:. Projects/Mods .:. Front Suspension .:
Beginning |
Bushing Install |
Impressions/Summary
Introduction
Stock 1g AWD's are known for having particularly pronounced understeer characteristics. (Somebody hear an echo?) Some of this can be blamed on the unfortunate front suspension design that has nearly zero camber gain on compression. On lowered cars, you can even gain positive camber on compression, even ignoring the positive camber gained from body roll.
While there is little we can do to fix the geometry (for now), one thing that compounds the already bad geometry is the soft, flexible rubber bushings that mount the front control arm to the body. Under big suspension loads, the force is applied such that they will "squish" inward, pulling the ball joint inward, resulting in an increase in positive camber. The rigid upper knuckle and strut body don't experience as much of this flex, and the decreased grip in the front of the car results in understeer.
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image copyright Fred Puhn, I assume |
A second design limitation of the 1g front suspension is a relative lack of caster. Among other things, (see article referenced at end), higher caster (caster is always positive in automotive context) results in a gain of negative camber as the wheels are turned. There are two easy ways to go about getting more caster on your 1g. One is a set of camber/caster plates from one of the many suspension vendors, (Go), the other is to install the Whiteline or Noltec caster bushings that replace the front control arm's rear bushing.
This article outlines replacement of the 1g factory front-suspension bushings.
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