Ok I know this defeats the ackerman principal but, I see lots of cars done this way. can some of the hambers that have theirs set up this way enlighten us on how these cars actually ride steer and handle? I have gotten some mixed emotions form some but would like to get an all around opinion especially from people that actually have their cars set up this way thanks
You mean the "Tie Rod". It won't affect ride. Other factors may tend to offset the lack of proper "Ackerman". Wheel offset, toe adjustment, camber, tire tread pattern(slip angle), etc.
With enough wheel offset & steering arms you can still achieve 'proper' ackerman - even with the suicide drag link.
That brings up a good point...My dad built a high end rod for a guy, it rode and drove excellent...the guy took it home and swapped out the wheels and tires for some billets with a fairly large backspace, and the car rides like absolute shit, vibrates and shakes on highway. Alot of things come into play... Tie rod in front shouldnt harm or effect your ride negativly...
I've had my tierod in front of my roadsters axle since 1991, no ride or steering issues or tire wear concerns. 4inch dropped axle made it necessary for clearance of the frame. My spring perch is a suicide style.
I just went through the same senario on my car. Everyone kept telling me how horrible it would steer and the front tires would scrub. My car steers just fine. I can't tell the tires are scuffing at all. I would just try and make your steering arm / tie rod joints as close to the backing plate as possible. If you need pics or more description I would be glad to help. DuckusCrapus
my 98" wheel base roadster ran down the road straight and turns were no problem but a u turn was out of the question it would push one front tire i drove it like that four 4 or 5 years didnt wear tires i would do it agin
also note that it is possible to get very close to ackerman with the steering arm up front.. the only thing is the tie rod pivot actually moves to the outside of the kingpin often causing interference with the brakes or wheels. It's really hard with 40 ford brakes since the backing plates get in the way. Getting the tie rods as close to the backing plates as possible will definitely help.. Definitely possible with some disk brake setups, but we all know these have no place in a hotrod.. I went rear steer on my car with the tie rod above the frame with the steering arms attached to the upper backing plate bolts... i hate the way it looks so i plan on converting to front steer after the summer.. too busy having fun to do it now..
Now remember I was striving to build a piece of crap. So don't expect anything real bitchin'. But here is a link to some picks of when I ut the front end together. You can read I was thinking the same way you are now. If you have any questions on parts I used I can get that info to you. DuckusCrapus
Opps....forgot to post the link....sorry. Here you go. http://groups.msn.com/TheWorldOfDuckusCrapus/tfcpage2.msnw DuckusCrapus
I've said it before. Don't make your tie rod your front bumper!! There are other ways to get it behind the axle. I know some big name T builders always do this . It doesn't make it safe or right.
we still put our steering arms forward on the gassers we build and they drive perfect on and off the strip..we use vega cross steer with arms forward and center link and drag link paralell for 0 bump steer
If I recall, proper Ackerman means lines are drawn from the king pins through the tie rod ends to the center of the rear axle creating a "V" shape in the top view. Placing the tie rod in front of the axle changes this configuration which may or may not be obvious when driving the car due to a host of reasons including wheel base, front and rear tire and wheel size, CG, monment of inertia, polar moment, weight distribtion, steering design, steeing play, exhaust noise, (yup, exhaust noise) eagerness to accept "little things" of "less than optimum value of vehicle dynamics" and other "stuff". If you generate no adverse handling and braking concerns, go for it.
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