Apologies for sounding thick but what is the advantage of going for the mushroom inserts to fit the siearra front hub - with the offset hole for top
ball joint ? (Luego sell them offset)
A couple of places sell them with the hole in the centre and they are a lot cheaper, as they are easier to make.
I presumed it gave you more adjustment but read a thread somewhere saying there's no real advantage.
Cheers.....Andy
the ones with the holes off centre help with sva and also help dial out discrepancies in the sierra castings
regards
marc
Marc is the expert but you really do need offset inserts.
This allows you to get equal castor angles on both sides.this allows for any variations in bracket mountings,ford castings and wishbone
tolerances,plus as Marc says you can put full castor(about 5 deg.) to give max "self centre" steering for SVA.
Hi,after a conversation with Martin Keenan he has told me the main reason for the offset mushrooms is for the trailing angle,seeing as the hubs were
designed for macpherson struts and not wishbones.
This almost corrects the positioning of the hub,although he has said the hole ideally should be even nearer to the edge of the mushroom if it were
possible.
So you really do need them!
DEAN .........
It all depends on your top wishbones at the end of the day, if you are making your own the position of the top ball joint can be made to suit the Sierra upright.
I am using Cortina uprights so it is really only a point of interest to me, but can someone explain this to me.
The castor angle will remain unchanged whichever position the insert is placed, all you will alter is the KPI, and the displacement of the stub axle
from the line between the upper and lower balljoints. Does this give you self centring? Does the migration of the axle line from the balljoints axis
alter the handling in an adverse way?
apparently it contributes to self centering via drag, that the contact patch is behind the axis of steering. not sure quantitatively how much it provides though.
It doesn't change the KPI either for the same reason it doesn't change castor.
quote:
Originally posted by gazza285
It doesn't change the KPI either for the same reason it doesn't change castor.
quote:
Originally posted by gazza285
It doesn't change the KPI either for the same reason it doesn't change castor.
The top ball joint does not move as it is fixed to the top wishbone, not the upright.
The KPI is fixed wherever the offset mushroom is as the joint itself does not move.
quote:
Originally posted by gazza285
The top ball joint does not move as it is fixed to the top wishbone, not the upright.
The KPI is fixed wherever the offset mushroom is as the joint itself does not move.
But the swivel point is in the same place! The swivel point is on the top wishbone, not the upright.
Yes, the swivell point is still on the upper wishbone, but it is in a differend place on the upper wishbone, due to the fact that you would have had
to wind in the top balljoint to get the camber right after moving the insert
[Edited on 3/1/05 by Mark Allanson]
But the KPI is a line between the centre of the top ball joint and the bottom ball joint. How can an offset mushroom move the swivel points? The joints themselves do not move so the king pin inclination does not move either
quote:
Originally posted by gazza285
But the KPI is a line between the centre of the top ball joint and the bottom ball joint. How can an offset mushroom move the swivel points? The joints themselves do not move so the king pin inclination does not move either
What you are saying is "when you compensate for this" I am saying "when you design proper wishbones for Sierra uprights"
Which I think was my original point
quote:
Originally posted by gazza285
What you are saying is "when you compensate for this" I am saying "when you design proper wishbones for Sierra uprights"
quote:
Originally posted by Mark Allanson
quote:
Originally posted by gazza285
What you are saying is "when you compensate for this" I am saying "when you design proper wishbones for Sierra uprights"
It doesn't matter what design upper wishbones you have, if you have offset inserts, and alter the position, you will have a change in camber, which, when corrected will give a change in KPI
Jeez, I have the imprints of bricks on my forehead.
No welder in the world could make the wishbones so perfect that there would be no need for any post build suspension setup.
When you have finished your car, you need to fine tune the suspension, thats why it is adjustable.
If you use the offset inserts to adjust ANYTHING, your KPI will alter after you have corrected the camber change due to any alterations to the said
inserts.
"I am using Cortina uprights so it is really only a point of interest to me, but can someone explain this to me.
The castor angle will remain unchanged whichever position the insert is placed, all you will alter is the KPI, and the displacement of the stub axle
from the line between the upper and lower balljoints. Does this give you self centring? Does the migration of the axle line from the balljoints axis
alter the handling in an adverse way? "
This is what started me going in the first place
I’ve attached a quick and crude drawing of a Sierra type “upright” with an offset type mushroom to illustrate the effects of rotating the mushroom.
