I am looking to get a basic, relatively easy to read suspension book (I have an engineering degree, but I just want to start basic).

I am actually looking for info on independant rear suspension design for a future (hopefully) project...

Thanks for any info...

Hmm, GM did some cool stuff and put it in one of there performance books. Real cool stuff on shocks. I'll dig around and see if I can locate it.

SW Racecars had some good stuff, Austin Chassis, and Mark Williams has books and videos.

Herb Adams "Chassis Engineering", Fred Puhn "How to Make your Car Handle", Carroll Smith "Tune to Win", Paul Valkenburg "Race car Engineering" and my favorite, Steve Smith "Street Stock Chassis Technology".

Those should get you started, to read any 2 of these and absorb 50% of the information should take at least 6 months. Have fun.

Originally posted by dennis68:
Herb Adams "Chassis Engineering", Fred Puhn "How to Make your Car Handle", Carroll Smith "Tune to Win", Paul Valkenburg "Race car Engineering" and my favorite, Steve Smith "Street Stock Chassis Technology".

Those should get you started, to read any 2 of these and absorb 50% of the information should take at least 6 months. Have fun. graemlins/thumbsup.gif graemlins/beers.gif

Just ordered the first 3 and added em to my birthday bill (this all comes straight from the womans pay check. Its the one time a year when I get to spend HER money) Awe yeah.

Where do I get one of those.....a woman that works and lets me spent her money that is???

Corner-Carvers.com has a good list to start out with.

http://corner-carvers.com/wiki/index.php?Library%20of%20books

C-C.com is more for applied sciences if you will, but I enjoy the theory over at www.eng-tips.com (http://www.eng-tips.com) and frequent there more often (just a personality taste).

Keep in mind the the eng-tips website has some rules that you have to abide by that other websites don't have. Proprietary info etc. can quickly get leaked out as many work in the auto industry as engineers and some specific questions will quickly get killed.

Good luck!

Joe

Will any of these be particularly better than the others for rear independant suspension?

I am looking to use C4 Corvette rear knuckles, but with a transaxle (Porsche most likely). I think the Vette utilizes the half-shafts as the upper transverse links, and most tranaxles won't allow this (not designed to handle the side loads)...

I have seen a few setups, so I have a basic idea of whats needed, but no idea how to set it up...

Thanks

Herb's book goes into IRS pretty well and is easier to read.

Beaux,

Where did you order from? Good deal?

Originally posted by 1966_L78:
Beaux,

Where did you order from? Good deal? Amazon is having a sale on 4 of those books. I bought 1 new (12.95) and two used for a grand total of 50 something bucks. You could get cheaper if you buy used on Amazon but I wanted new for the Herb Adams book and the price wasnt that far off from used. They were offering another $30 off my order if I applied for an Amazon Visa card. I didnt just because I have enough plastic laying around and was lazy.

All in all, yeah, pretty good deal I think. Most of those books are less than 20 bucks brand new so check around. I just went with Amazon because it was the only spot that had them all and I wanted 1 shipment.

Edit - ALL of them are less than 13 bucks EXCEPT the Street Stock Chassis Technology- Steve Smith Paperback, which was $29 something brand new.

Cool... I might place an order...

Tony, why not go with a C5 rear end? Already set up with a T56 out back. Lots of floor mods though and expect to lose your backseat.

Another thing is it won't bust a halfshaft and ruin your 1/4 panels like a C4 rear end will.

I've pretty much given up on IRS, you can make a stick axle handle pretty darn well and it will be stronger in the end, although it won't have the cool factor and better weight distribution of a transaxle/IRS.

Tony, why not go with a C5 rear end? Already set up with a T56 out back.Troy,
This is for a Corvair project I have been thinking about for some time...

The Corvair trans/differential are relatively weak, so they will not really take too much abuse... So I am thinking of the Porsche transaxle. 911 transaxles are stronger and have alot of performance parts available, BUT I was told they can't take side loading. The Corvair (and Corvette) use the half shafts as an upper link. It would be simplest just to modify the stock Corvair suspension, as needed, but where's the fun in that?

Using the C4 rear knuckle will be relatively cheap, and will allow disc brakes...

Using the Porsche transaxle also has the benefit of placing the engine back further (compared to the majority of Corvair swaps) which means greater legroom up front...

I found a Manta Montage (kit car) site that had a car with a similar setup (where I really got the idea). Pictures give me a great starting point, but I will need some knowledge to determine link locations and lengths... I don't care if it achieves maximum performance, but at least a safe, non-ill-handling setup...


At our last TNT, I wish I would have checked out that Porsche a little closer... Someone said he was running a Tiptronic... An automatic would be nice...

This is a long term "dream" project, which will probably never get past the planning stages. But just incase it does, I have started looking for ideas...