bushes and rose-joints lol)

I\'ve done a very bad job of trying to explain it, but I\'m sure Wikipedia or something similar would be able to make it make sense in English...unlike me :3Confused

[Nik da Greek]

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/macpherson+strut

Linky thing here, but it confused me more than helped, so maybe not the best example! :3Confused:Giggle

[Will66]

That\'s actually a very succinct and accurate description of a Strut and its disadvantage against double wishbones.

[Nik da Greek]

That\'s actually a very succinct and accurate description of a Strut and its disadvantage against double wishbones.

Which? Mine, or the encyclopedia one?! :rollinIf its the latter, can someone please explain it to me?!

[essexgirlracer]

She may find this link useful:
 
http://www.driftworks.com/resources/200sx-s13-s14-suspension-front,1.html

yeah i found that when I was doing the S13 but now I want to do FD,
From what I gather the front is a double wishbone and rear is a multili link system rear but not 100% just need to find out these as I am computer simulating the suspension model using Adnams.
also any useful links / books / manuals ablout basic stuff as I need the measurments for track length etc to work out CoG
sorry bout my rubbish spelling cheers
Maz:wiggle

[Mazdarotaryparts]

FD front suspension would be described as double "unequal length" wish bone suspension which is where the lower wish bone pivot points are spaced further apart than the pivot points on the top wishbone,

FD rear suspension can be described as a "multi link" suspension as it has 8 pivot points on the 4 arms that are controlling, Track, Camber, Castor and Toe.

The RX-8 is much more of a multi link system as it has more piviot points attaching the uprights via the suspension to the chassis/body of the vehicle

(see pictures below where I have marked the "links")

More commonly though FD rear suspension would actually be described as an IRS (independent rear suspension system),

IRS is catigorised if the differential housing is fixed rigid to the body or chassis and the suspension is allowed to move independently to the differential housing,

The alternative to this would be a solid or "live" axle where the diff is encased in a solid tube only letting the axle pivot on its center point which would fall under the diff with the effect being that if you push a wheel up on on side you push the other down i.e. not independent,

The IRS system however lets one half of the suspension move totally "independently" from one side of the car to the other.


As for books probably the best book out there is the book called How To Make Your Car Handle, as this will explain in great detail the many different types of suspension systems available and the different effects that each have on the behavior of a vehicle, indeed I have only mentioned two above but there are many more.  

I have also included some basic FD settings plus simple adjustments that will dictate the dynamics of the vehicle,

Hope this helps,

[essexgirlracer]

Brillaint thank you so much for this clive, which FD are these firgures for or doesnt it make any difference
 
maz