resetting steering

[jeff_man]

i would like a steering system that just reset itself. i've heard you can just use ones out of small cars. would this work

 

[mikeandike]

do you mean goes back to middle? Cause that would be as easy as putting a slight angle on your spindles. (slightly tilted back)

 

[jeff_man]

really, cool saves time for me. just tilt the spindles about 10 degrees or more or less

 

[mikeandike]

Its called the castor angle (or caster). Something like 10 degrees seems about right. (top of the spindle tilted back)

 

[jeff_man]

thanks you really helped

 

[ryf]

so you know, they mean from the side moving it top forward ten degrees.. if you've already welded it up wrong, and theres no pavement in your future, setting the tires a little open in the front will do it as well if you get it all together and its not enough. the example below is WAY over shown, but you get the idea.

front
\\==//

 

[ed1380]

any chance of using 2 springs to center it?

 

[ryf]

you "can" but theres an inherent problem of springs breaking, stretching, and just not being the same pounds of pull. if you want self resetting the two ways above are cheaper and safer.

 

[jeff_man]

i'm a little confused, when tilting the spindles do you tilt it to the side or back towards the back wheels, here i s a pic to help you see what i'm saying

 

[ryf]

if you look at it from the SIDE, you want the top pivot bolt of the spindle to be 10 degrees forward of the verticle centerline.

(\)-----( )
this is the (sitting in it or from behind, right if facing it from the front) left side of your cart, the left is the front, the angle of the spindle should be tilted as the line represents, but at 10 degree.

( )-----(/)
this is the (sitting in it or from behind, left if facing it from the front) right side of your cart, the right is the front, the angle of the spindle should be tilted as the line represents, but at 10 degree

hope that helps more.

these are side views

 

[jeff_man]

what, is that from the behind view or the side view

 

[ed1380]

if you look at it from the SIDE, you want the top pivot bolt of the spindle to be 10 degrees forward of the verticle centerline.

(\)-----( )
this is the (sitting in it or from behind, right if facing it from the front) left side of your cart, the left is the front, the angle of the spindle should be tilted as the line represents, but at 10 degree.

( )-----(/)
this is the (sitting in it or from behind, left if facing it from the front) right side of your cart, the right is the front, the angle of the spindle should be tilted as the line represents, but at 10 degree

hope that helps more.

these are side views

that condtradicts itself
can you do a paint picture?

 

[mikeandike]

here's a site with all the steering angles on it...

http://makeagokart.elwiki.com/Steering_Geometry#Ackermann_Angle

 

[jeff_man]

so what i'm looking for here is a castor angle, right? and what does the camber angle do

 

[ryf]

these are the two ways you can get corrected steering, the top one is WAY easier, but the other one has its uses, so its included as well.

the point of force part is where you control arm or spindle mount frame side should be, forward of the center line of the wheel.

the red line is the center of the wheel

the blue line is the angle of the spindle

these pictures both assume you are (from the front) looking at the left or "passenger" side of the vehicle, you adjust as needed for the other side.

a real world example of this is spinning casters, they use a more extreme angle to get the same result. check them out if you need some hard evidence it works.

also, a good book to get if you are really getting into this, Chassis Engineering, by herb adams has alot of info(oh yeah and retail is under $20). there are also other books, but I own this one and its been very helpful to me. make sure you check on Amazon or something similar for a review of a book before you waste time paying for it. there are some VERY helpful reviews about most tech books on amazon.

I looked at the wikipedia from the other post, that caster adjustment to the rear is used to correct steering misalignment on suspension. it is a little different, same theoary, but its reversed to get a different effect. the important thing to remember is you want to get the axle center BEHIND the point where force is applied, this will ALWAYS result in self correcting steering