custom independent rear suspension

[beazo]

Independent suspension!!! Who has done it? Who has thought about it, etc etc etc. As part of my build, i was thinking of incorporating irs (not the tax dudes) into my aspire.
Options for me would be build from scratch using current parts available to me from the wrecked 4 door aspire i have,
Or buy a complete subframe from another car and make that fit into the rear with cutting away and rebuilding the chassis around the new member.

What's everyone's thoughts on this

[bhearts]

Independent suspension!!! Who has done it? Who has thought about it, etc etc etc. As part of my build, i was thinking of incorporating irs (not the tax dudes) into my aspire.
Options for me would be build from scratch using current parts available to me from the wrecked 4 door aspire i have,
Or buy a complete subframe from another car and make that fit into the rear with cutting away and rebuilding the chassis around the new member.

What's everyone's thoughts on this

Are you embarrassed with the factory rear suspension?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[sc72]

A few years back, some members used 91/94 mercury Capri rear suspension and were quite happy, you might look into it.

[beazo]

Not embarrassed at all. Just thinking independent rears would be a pretty awesome mod.

[bhazard]

The stock rear is plenty independent if you set it up right.

[beazo]

The stock rear is plenty independent if you set it up right.

Yeah, they are a very responsive little car. But as cars have progressed,almost all of the newer fwd cars have irs. Soooo, why not mine too?? Lol,

[bhazard]

Because it's a lot of added weight on the wrong end of the car. It'll have a negative impact on handling.

[Advancedynamix]

The rear suspension of these cars is actually more independent and and more modern than you may think.
Take a look under a new Mazda 2. Guess what? Trailing beam.
If you remove one shock from the rear of your car (obviously supported securely on stands) and move the beam up and down by hand, you'll feel how independently it travels. You'll also notice that it's arc is on a plane that naturally follows bumps perfectly. It's a true trailing arm. This design is resistant to roll and efficient at bump absorption.
Manufacturers incorporate multi link rear suspension systems in heavier vehicles for several different reasons. A Trailing beam isn't optimal in a RWD or AWD platform because it is in the the way of the drive shaft and it's not a good design for supporting drive wheels.
Also, the beams benefits are best felt on lightweight vehicles. When vehicle weight exceeds 3000lbs the design requirements for the beam become more expensive to manufacture than a multi link suspension.
The added weight of an "IRS" setup would only be beneficial if you planned to convert to AWD, RWD or you were using the car to transport very heavy loads.
Performance wise, the trailing beam on a featherweight fwd wins every time. I have quite a few trophies to prove that.

[beazo]

The rear suspension of these cars is actually more independent and and more modern than you may think.
Take a look under a new Mazda 2. Guess what? Trailing beam.
If you remove one shock from the rear of your car (obviously supported securely on stands) and move the beam up and down by hand, you'll feel how independently it travels. You'll also notice that it's arc is on a plane that naturally follows bumps perfectly. It's a true trailing arm. This design is resistant to roll and efficient at bump absorption.
Manufacturers incorporate multi link rear suspension systems in heavier vehicles for several different reasons. A Trailing beam isn't optimal in a RWD or AWD platform because it is in the the way of the drive shaft and it's not a good design for supporting drive wheels.
Also, the beams benefits are best felt on lightweight vehicles. When vehicle weight exceeds 3000lbs the design requirements for the beam become more expensive to manufacture than a multi link suspension.
The added weight of an "IRS" setup would only be beneficial if you planned to convert to AWD, RWD or you were using the car to transport very heavy loads.
Performance wise, the trailing beam on a featherweight fwd wins every time. I have quite a few trophies to prove that.

So in the short version.
Extra weight, and handling gains not worth effort (possible negative affects)

[navdoc101]

Yep

[Advancedynamix]

In short extra weight and worse handling make it a bad idea. Trailing beam works BETTER than multi link.

[beazo]

Gotcha.