The blue circle on the end of the stub axle represents the true camber and castor.
The pink circle on the end of the stub axle shows what happens when the hole in the mushroom is rotated towards the FRONT of the car by 2 degrees: the
stub axle moves towards the REAR of the car, thus increasing drag.
The red circle on the end of the stub axle shows what happens when the hole in the mushroom is rotated towards the wheel by 2 degrees: the stub axle
leans in at the top, thereby increasing negative camber.
The wishbones and balljoints have remained fixed throughout the procedure, therefore the KPI (the axis between the two balljoints) has not altered.
Only the scrub radius has changed in that plane.
The best option would be to install one of the mushrooms with a centrally located tapered hole and then design and fabricate (or purchase) the
wishbones to suit the geometry of the Sierra “upright”. Otherwise, any attempt to alter, say, camber, will result in unfavourable changes in other
areas.
What I didn't fully describe above, is the consequences of altering any changes to camber made by an offset type mushroom. Any attempt to CORRECT
mushroom-induced camber by altering the top balljoint position WOULD result in KPI changes.
[Edited on 3/1/05 by Rorty]
Rescued attachment camber-castor01.gif
Phew! Glad thats cleared up then!
Has any one used Escort McPherson struts on a Locost Build is so what are the pitfalls, at what lencth are theu cut off and what mushrooms are used?
Has any one used Escort McPherson struts on a Locost Build is so what are the pitfalls, at what lencth are theu cut off and what mushrooms are used?
I presume you mean the Mk1/Mk2 Escort upright?
The Mchperson strut is actually part of the upright, unlike the Sierra so you would have to devise some way of clamping a mushroom insert in after you
have chopped off the strut tube. It would be far simpler to use the cheap/readily available Sierra uprights (or if you can find a set, the Cortina
ones).
What I was thinking of doing was to turning inserts like the mushrooms from steel and tap a thread in to then and welding them into place permanently. This would mean a central hole and permanent position. The question is then what does this do to the geometry of the suspension?
quote:
Originally posted by DONALD
What I was thinking of doing was to turning inserts like the mushrooms from steel and tap a thread in to then and welding them into place permanently. This would mean a central hole and permanent position. The question is then what does this do to the geometry of the suspension?
quote:
Originally posted by DONALD
What I was thinking of doing was to turning inserts like the mushrooms from steel and tap a thread in to then and welding them into place permanently. This would mean a central hole and permanent position. The question is then what does this do to the geometry of the suspension?
quote:
Originally posted by Mark Allanson
quote:
Originally posted by gazza285
What you are saying is "when you compensate for this" I am saying "when you design proper wishbones for Sierra uprights"
It doesn't matter what design upper wishbones you have, if you have offset inserts, and alter the position, you will have a change in camber, which, when corrected will give a change in KPI
the point i always make, is that castor doesnt change, only the drag.
drag = kpi? I've never heard the term before?
as far as i can remember, drag is a made up word to represent the distance from the contact patch centre to the centre of the steering axis, on the
ground.
how real an effect it is is open to debate.
ahhhhhhhhhh, now that's different again!!!
That is scrub radius!
Changes the kickback at the steering wheel and the self centreing to some degree, but is fixed by wheel offset, nowt to do with the top balljoint
really.
Main influence on scrub radius is wheel offset used.
quote:
Originally posted by NS Dev
ahhhhhhhhhh, now that's different again!!!
That is scrub radius!
The mushrooms need to be fully cooked or allsorts of weird things happen...
Why nobody has made them like the head bearing/rake adjuster on "tricky" bikes i don't know.......or have i just sparked an idea again
and missed out or talking complete rubbish again
These ones?
Rescued attachment tricky bike.jpg
mike has it right, though obviously nsdev is correct about scrub radius too.
The best way to describe it is by comparing it to shopping trolley wheels, which obviously self centre because the steering pivot is far in front of
the centre of the wheel. I believe alan b has used the term drag in the past too, though he might've just been refering to a good night out
quote:
Originally posted by JoelP
I believe alan b has used the term drag in the past too, though he might've just been refering to a good night out