On Sat, 11 Jan 1997, Robert Allen wrote:
> Tires, wheels, and suspension parts are considered unsprung weight.
> Everything else is sprung weight. The ratio of sprung to unsprung weight
> has an important effect on the handling of a car on bumpy surfaces, and
> is a factor in automobile design. A ratio of 5 is good and a ratio of 2
> is very poor.
snip
> Midgets handle better than 'B's, all things being equal, because the
> amount of sprung weight (the car) is a lot less while the unsprung
> weight (the suspension) is nearly the same. The ratio of sprung to
> unsprung weight goes up; the car seems more throwable in the corners.
Sounded good, up to the part about midgets. If the car weighs less while
the unspring weight stays the same, the ratio of sprung to unsprung
weight goes down, not up, and according to your opening paragraph, the
car should handle worse, not better.
WRG
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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