Thanks for all the kind words everyone!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DBasher
Nice work man! Just curious on how you figure out the spring rate? I've got a set of Maeco springs that are rated at 300lbs and would like to reduce them.
Looking forward to seeing the car at Thunderhill.
Dan |
Dan,
I use a combination of an excel sheet and this online calculator:
http://www.auto-ware.com/calcs/leaf.htm
Leaf are a little funny because of all the 3rd and 4th order effects of friction between the leafs and when they start twisting with body roll (which are nearly impossible to calculate). I didn't actually measure the rates, so everything is approximate.
In college we messed around a bunch mixing and matching leaf packs for 4X4's and hot rods. The most important thing if you start modifying them is to keep the stagger between the ends of the leafs nearly evenly spaced. If you stack them too close together or put thicker leafs below thinner ones you can cause the spring to bend into an "S" which will can cause the main leaf to fail.
Here are a few more roll bar pics: The main hoop and bars are 1.75 x .120 1018 DOM, the harness bar is 1.5 x .120 1018 DOM. Tabs are 7 gage (.177 thick steel). The car looked like a Dexter kill room but I did't get any overspary on my interior.
Oh and this should be here in a few days:
