Wide stance and wide rear axle

[jp455]

Hello all...I was looking at the black Camaro in the Spectre booth at this years SEMA and started to think about suspension geometry. Looking at the front the wheels have a very deep dish and thought that it would work a lot better if the A arms were longer and the wheels didnt have as much dish.

This in turn got me thinking about the rear. Would it make any difference handking wise if the rear axle were wider and the wheels in the back didnt have as much dish? Im assuming not since the motion of a solid axle is basically just a pendulum, but thought Id ask for curiosities sake. The only difference I see is that the spring rate would have to be different due to more leverage.

[ArtosDracon]

Wheel rate would be the same because the outtermost edge of the tire and the tire width are going to be the same. The deep dish on the rear wheels does help to lighten the rear end by a smidge due to the removal of some axle tube.

[Randy67]

Less dish should be less strain on the axle shafts and bearings.

[Bryce]

Less dish should be less strain on the axle shafts and bearings.

A zero offset wheel woud be the best for the bearings.

[silver69camaro]

A zero offset wheel woud be the best for the bearings.

Close, but actually the wheel C/L will still be some distance away from the bearing C/L. Ideally the wheel and bearing C/L should be collinear. This ends up being something like a 9.75 backspace on a 12" rim if I remember correctly. It seems as if even a 1.5" distance between wheel and bearing C/L can cause some knockback issues.

[jp455]

So in the end the biggest difference would be to make things lighter. I didn't think there would be much difference, just wanted to see what you all thought.

[Bryce]

Close, but actually the wheel C/L will still be some distance away from the bearing C/L. Ideally the wheel and bearing C/L should be collinear. This ends up being something like a 9.75 backspace on a 12" rim if I remember correctly. It seems as if even a 1.5" distance between wheel and bearing C/L can cause some knockback issues.

Agreed. This early in the morning I didnt express myself correctly. Okay time for more coffee.

[jp455]

I guess this brings up a whole subject of what bigger bearings to use etc etc. But that's another thread.

[79T/Aman]

At the front wheel rate will change as you move the tire C/L out you increase scub radius and lever moment
At the rear you could widen the housing to use a wheel with a more bearing friendly offset.