Re: Improve ride and articulation on FFPW


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Posted by Jim Chance on Sunday, November 28, 2004 at 7:33PM :

In Reply to: Re: Improve ride and articulation on FFPW posted by Kaegi on Thursday, November 25, 2004 at 1:51PM :

I appreciate the feedback about articulation. 4 wheeling here is all about mud - articulation is not an issue. I always thought that the articulation would be bad because the springs are so stiff, but the frame does look very flexible.

I am learning quite a bit about suspension - something I have not worked with in 25 years. My earlier work was sports car stuff - very different. I am quite confident that I can get a spring shock combination with much improved ride and better articulation without a loss in cargo capacity.

I think the primary problem with power wagon suspension is too much friction between the leaves. This has the same effect as shock absorbers that are too stiff in compression. The springs also seem to have a near linear rate which makes them too stiff at light load.

I also do not like the springs most shops make. You can't make good springs without heat treating equipment. I do think Eaton makes good springs. For someone who is primarily interested in originality but wants new springs I think they are the best source.

I have found a source for tapered, heat treated, shot peened, parabolic springs in fairly small lots. These would be ideal power wagon springs.

I am working on shock absorbers now. The existing shocks will not work as they have too little dampening.

Jim Chance





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