Rack and Pinion Steering on cars is one of those inventions that appeared early on in the life of the automobile and was taken from another source. Many early components on cars started out life being used by other machines before being enhanced and evolving into something far more complex. The simplest explanation of how it works is that the steering column has a classical … [Read more...]
Ford Focus RS Drift Mode
A couple of years ago, Ford in Europe released the Focus RS with a "drift" mode. The Australian media were appalled and interviewed the police over this heinous act of public disorder. They published several articles about how the youth were going to kill themselves (and others) with this car. It didn’t matter that it was much easier to drift a Falcon or Holden Commodore … [Read more...]
Motorcycle Air Jets
I’ve been lucky over many years of motorcycling not to lose the front end on a loose or slippery surface - other than during an off-road training course and that was at a slow speed. I’ve had the back get away on mud and ended up on my arse however nothing too serious. When these accidents occur, they can can happen very quickly and depending on the length of the changed … [Read more...]
Backbone Chassis
The backbone chassis was probably the easiest chassis to draw, however it was a major departure from tradition. It is similar to a ladder chassis in that the body and associated mechanical components are bolted to it. The main difference is shown in the naming of the chassis - a ladder chassis looks like a ladder and a backbone chassis looks like a …. backbone! Rover were … [Read more...]
ClearMotion Suspension
Over the years I have written articles about different types of suspension and how it has evolved with hydro-pneumatic systems creating a smoother, more luxurious rides for limousines and high end saloons. A new type of suspension is currently under test: electro-hydro-pneumatic. ClearMotion, a US company that was spawned from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in … [Read more...]