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From: dbmk1@stc.UUCP (Derek Bergin)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: Question... [On tilt-meters in off-road vehicles]
Message-ID: <563@stc-b.stc.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 29-Aug-85 12:31:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: stc-b.563
Posted: Thu Aug 29 12:31:00 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 1-Sep-85 09:41:10 EDT
References: <29@decwrl.UUCP> <10041@ucbvax.ARPA> <290@ecsvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: dbmk1@stc.UUCP (Derek Bergin)
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In article <290@ecsvax.UUCP> bet@ecsvax.UUCP (Bennett E. Todd III) writes:
>
>On the other hand, I
>have noticed when accelerating while cornering rapidly that my car
>leans to the outside and to the front -- the front outside wheel is
>really pressing down vigorously. Since this is only noticible while
>accelerating it doesn't seem obviously gyroscopic, but since
>acceleration normally tends to make the car shift to the back, rather
>than the front, it is curious. Anybody know more about the mechanics of
>this situation?
>-- 
>
From the viewpoint of a non-physicist (and no I don't know why I'm submitting
articles to this newsgroup) --

  Depending on the type of vehicle (ie whether it's designed for cornering
at high speed - unlikely in a country with a 55 mph speed limit :-) ) there
is a certain cornering speed built into the suspension calculations when a car
is designed.  As cornering involves a braking force in the original direction
of travel the front will tend to "dip" into the corner ie in the original
direction.  At normal (read design) speeds this will not be noticable - this
is known as giving the customer a comfortable ride, however if you are
applying more forward force then you will increase this dip until the tyres
cease to hold the road.  At this point the front corner comes up quite 
noticably as you sit back and enjoy the accident ( and yes this *is* based
on personal experience ).
  A normal European "sportscar" type would not exhibit much body roll below
speeds of approx 80 mph and probably much more - from the little I've seen
of American Jeep type vehicles I would have thought that the problem became
apparent at considerably lower speeds. 


Regards
  Derek

!seismo!mcvax!ukc!stc!dbmk1

I used to think I was expressing an opinion - but there again people used
to think the world was flat.