Trailing arm suspension

I am looking for the design concepts behind the trailing arm? rear suspension as used by the original and many replica GT40 cars.
Does anyone have, or know where to get, this information.
Vic

Hi Vic

Try this site www.gmecca.com click on "build your own Race Car", it has it all

Chris

[ February 19, 2002: Message edited by: Chris Melia ]

Hi Kalun

The Lotus Elise Chassis is the best GT car chassis by far. Forged aluminium sections and bonded.

PS. The German chassis guy must have worked on Tiger Tanks I think. Its only short of a gun turret.

PS. I Know a guy that has the original roof former and will make steel MK1 Roof section's
if thats your thing.
Chris

Victor, the GT40 rear suspension is actually closer to a semi-trailing arm and almost a virtual unequal a-arm (it's barely trailing). If you think about the upper and lower suspension members as one piece they're like wide a-arms.

If the front mounts for the trailing links were just a little more inboard, it would be like a a-arm susp. Those mounts being a little outboard gives some bumpsteer which is compensated with "caster" or rearwards tilt of the upright. Then if you want to complicate it look at anti squat which is determined by the verical position of the trailing arm front mounts.

To visualize draw a line through the pivot points were the upper and lower susp parts connect to the frame. If that line is transverse its a trailing arm. If the line is diagonal to the transverse/longitudinal it's semi-trailing. If it's longitudinal it's "virtual a-arm" (not sure of this last terminology? anyone?)

Clear as mud?

Chris, thanks for the site. It has a page that talks about torsional rigidity.
http://www.gmecca.com/byorc/dtipschassis.html

So if you wouldn't build a chassis like the german one how would you build it?

[ February 20, 2002: Message edited by: Kalun D ]