I was searching over on the UK Locost site for something else, when I ran across this interesting homemade tool to balance corner weights;
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk./viewth ... ssage=noneIt basically uses a brake cylinder and pressure gauge on a lever. The lever was used to lift a corner just slightly from the inside top of the wheel. One would measure the pressure on the gauge as a relative pressure from corner to corner. That got me thinking about an other way to skin the cat.
Probably, this has been thought of before, so I make no claim to originality (unless someone is going to market it
) I came up with this design using the torque wrench instead of the hydraulics. Most of us have a torque wrench. It should be either a beam, dial or digital style wrench. Preset click types would not lend themselves to this application.
Ideally the bumper would be at the same level as the bearing, but should be very close for government work. The error would be equal for all 4 corners so if you were just considering balance, then the actual weight numbers are not important.
The dimensions in the design are based on the length measurements of my torque wrench. Using these measurements, the actual weight would be 4x the measured torque. The calculations are:
Actual weight = (Tapp * Lo/Lw ) * (12”/6”)
Where Tapp = the measured vale on the wrench
Lw = Effective length of the wrench
Lo = Length from bearing to pivot in the wrench handle
So using the design as shown, for a value measure on the wrench of say 100 ft lbs would yield:
(100 * 35/17.5)*(12/6) =400#
You should adjust the lengths of your design a bit so that the needle on your beam wrench would read around 2/3 to ¾ full-scale at the heaviest expected corner measurement. If you want actual weights, you can then re-calculate measured values using your dimensions.
The lateral beam should be of 1-1/4 16ga tubing minimum to prevent bending; heavier if you intend to weigh heavier vehicles or increase the length of the arm. The vertical support beam could be made from telescoping tube and drilled for various wheel heights. The disclaimer is that I have not built one of these. I throw it out as an exercise and discussion.
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Chuck.
“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman
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