newb ?s

[nivek]

Im new to this suspension terminology, so i am asking what are dampers and how do they work also cambers, off sets, and toe settings? Thanks and sorry if this is a repost.

[GRiDRaceTech]

Dampers are also known as shock absorbers and struts. They dampen the movements of a spring to make the ride liveable and to increase traction on the bumpy stuff. Stiffer dampers combined with stiffer springs will lead to less squat, (when the rear of the car dips with acceleration) less dive, (when the front of the car dips with deceleration) and better overall handling due to increased traction for corner exit along with a lower center of gravity and decreased body movement. *Edit* Without dampers, the spring would continue to bounce, much to the detriment of handling and comfort.

Camber is the measurable angle inward or outward of the tire/wheel combination's centerline from vertical, as viewed from the front. Negative camber (top of the tire/wheel pointed inward, toward the chassis) is usually wanted to counteract the MacPherson strut's tendency to undergo positive camber (top of the tire/wheel pointed outward, away from the chassis) change during loading.

Offset is the distance from the wheel's center to its mounting surface.

Toe is the measurable angle inward or outward of the tire/wheel combination's centerline from horizonal, as viewed from the top or bottom. Toe out leads to increased initial turn-in, and toe in leads to decreased initial turn-in. Many cars have very slight to no toe in to increase straight-line stability. Toe angles tend to cause a vehicle to essentially push its front tires along straight, even though they want to be turning. Never mess with rear toe angles on the street; they will lead to erratic handling.

All that without checking my books... dang, I'm good.

[Ghost of Duluth]

I think its a great question.

[GRiDRaceTech]

Caster is another alignment property. It is the angle of inclination of the steering pivot point as viewed from the side. Positive caster is a forward inclination, negative is a backward inclination. Oftentimes, people never mess with caster in their suspension. If you can, I highly recommend increasing positive caster rather than dealing with too much negative camber. Under load, the caster will help force the tire to stay at a negative/zero camber, thus reducing the amount of negative camber needed to keep the most contact patch on the ground. This reduced negative camber will increase straight-line acceleration and braking power. The only downside to more caster is increased steering effort.

Now, as to how adjustable the caster is on most cars... I don't know. I'm used to dealing with extremely adjustable race cars and have never messed with caster on my car because I'm poor.

[mranlet]

Check out the tech book sticky in this forum - all those books will help you obtain a comprehensive understanding of basic automotive physics and termonolgy.

-MR