Quote from: Dave DND on August 17, 2021, 11:24:47 PM
I am however very conscious that a proper test drive has not yet been done, nor has this been tried with any extra weight from a full tank of fuel and a passenger on board, but I really want an MOT on this before attempting anything else for obvious reasons.

Don't forget all the weight of the camping gear you normally carry.

Quote from: Roadrunner on August 18, 2021, 09:05:39 AM

Quote from: Dave DND on August 17, 2021, 11:24:47 PM
I am however very conscious that a proper test drive has not yet been done, nor has this been tried with any extra weight from a full tank of fuel and a passenger on board, but I really want an MOT on this before attempting anything else for obvious reasons.

Don't forget all the weight of the camping gear you normally carry.

Good spot, but that is usually over the rear axles, so wouldn't have thought it should make much difference to the front   

Quote from: Dave DND on August 18, 2021, 09:30:33 AM

Quote from: Roadrunner on August 18, 2021, 09:05:39 AM

Quote from: Dave DND on August 17, 2021, 11:24:47 PM
I am however very conscious that a proper test drive has not yet been done, nor has this been tried with any extra weight from a full tank of fuel and a passenger on board, but I really want an MOT on this before attempting anything else for obvious reasons.

Don't forget all the weight of the camping gear you normally carry.

Good spot, but that is usually over the rear axles, so wouldn't have thought it should make much difference to the front   

I would have thought it will still affect braking though Dave.

Well . . . . . .  Stoneleigh . . . . . . 

I`m pleased to say that three days before Stoneleigh,  it passed its mot with flying colours - no problems whatsoever, and an extra hour in the garage meant that my tracking and steering had now been professionally set up. With the wheels now pointing forwards, it certainly drove the 5 miles back to my house a damned site better than it did going for its test, but I still had a bit of a niggle in the back of my mind over the steering. Something still really didn't feel quite right.

The turning circle is certainly a lot larger than it was before, not a concern, but I have spent 15 years getting used to how it turned and now have to learn again. No drama, its nice to be behind the wheel again. I could have sworn I felt a "notchy" universal joint at some point when turning, but couldn't replicate it, and still haven't to this day. I initially had a concern about how heavy the steering may be as I have a small steering wheel and very wide tyres, but this concern was completely unfounded as it actually felt great - steering was quite light, no worries there at all. Ed always warned me that the steering would be stiff to start with and may not initially self center as a result, but I followed a tip on here about spinning the track rod ends and ball joints in a cordless drill before assembly, and it has been taken apart so many times already that everything seems to move quite freely.

I filled it up with fuel on my way home and it felt truly awful. The front end was really twitchy and after about 10 miles I could feel the outer edges of the tyres had started to feather. Back to get the tracking checked again, and it was found to be way out, in fact that is an understatement, it was a long way out. There were only two explanations for this, either we had set it up wrong the first time around, or something was seriously wrong and the tracking had changed from the load of the tank. It drove ok after the tracking was reset, and as the Stoneleigh show was imminent, I hitched it up to the back of the van and towed it up there. 400 miles with no tyre wear, so must have been ok.

Lisa still hadn't sat in this yet, so we decided to take a quick belt into town for some supplies and I can now sum up the handling of this Buggy with a single word:

UNDRIVEABLE 

With the extra weight of the two of us, the ride height had dropped significantly and meant that the A-Arms were now pointing skywards. The result of this was chronic bump steer and a big chunk of the underside of my wing was taken out as I tried some very light braking. On the positive side, the smoothness of the ride in a straight line was dramatic, and if it hadn't have been, then I may well have left it by the side of the road. The suspension was clearly operating within an area of movement that it was not suppose to be in.

Dave Fisher and Pie Valley Ed were both at the show and spent a good time underneath the car. It was good to be able to spend some time with them rather than exchanging pictures and messages, as they could now see this first hand. Dave brought along a guy who designed one of the Cobra front ends and we soon came up with a bit of a game plan, which would undoubtedly mean stripping it all down again - The joys of prototypes I guess, but at least they were both still on board as always. On the very positive side, I now have a current MOT and can at least test drive it whenever I make some changes.

