ilikemy944

Tifo, I'm not sure what you just did to my head, but it hurts.

Thanks.

PorscheDude1

This should help.

MAGK944

Maybe you should have asked why they still use pushrod engines instead of moving to ohc like the rest of the world.

924RACR

I'm not sure I'd agree with that statement... as much as Marketing likes the idea... Sure, there's the Corvette Team... but there's also a Lambda team, an Epsilon team, etc...

OHC? Well, OHV does help keep the hood lower last I heard, and with the weakest Corvette now putting out like 440hp, they're obviously not hurting for output.

But then, starting that whole discussion makes about as much sense as the guy with the torsion bars poking fun at the guy with the leaf spring, as noted.

Of course, saying it has a leaf spring doesn't automatically mean it's junk; many people assume, incorrectly, that this means it's got a Hotchkiss rear suspension, which is junk IMO (though cheap and effective, and has its place just like the drum brake, which I also personally hate).

PorscheDude1

Thats cool. That is way I used the term loosely.

iloveporsches

Smaller, lighter, less complicated and make gobs of power. An OHC GM V8 wouldn't fit nicely into the same space as a Porsche slant-4.

There are many different solutions to the same problem that can get the same results. A ZR1 with its inferior leaf springs and pushrod engine will hand any 951 its ***.

924RACR

I dunno, last LS1 944 I looked at wasn't too shabby, as far as packaging... heh heh...

The Corvette leaf springs are inferior to... what, exactly?

As for comparing the ZR1 to... well, to most cars on the planet, really, is pretty absurd... but that's a thread that belongs in OT...

iloveporsches

LS-series engines are still push-rod. An LS3 in a 944 would be ridiculous amounts of fun.

Forgot the sarcasm quotes!

I know, I was just pointing out what they can with leaf springs and OHV engines, and that it isn't inferior or outdated technology.

ritzblitz

As far as the torsion bar argument goes torsion bars are old technology, used in old cars. Leaf springs are old technology, but Chevy is using them in new cars.

I like where this thread is going. Good discussion...

944CS

most people who are bashing the leaf springs don't even understand suspension geometry and just assume that because most pick up trucks use leaf springs the corvette must have an antique suspension design. It in fact uses unequal length control arms, this design is what you should be concerned about. The composite leaf spring weighs less than half of what traditional coil springs would, and this weight is positioned lower. Also, in the C5 and C6 the leaf spring also acts as an anti roll bar, which allows the use of a smaller, lighter supplemental anti roll bar.

Race teams use a coil over setup because it's easier to make changes to roll stiffness and ride height, and this greatly outweighs the advantages of a composite leaf spring because they are always making changes to maxmize grip on different tracks and in different track conditions.

MAGK944

Very true, I still think of it as old technology though. I am from the Colin Chapman (Lotus) school of thought, small capacity high reving engines in light cars. I also think that it is an easy option to keep increasing capacity rather than improving engine efficiency.

iloveporsches

Coil springs are also old technology. 15th century.

A spring is a spring. Suspension geometry is what matters!

ritzblitz

Good call!

I'm not really bashing leaf springs, I just thought that it was interesting how they couldn't really answer my question. Given the amount of knowledge the one guy seemed to have, he probably could have listed a couple reasons why the leaf spring setup is as good, or better than conventional MacPherson strut. But now that I think about it, even if I knew the reasons why, I probably wouldn't have been able to think of them on the fly like that haha.

Another advantage of the transverse leaf spring (I think) is that it's easier to tune than an independent suspension setup??

Yeah so I guess I'm one of those people...

bader$

I agree. They tried coil springs on trucks in the 60s and it wasn't a bad idea, just a bad setup.

PorscheDude1

The Vette has IRS, it has since 1963