If one thinks McPherson strut suspensions are so great you might want to turn you front wheels to the extreme right or left, turn off the engine, and go look at the different orientation of the two front wheels LOL
mike hunt
Ray O wrote:
>> What makes you think that there is no price differential at the consumer >> end?
>
> er, the price i pay when i buy the car?
>
>> Automakers examine the cost of every part and component in every >> vehicle.
>
> of course, but not a single vehicle manufacturer in the world sells on a
> "cost plus" basis. they sell it for what they can get. different
> manufacturers have different profit margins.
>
>>
>>
>>>>A strut suspension generally has a lower control arm that the wheel is
>>>>attached to. The lower control arm pivots where it is attached to the
>>>>strut so the wheel's movement is actually an arc instead of straight
>>>>vertical movement. The biggest advantage of a strut type suspension is
>>>>that it is less expensive to produce while still providing more than
>>>>adequate performance for every day street driving so you see it widely
>>>>used on lower and mid-range cost vehicles.
>>>>
>>>>Rally cars do not have strut suspensions because they are great off
>>>>road; they have strut suspensions because the stock versions of the cars
>>>>have strut suspensions, and the stock versions have struts because they
>>>>cost less to produce than other types of suspensions.
>>>
>>>you're correct about cost, but the fact still remains, struts have proven
>>>themselves to be good in low traction environments where the little
>>>nuances of maintaining tire contact patch that are addressed by wishbones
>>>are vanishingly unimportant. they also give a comfy ride and are less
>>>susceptible to roll. put all that on a street car and use wider tires to
>>>make up for the geometry issues, and you have something that approximates
>>>to acceptable.
>>
>>
>> You sound like you have read a lot of auto enthusiast magazines but have
>> not had formal training in automotive design, engineering, or service or
>> experience working for an auto manufacturer. If you had, you would know
>> instinctively
>
> whoa there!!! let's go out on a wild-ass limb here and speculate that i
> have some training and experience... wtf has that got to do with > instinct???
>
>> that maintaining tire contact with the ground is more important in a low
>> traction environment than in an environment where traction is not as much
>> of an issue. You would also know that a strut suspension is not more or
>> less susceptible to roll (I'm assuming that you are referring to body
>> roll). Spring rates and anti-roll bars are what affect body roll. Most
>> strut suspensions are more susceptible to camber changes. Also, wider
>> tires do not make up for geometry issues.
>
> that is the most confused garbage i've read all week.
>
>>
>> McPherson and Chapman strut suspensions are in wide use not because of
>> their superior handling characteristics, but because they are inexpensive
>> to make and lightweight. Most people know little or nothing about
>> suspension designs so it sounds good when the automaker points out a
>> "MacPherson Strut" suspension and so small and mid-size vehicles that are
>> not actually performance oriented will have them installed. You usually
>> will not see strut suspensions on performance and high-end vehicles,
>> particularly those with RWD. Over the years, engineers have made
>> improvements to strut suspension geometry to more closely approximate the
>> better performing suspensions and they are certainly acceptable for the
>> majority of the driving public, but a someone who is knowledgeable about
>> automotive suspensions or performance would not hint that a strut
>> suspension is the preferred design for any reason other than cost >> control.
>
> ok, so you have one little thing correct, cost, but the rest is missing
> you by a country mile. i'd explain, but reading your "instinct" comment,
> i think i'd be wasting my time.