So, my "To Do" list is starting to grow:

1) Its still sitting too low and the A-Arms should not be pointing skywards - solve this and I may solve the arch rubbing - If not we may have a plan B.
2) The Cobra Guru pointed out that we should not have relocated the steering rack for clearance, but should have retained its original position.
3) Need to sort out a working speedometer as there are far too many cameras about.
4) Rookie mistake on my part - Its always been out of alignment, but I forgot to straighten my steering column when putting this all together
5) Farmer Rob reminded me that the rear suspension also needs looking at due to it being near rigid too. Thanks Rob.

Bit of a downer but big firms spend millions of £ and thousands of hours on design, computer testing and then real life development ironing out the snags.
You will get there.. 

The setup seems like it has tooo much leverage on the coil spring, hence the soft ride.  Doesn't look like there's a practical way of moving the top mount, so would think the only solution would be a stronger spring.

Quote from: snoopy on September 05, 2021, 09:04:59 PM
Bit of a downer but big firms spend millions of £ and thousands of hours on design, computer testing and then real life development ironing out the snags.
You will get there..

I will indeed get there - I knew it would never be easy, but I will get there 

Quote from: bajaowa on September 05, 2021, 09:57:21 PM
The setup seems like it has tooo much leverage on the coil spring, hence the soft ride.  Doesn't look like there's a practical way of moving the top mount, so would think the only solution would be a stronger spring.

Not sure about stronger springs, as that would make the ride much stiffer - but I'm going to take some proper measurements this time before I take it apart to see exactly what is going on - I'll certainly post my findings on here as you never know, someone may spot something that I have not.

Just waiting for some "equipment" to arrive so I can do this properly instead of trial and error this time around

Sorry I do not do a lot of reading as thick!. But the bottom arms the mounts look very high like it was made for a very low drag car or to keep within scrub line? And why not go more narrow!!.with longer!! Arms.. viva stubs with alloy hubs to your pcd with ldv 3/4unf tie rods work well and cheap? But Inboard with coilovers with a rocker arm arrangement would have worked nice with that set up with the big old vw stubs...I built a set up with inboards years ago as needed a narrow arms and had big old stubs ..worked very well.... Has it been on corner scales!!?? More times and not springs need to be uprated?? So they hold the car up why the shocks do the work!!

The concept behind this was to make a bolt on competitor to the Red9 that would fit a standard Beetle, using as many standard parts as possible - sure there are many different ways to approach this, but the design brief was not to go down any other route, and certainly not to narrow the beam. I didn't design this, I`m just the guinea pig

I am however trying to find someone around here with corner scales so that I can indeed weigh it though 

You need some turn plates under the tyres so you can see the tracking angle change as you alter the loading on the front suspension it reads like you have bump steer. You may get away with using thin cardboard and a couple of protractors under the wheels although not as free moving as plates.

Protractors and cardboard? Come on Keith, you know me better than that   

In order to check and align this properly I thought the best way to do it was to get some proper garage equipment. I found a guy selling this who had bought it himself for building a Cobra, which means it has never been kicked around the workshop in a commercial environment. Not only is it like new, but also comes with calibration certificates, wheel turn plates and a very descriptive book of words. Literally just picked it up and looking forward to how much trouble I can get myself in with it.




Sure its a bit O.T.T. but when you add up how many miles I have to do along with a lorry full of chocolate Hob-Nobs every time I need to visit my mate for a reading, this is actually a far more viable solution in the long run as I can just sell it on when I have finished with it.

This is not as over the top as you might first think Dave.  I have had an interesting journey, well to me it was  , regarding buggy suspension/steering/gross weight/corner weight etc etc which I will put on my thread when I reach this particular journey`s end, (and as you know the end just never seems to arrive both physically and bank account depletion wise  ).  )   The guys who have travelled down the IVA route often have all sorts of gear they have forked out for one off use or have found ingenious ways to do it cheaper. Bet you keep this bit of equipment..

Best you keep that after and offer a buggy alignment service down on the coast to combine a holiday with buggy setting up.
May be useful here if you do sell it as we could offer a more central service.

Quote from: snoopy on September 06, 2021, 11:00:07 AM
Best you keep that after and offer a buggy alignment service down on the coast to combine a holiday with buggy setting up.
May be useful here if you do sell it as we could offer a more central service.

Do you really think anyone would let me loose on theirs after seeing how I have messed up mine?   

But I`ll certainly let you know when it needs a new home