Why is the UK so far behind???

[chrishill 0]

or over a 1/4 mile, which is where we started...

[dutch 0]

kev.....a few reasons:

 

Advantages

1) It's LIGHT. Each transverse composite leaf is roughly 1/3rd the weight of the 2 coil springs it replaces.

2) It has a low Center of Gravity (CG) since the spring sits VERY low to the ground compared with a coil spring.

3) It acts as an anti-roll bar because the leaf strongly resists being bent into an S shape.

4) Has essentially no fatigue lifetime, nor does it lose its resistance to bending.

 

Disadvantages

1) It's expensive -- much more expensive than regular coil springs

2) Poor perception -- people who don't know what they're talking about associate them with a buggy and trucks.

[Trig 0]

Top Gear do have a bias against anything

 

I used to love Clarkson's chat show 'Clarkson'... when he had the map of the world behind him with the whole of the USA cut out, harsh but fair.

[dinkus 10]

Also...

 

Although not really relevant on the road, it is when it comes to tuning...

 

You can't adjust the spring height or damping to match the driving conditions/track without replacing the whole thing...

[catch_twotwo 0]

Rather user unfriendly......

[dutch 0]

do i win an award for starting a thread with over 100+ replies!!!!!

[dinkus 10]

You only get a prize when you reach 50+ pages :lol:

 

*whistful memories of the Angel Eyes thread...*

[catch_twotwo 0]

.. or when you can proove anything.

 

Guess we need to find funding for a roadtest ;)

[Yandards 0]

Advantages

4) Has essentially no fatigue lifetime, nor does it lose its resistance to bending.

 

Disadvantages

1) It's expensive -- much more expensive than regular coil springs

2) Poor perception -- people who don't know what they're talking about associate them with a buggy and trucks.

 

Absolute crapola.

 

Leaf springs are stressed and as with all stressed metals will lose that stress placed on them over time, along with potential fatigue cracking etc etc.

 

Have a look at any of the 60's or 70's British classic car forums and search for sagging leaf springs, my car leans to one side etc.

 

All of the above problems can be attributed to leaf springs wearing out over time. They are more expensive than coils because coils are more common because it is a better system than a leaf spring, hence cheaper manufacturing costs.

 

If leaf springs are such an all round excellent performer then why don't you see them on F1/Indy cars?

[dutch 0]

Yandards....i'm sure technology has improved with the leaf spring design since the 60's...perhaps the engineers at Chevy would probably have a couple of things to say about it....

catch_twotwo.....don't make it personal....it's a forum for discussion not personal slander....

[dutch 0]

Yandards.....

http://www.racingflix.com/forum/forum_p ... PN=1&TPN=1

 

my reference to why they use it.....

[Walesy 0]

catch_twotwo.....don't make it personal....it's a forum for discussion not personal slander....

 

chill, it looked like it was said in the same light sense of humour that's being used in the rest of the thread to me ..don't take it personaly fella , it's just light hearted banter , we're all friends here... :wink:

[catch_twotwo 0]

Sorry, wasn't trying to be personal...

 

All I was trying to say is we've not actually prooved anything either way.

 

I'm sure they have improved leaf spring design over the years. There must be a reason other than "everybody else does so we will" that dictates 99% of modern cars come with coils however.

[dutch 0]

".. or when you can proove anything." - doesn't sound humourous to me?

[dutch 0]

no offence taken.... :)

[dutch 0]

it's funny.......when you join Amercian car forum's they trash talk Euro/Jap cars all the time.....everyone has an opinion i guess....

[catch_twotwo 0]

".. or when you can proove anything." - doesn't sound humourous to me?

 

Well it wasn't a funny haha sort of joke... so that explains it..

 

As a side note, I spelt prove wrong, so guess the jokes on me :cry:

[Jim 2]

Seeing as we are quoting various websites about stuff, I did a bit of searching for more comparisons about leaf springs vs coil springs.. the comments are pretty much the same everywhere you go, echoing the following sort of sentiment:

 

The invention of the familiar telescopic damper (or "shock absorber") has rendered friction based damping (leaf springs) completely obsolete. In fact, friction is regarded as a totally undesirable property in suspension design today and great pains are taken to eliminate friction completely.

 

The ubiquitous coil spring can be easily seen to have practically no friction in its action and is ideally suited to working cooperatively with the telescopic damper as part of a modern suspension system. The coil spring can also be designed to work with far greater values of suspension travel than the leaf spring ever can.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Poor perception -- people who don't know what they're talking about associate them with a buggy and trucks.

 

And Volvo 340 GLT's, which was arguably the worst handling car ever made :-)

[catch_twotwo 0]

it's funny.......when you join Amercian car forum's they trash talk Euro/Jap cars all the time.....everyone has an opinion i guess....

 

Hmm... that gets me thinking. What happens if you join a french car forum ?

[dutch 0]

lol...it's cool...hey i'm from Canada....we couldn't make a car if our existence depended on it!!

[Walesy 0]

ah yes....but guitars, now there's a different matter.....you Canadians have 'good wood ' so to speak. :wink: :D

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Seeing as we are quoting various websites about stuff, I did a bit of searching for more comparisons about leaf springs vs coil springs.. the comments are pretty much the same everywhere you go, echoing the following sort of sentiment:

 

Missed a good opportunity to look really clever then mate :-) You're just far too honest!

[Jim 2]

I think our general lack of interest in American cars basically comes down like this:

 

American cars are, for us, imports and exotica - the cheap American cars are undesirable cheap tat (like Chrysler Neons, etc) and the expensive stuff most of us cannot even dream to afford to either buy or run! Don't get me wrong, I would love something like a modern style Ford Mustang but they cost a LOT of money to buy, there isn't much in the way of parts or support for them, and the big thirsty V8 engines are far too crippling for the average British wallet.

 

I think really thats mainly what it comes down to.

[dutch 0]

we have the best beef too!!! calgary cows....