Clarification of IRS v. Live

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rhumbline said:
One can always trot out a particularly bad IRS to compare to a particularly good live axle design to try to give an inaccurate general comparison ("...my daddy's '63 Corvair with IRS had evil handling, so all IRSs suck as far as I'm concerned...").

>chuckle< Not to pick a nit, but '63 Corvair did not have IRS. (I once owned a '62 - with fine handling for its day - almost rolled my wife's Buick trying to take a corner at the speed I was used to doing with the 'vair...). '64 Corvair had IRS, all earlier versions had swing axles. While the rear wheels were independently sprung, the wheel swung through an arc, whereas the '64 and later had dual A-frames to keep the wheel vertical, a true IRS.
 
HairyCanary said:
The point was that IRS has a wheel hop problem by nature, the live axle hops when proper maintenance is not done. There's a difference :D.

Dave
Do vette, viper, rx7, rx8, M3 drivers complain about exessive axle hop? Maybe it's more a question of ford's execution of the cobra IRS than something inherent in IRS designs. Also keep in mind that the cobra IRS was a compromised design, built to fit in a 25 year old chassis. Not exactly optimal.

...and my live axle is maintianed just fine.
 
shatner saves said:
Do vette, viper, rx7, rx8, M3 drivers complain about exessive axle hop? Maybe it's more a question of ford's execution of the cobra IRS than something inherent in IRS designs. Also keep in mind that the cobra IRS was a compromised design, built to fit in a 25 year old chassis. Not exactly optimal.
Well, I *have* heard the occasional Vette owner complain about wheel hop. It is definitely more prevalent than on a live axle.

...and my live axle is maintianed just fine.
Then why does it hop? :shrug:

Dave
 
shatner saves: like I said in the other thread, you should really get that checked out. Something is wrong somewhere..

To the surfer dude down in SC, I would say there is not much difference between a properly built solid axle car and an IRS car. Notice I say properly built. Ive driven plenty of cars. Comparing an IRS vs solid axle car is like comparing a fast and a not so fast car. For example a Mustang GT would spank an Eclipse stock for stock in a drag race. But you can mod the Eclipse to spank a stock mustang. Now when you compare suspension, the tables are turned. The IRS cars handling and ride advantage is comparable to the straight line advantage a Mustang has over most cars. There is a significant difference you can feel while driving. However the solid axle mustang can be modified to take turns really well. The best handling Mustang Ive driven was a Saleen S281. This car handles lightyears ahead of a stock Mustang GT. With the cars power and handling it would have no problem whippin up on a BMW while sporting around the streets. The S281 doesnt even have that many suspension mods either. It could be so much better and it still is great. Old Fox bodies equipped with Griggs and Maximum Motorsports can rip up new M3s in the corners and still destroy there ass at a drag race if they wanted to. Its all about the mods. Guys saying solid axles cant corner good are driving stock suspension cars. Hell, I admit it. My stock solid axle Cobra is the suckiest cornering car Ive owned. But when I modify it, it will rip. So remember, mods are your friends. My advice to anyone is to either fix/modify your car or suck it up and stop complaining. :)

EDIT- oh yea surfer dude. The 05 stang basically comes with more than half of the Griggs kit from the factory. I bet with not too much $$ in suspension work it will have no problem ripping almost any BMW in cornering. I would tell the roomates to piss off. They should not have to worry about it because it is not thier car. Have fun with the 05 youll love it. Then go smoke em ;)