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Post by enigmas on Oct 3, 2014 8:53:06 GMT
I viewed this interesting little video some time back and promptly forgot about it. By chance I came across it again today and thought it might hold interest for some of the more mechanically inclined on the board. Note how under heavy acceleration the pinion lifts and the spring arches right up...not exactly the most positive way to locate a differential, but it's what most mass produced cars used for decades, including our P5s. Racing Austin Healey rear spring reaction
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2014 9:20:31 GMT
Very interesting clip.Seems to be very negative camber on the springs.Is that normal on the AH?
Can't imagine anything moving that fast under a P5 especially when the end of the spring is located by a couple of bits of rubber!
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Post by Steve P5b on Oct 3, 2014 10:46:39 GMT
I viewed this interesting little video some time back and promptly forgot about it. By chance I came across it again today and thought it might hold interest for some of the more mechanically inclined on the board. Note how under heavy acceleration the pinion lifts and the spring arches right up...not exactly the most positive way to locate a differential, but it's what most mass produced cars used for decades, including our P5s. Racing Austin Healey rear spring reactionVery interesting to see how much things move around under there, thanks for posting. I'm not sure if they are quarter elliptic spring or not though?
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Post by enigmas on Oct 3, 2014 22:34:20 GMT
They're a half elliptic spring Steve just like the P5. Mk2 Jaguars had quarter elliptics which require a control arm above or below to function, depending on the design. Later model Austin Healeys had radius arms fitted to control some of the torque wind-up. The P5 rear suspension has nothing to commend it in regard to ride quality, handling or control, whereas the P6 DeDion rear suspension would have transformed the ride quality and handling. DeDion Suspension at work
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Post by Steve P5b on Oct 4, 2014 3:53:28 GMT
Now I look again and you are correct , semi's on the Healey. The p5 rear suspension is unusual, with the rubber mounting at the rear, I wonder why they chose that? can't see that it adds to locating characteristics. Quite fancy these one day though for ultimate comfort.
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kaiser
Rover Fanatic
worth his V8 in gold!
Posts: 136
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Post by kaiser on Oct 4, 2014 5:46:43 GMT
They're a half elliptic spring Steve just like the P5. Mk2 Jaguars had quarter elliptics which require a control arm above or below to function, depending on the design. Later model Austin Healeys had radius arms fitted to control some of the torque wind-up. The P5 rear suspension has nothing to commend it in regard to ride quality, handling or control, whereas the P6 DeDion rear suspension would have transformed the ride quality and handling. DeDion Suspension at workI am toying with the idea of fitting a DeDion from a P6 into the P5, but I think I will leave it at that. However, the original P5 suspension is rather comfortable, but squishy and uncontrollable to boot. If I take my V8 a in a straight line, and put power, it moves to the left (as far as I remember) just taking power off again, it moves to the right. Which indicates that the control of the rear axle is not what it should be. The same small rubber fittings at the end of the springs, which cushion? the drive, also allows sideway motion of the rear axle, I suspect. I wonder if just using normal fittings at this point might not improve the situation markedly. I saw on youtube a video of the P6 suspension filmed from under the car. That was fascinating! I wonder if anyone could make a video of the P5, because if we could locate and control the rear axle simply, the handling of the car could be improved immensely, in my view, and it would be instructive to see where and what actually moves on a video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf_1Jiiyn5Y
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Post by enigmas on Oct 4, 2014 8:04:09 GMT
(Anyone) Well you're someone! Why don't you make the video Kaiser?..especially if you're that interested in improvements to the design. Your P5B shouldn't move sideways under power unless you have some really serious engine upgrades. Making and fitting a panhard rod and upper torque reaction arms shouldn't be too hard and would certainly better control the rear end. I'm sure there'd be a lot of interest in this of modification if it was straight forward and easy to fit. Nice video of the P6 rear suspension working. You can see how well controlled it is, no springs bending and flexing or rear ends bouncing around. Steve air bags would be great for ride and handling if the rear suspension was controlled properly, but that means getting rid of the leaf springs. I still believe adapting a P6 DeDion rear end would give it the limousine ride the car deserves and the handling would be greatly improved. As a bonus the diff ratio is better suited to freeway and high speed driving. Look halfway down the page at the following link. (The deep dish tyres aren't mandatory but you get the idea) www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/alfetta-gtv6-1972-1986/203967-alfa-romeo-gtv6-rear-de-dion-suspension.html
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Post by Warwick on Oct 5, 2014 3:14:03 GMT
The p5 rear suspension is unusual, with the rubber mounting at the rear, I wonder why they chose that? can't see that it adds to locating characteristics. My guess is that it was simply Rover's obsession with a quiet ride, with minimal road noise being transmitted to the body. That was the segment of the market they were in. I'm sure the rubber Y-mounts performed more than adequately when both they and the spring leaves were new and everything was in correct alignment, and the car was driven as and where Rover's customers tended to travel. You only have to look at how Rover clung to their ancient and obsolete 6-cylinder design. It is an engine of remarkable quietness and smoothness and to a P5 owner of the day, fuel efficiency was irrelevant, as was acceleration. If you're sitting in the back seat of a saloon reading The Times on your way to the office through London traffic, or cruising up the motorway to the county estate for a spot of grouse shooting (I mean the bird, Vince), you don't want noise, vibration, rapid acceleration, or heroic cornering to intrude. It was a car for its time and market. I'm also reasonably sure that if you replaced the front subframe isolators with solid blocks of metal, you wouldn't notice much difference either. It was their first monocoque design and they would have been concerned that it might fall short of customer expectations, so it was over-engineered.
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