daniel mason
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 08:31 PM |
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live axle question
how does a live axle affect handling in a negative way? the reason i ask is that a lot of sprint/ hill climb cars seem to be live axle eg strikers,
but still seem very very quick,even compared to other far more expensive machinery!
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snapper
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 08:48 PM |
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Can of Worms....
I eat to survive
I drink to forget
I breath to pi55 my ex wife off (and now my ex partner)
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mookaloid
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 08:52 PM |
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live axles are noticeably quicker off the line so are ahead from the start.
not sure about the negatives, but I presume that you mean that they can't be adjusted like an independent rear end and they will be slightly
heavier.
"That thing you're thinking - it wont be that."
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franky
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 08:52 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
how does a live axle affect handling in a negative way? the reason i ask is that a lot of sprint/ hill climb cars seem to be live axle eg strikers,
but still seem very very quick,even compared to other far more expensive machinery!
When I looked into it I was told the same way IRS affects it in a negative way...... 6 of one, half a dozen of the other.
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D Beddows
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 08:54 PM |
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Mostly by not being very fashionable or 'modern' enough tbh 
To be serious what it tends to mean is that generaly speaking a live axle is just as good as irs on smooth surfaces like race tracks but not quite as
good on bumpy surfaces like roads. It does depend a HUGE amount though on how well your suspension has been set up and it's much easier to get
irs wrong than a live axle....
As has been mentioned it's a huge can of worms 
[Edited on 18/9/09 by D Beddows]
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Canada EH!
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 posted on 18/9/09 at 09:57 PM |
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Biggest problem, unsprung weight, followed by movement of the suspension on one side effecting the other side.
Good side a lot less pieces to go wrong, and most of them not in the environment, and a lot less work to mount.
As said great on a smooth surface.
New Mustangs still have live axles because that's the way the drag racers want it.
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JimSpencer
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 10:00 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by D Beddows
To be serious what it tends to mean is that generaly speaking a live axle is just as good as irs on smooth surfaces like race tracks but not quite as
good on bumpy surfaces like roads. It does depend a HUGE amount though on how well your suspension has been set up and it's much easier to get
irs wrong than a live axle....
Hi
I would agree with that, running a live axle Striker (1988 ish vintage)
Though perhaps the last bit should be the other way round:-
It's much easier to get a live axle right than IRS
Plus I think (give my limited experience) the operating window is bigger.
A live axle, set up vaguely right, will still be OK ish, wheras the IRS seem to need to be spot on (and when they are it's very quick indeed) -
but that might just be some of the folk I've come up against.
Saying all that, if it was just for road use then IRS it would be everytime
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NS Dev
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 10:24 PM |
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pretty much as above.
The single limiting factor for a decent, well set up live axle, is bumps!
Even then it depends on the car its attached to.
Think about the axle and the car as two weights connected by a spring.
If the car weighs MUCH more than the axle, then the axle will be forced to comply, if the car weighed less than the axle (simplified I know, its only
the part weight of the car but keep it simple! ) then the axle would "be boss".
The problem therefore is sprung to unsprung weight ratio.
lighter cars make it tricky
Live axles on a racetrack are generally very effective though!
Retro RWD is the way forward...........automotive fabrication, car restoration, sheetmetal work, engine conversion
retro car restoration and tuning
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redscamp
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 11:42 PM |
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a live axle slides in a progresive way.
irs lets go with a bang.
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daniel mason
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| posted on 19/9/09 at 08:57 AM |
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thanks for the replies guys!
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