In a car with an offset three link rear suspension (upper bar offset), does moving from a rear axle with a centered pinion to a rear with an offset pinion change the optimum upper bar location?
I'm switching from a centered-pinion Mopar 8 3/4 to a Ford 9" with the same housing dimensions, but the Ford pinion is offset .970" to the passenger side. Should I move the upper arm location by the same amount?
In reply to LuigiAndretti :
The moment arm counteracting the torque about the pinion is determined by the distance between the 3rd link and pinion.
In reply to Driven5 :
Thank you.
In reply to Driven5 :wouldn't that be a verticle force?
It is my understanding that a centered 3 link has the center arm centered on the lower control arms.
An offset upper arm is usually done to add more force to the right wheel counteracting engine torque as well as lowering the arm to help with floor clearance . Most it not all "real" race cars with 3 links mount it top and center.
When I designed my 3 link in my 64 Comet I went with an offset upper link to save the floor some. At the end of the day I should have just put it up top and centered, I still had to cut the floor.
Pinion location should have no effect, the DRIVESHAFT torque trying to rotate the rearend like a propeller should be the same.
When you angle the upper link sideways you're using the AXLE torque trying to rock the pinion upward to counteract the driveshaft torque. Because of this, it's more affected by rearend ratio than anything else. Shorter gearing means the driveshaft torque is lower for the same axle torque.
This is the real reason I like gears in the high 4s/low 5s. It's for handling.
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