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The majority of vehicles today use independent suspension, with a shock absorber and spring at each corner. This has become the standard layout for road car manufacturers.  Race car designers, however, are constantly looking for ways to shave fractions of a second off lap times and optimize performance. Sometimes that means redesigning a cars damping system. Here are 5 non-traditional and underused suspension set-ups for your perusal.  Cantilever Suspension In Cantilever suspension set-ups, either a hinged sub-frame or wishbone is fixed to a rocker that operates the suspension. The build shown above is actually a 1996 Toyota Tacoma truck that has been slammed to the ground and consequently,...

It's with a bittersweet defeat that I'm finally getting around to writing this. After a whole 8 weeks with the BMW I picked up for free, Project e30 is over. After much deliberation and some simple math, it would've been way too expensive and pretty much would've been a passion project as opposed to building a sweet ass LS swapped beater. Let me tell you why. The more we worked on the car, stripped stuff out and made lists, the more daunting the project was starting to look. The interior was already beat to all hell so that had to...

Trackday Suspension Checklist The main goal of your suspension is to control your tires and keep them in contact with the road. Under track conditions, your suspension is subjected to a world of forces that want to make your tires lose contact with the road. The following guide covers the basics on what values and settings you should take into consideration before hitting the track to get the most out of your suspension. This is merely a basic checklist and guide, for more in-depth tuning information check out The Definitive Guide to Tuning Your Suspension. Ride Height Ride height is the...

Drum vs Disc Brakes Brakes are the main stopping force for your vehicle outside of engine braking and scraping up against the occasional curb or barrier. Most brakes come in two forms, disc and drum form factors, each coming with their own benefits and shortcomings which will be covered in this article. Drum Brakes Drum brakes were the most common form of brake up until around the 70’s when the switch to disk brakes was made on most commercial cars after race cars had been using them for decades already. Drum brakes consist of an outer “drum” or housing that...

What the Hell Is Corner Balancing? Corner balancing is one of the most commonly overlooked things in the world of suspension. The definition of a corner balance is the process of shifting the weight carried by each wheel to evenly distribute the weight of the car across all four wheels.  You are properly “corner balanced” when you have even weighed distribution between your driver front and passenger rear tire and also even weight distribution between your passenger front and driver rear corners. Some special applications require a different corner balance setup like 40/60 distribution with more weight in the rear....