How is suspension geometry adjusted?

[woohoo]

Hi!

How do they adjust suspension geometry on a racecar ?
I mean camber, toe and castor ?

Can anyone show me a picture ?

[marcush.]

Hi!

How do they adjust suspension geometry on a racecar ?
I mean camber, toe and castor ?

Can anyone show me a picture ?

normally you do it by shims ,as this is a definte adjustment.

some adjustments are done by threads ,some are by using parts with different length /geometries /placing of bores .It is a matter of repeatability ,precision and speed of change necessary.. everything thread and counterlock with spanners etc is to be avoided and of course loose bits that can get lost ...

[speedsense]

Camber- As was mentioned,adjusted by the upper arm length, byway of using plates inserted just slightly inboard of the upper a arm connection to the upright

caster- adjustment is made by one of two ways or combination of both, the upper a arm upright connection is moved towards the rear of the car, along the long plane, by shortening one leg (usually the rear most one) of the upper a arm where it connects to the chassis, pulling the upper ball joint toward the rear. opposite on the lower one, (shorten the front arm connection)

Toe- The front is adjusted by the length of the steering arm (tie rod) that comes out of the steering rack. Shortening the tie rod causes toe in, lengthening the tie rod causes toe out. The rear also has tie rods (not for steering however) and toe adjustments are similar in respect, though most are located at the rear most point of the upright, so for toe in they would lengthen it.

[autogyro]

Camber- As was mentioned,adjusted by the upper arm length, byway of using plates inserted just slightly inboard of the upper a arm connection to the upright

caster- adjustment is made by one of two ways or combination of both, the upper a arm upright connection is moved towards the rear of the car, along the long plane, by shortening one leg (usually the rear most one) of the upper a arm where it connects to the chassis, pulling the upper ball joint toward the rear. opposite on the lower one, (shorten the front arm connection)

Toe- The front is adjusted by the length of the steering arm (tie rod) that comes out of the steering rack. Shortening the tie rod causes toe in, lengthening the tie rod causes toe out. The rear also has tie rods (not for steering however) and toe adjustments are similar in respect, though most are located at the rear most point of the upright, so for toe in they would lengthen it.

It is worth remembering that alterations in camber angle will also need readjustment of toe (in) and it can result in a need for longer steering rack end rods if major camber changes are made. Adjusting caster can result in a change in steering angle due to possible variation in wheel base.

[marcush.]

we have seen (on last years Mac?) a nice means of adjusting ackerman with shims..

so you could easily move a shim to add or reduce ackerman and put it into the toelink making an ackerman adjustment possible without affecting toe setting in the front..very clever thinking..and one of the points I´d guess willis was referring to when he said the dallara was a disappointment to him...

-please don´t mix up the terms steering arm (this part is reponsible for Ackerman ) and tie rod ...which length is a means of adjusting toe!

genereally I believe the teams do either have dedicated parts for certain sets of camber /Caster and try to avoid adjustabilities affecting other variables.

so a caster change or trail change is not affecting camber or toe for example.. or at least the change will have a sensible move of other parameters build in so you will arrive at a setup that is a good compromise but offers different dynamic change to cater for certain charcteristics on tracks for example.(eg a very flat smooth track with only high speed sweping corners will likely call for a different geometry than the nurburgring nordschleife..

[autogyro]

Again it depends on how much mechanical set up is compromised for DF needs.
This year the increased fuel and resulting pitch and roll forces from it are showing up some teams regarding their mechanical set up potential.
It would be nice to take away the monopoly aero has on chassis tuning and return F1 to where it should be, reliant on clever mechanical handling.
After all, the cars are not aeroplanes.

[speedsense]

Camber- As was mentioned,adjusted by the upper arm length, byway of using plates inserted just slightly inboard of the upper a arm connection to the upright

caster- adjustment is made by one of two ways or combination of both, the upper a arm upright connection is moved towards the rear of the car, along the long plane, by shortening one leg (usually the rear most one) of the upper a arm where it connects to the chassis, pulling the upper ball joint toward the rear. opposite on the lower one, (shorten the front arm connection)

Toe- The front is adjusted by the length of the steering arm (tie rod) that comes out of the steering rack. Shortening the tie rod causes toe in, lengthening the tie rod causes toe out. The rear also has tie rods (not for steering however) and toe adjustments are similar in respect, though most are located at the rear most point of the upright, so for toe in they would lengthen it.

It is worth remembering that alterations in camber angle will also need readjustment of toe (in) and it can result in a need for longer steering rack end rods if major camber changes are made. Adjusting caster can result in a change in steering angle due to possible variation in wheel base.

Depends on upright design and location of the steering knuckle, some designs camber change does not effect steering rod length.

[DaveKillens]

Although this is not a Formula One suspension, it displays the multitude of adjustments available. Every ball-end is adjustable, and that's only the obvious. In racing, it is desirable, no, it is essential that all suspension parameters can be altered. In fact, teams have been known to construct A-arms of specific and different dimensions to suit changing conditions.

The example displayed above is very generic for most racing applications. It is easy to work on, and to adjust something, just a wrench is required. In Formula One, since the stakes and rewards are much higher, parts are not as easy to work on, and in many cases, to change a suspension parameter parts have to be swapped out. But the systems all have one thing in common, all suspension parameters can be altered.

[marcush.]

Although this is not a Formula One suspension, it displays the multitude of adjustments available. Every ball-end is adjustable, and that's only the obvious. In racing, it is desirable, no, it is essential that all suspension parameters can be altered. In fact, teams have been known to construct A-arms of specific and different dimensions to suit changing conditions.

The example displayed above is very generic for most racing applications. It is easy to work on, and to adjust something, just a wrench is required. In Formula One, since the stakes and rewards are much higher, parts are not as easy to work on, and in many cases, to change a suspension parameter parts have to be swapped out. But the systems all have one thing in common, all suspension parameters can be altered.

please..where is the lower wishbone attached to the upright on your picture?


I´m sure the major advantages of a well thought out suspension are:
repeatability
quick in service -change- accident repairs

for example the top wishbone mount to the upright-you need to undo either the ball joint to the upright or the longitudinal link of the upper wishbone to make a lenfth adjustment (for camber) as this will alter the length of the link it will
also effet caster....and as the toelink is not integrated into the steering arm you will also change toe for any camber change...so this is an example where the mechanic has to really prepare at home for any possible change requested by the
engineer.. as everything is interconnected and as soon as you alter one thing you have to readjust everything else to come to the required single change ...this will keep your warriors busy all weekend..and the setup plate(if you have one)a well frequented place..