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Old 08-22-2012, 05:54 AM   #48
Norm Peterson
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sleepy View Post
I was referring to the front lower control arms and front radius arms. I believe BMW 3 series also use double ball joint MacPherson strut design similar to Camaro.
OK, now I see what you were getting at. Maybe it's my age showing, but when I hear about multiple ball joints and camber together all I "see" is some sort of short-long arm arrangement with ball joints at the upper and lower ends of the steering knuckle.


Quote:
Is there any advantage to this design? Looks like it increases the kingpin inclination angle and move dave point out. I am guessing better on center steering feel and straight line stability are the benefits.
The reasons are most likely for improved high speed stability and reduced steering kickback.

Geometrically, a double-pivot arrangement separates the KPI a little further from strut inclination, and it's the strut inclination rather than KPI that goes into determining the geometric roll center and front view swing arm geometry.


I guess if you're going to borrow a few suspension details from another mfr, you could do a whole lot worse than crib from BMW (who started using the double pivot strut arrangement at least as far back as 1980). Other US domestic mfrs have come up with suspension components that look an awful lot like parts sourced from different BMW models.


Norm

Last edited by Norm Peterson; 08-22-2012 at 06:15 AM.
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