so who's heard of this???

Never heard of that exact item, but it looks like it would add lots of weight, and be slow to respond
 
It's only a matter of time before a computer will control the clutches. In theory, it would have a lot of performance potential.
 
that and electronic "active" suspensions. and I dont mean the system like what cat used to have, I mean like taking measurements of speed, angle of aproach, etc to make the suspension adjust instantly to conditions :) lotus is working on such systems :)
 
lotus has had active suspensions in production since 1983 man

I talked to a guy from the original design team a couple months ago, lotta funny stories, they thought the original "active suspension" system, could be an add-on to an esprit and cost roughly $40K extra, turns out they where off by a zero, the early models cost $400K each, needless to say, not cost effective.

also stories about him in the passenger seat of the cars with race drivers telling him what to change as they're hot-lapping the track.
 
yeah, I am talking about a COMPLETELY different than what was done then. it uses as many calculations per second as an efi system, to effectively drop the valving as it moves OVER the bump! not a cornering thing as much as a ride comfort thing, but handling would be improved as well. it measures how fast you are going, how fast the suspension is rising and can drop the valving to near zero as it goes over the bump and then stiffen it as they finish crossing it. this would mean that you could effectively run over a speed bump at 80 mph and never feel a thing! imagine that on a sled.... no more than one suspension for all sleds! no more need to have the big bump setup, the cruiser setup, etc. think that is different than what they have had in the past...
 
yeah, thats what I said when I heard about it! went for an end of the season ride with my engineer friend with the dyno company :) he is smart and really knows about a LOT of goings on.
 
things have sure changed alot, that same guy that was telling me about the lotus active suspension gave a lecture about "formula racing BC" the BC meaning before computers, and he basicly brought up the idea's of what revolutionary change has been brought about since race teams have had access to the computational power to simulate these things. and in the last 10 years or so, the computational power to real-time adjust critical systems to changes. it's absolutly wild, show a formula racer of 50 years ago the cars we have running around the tracks today and he wouldn't even believe it was possible.
 
very true....hell, look at sleds in just ten years! same power and MORE reliable :) and suspensions arent even comparable!
 
Sorry guys - but this is the exact same thing that I have talked about for two years now. Active clutching in a snowmobile! This looks like what they are doing finally. Also, as far as suspensions go, semi active is where it is at. I just got back from a workshop on semi active dampening, as related to suspenions, that changes everything from the standard shocks. It is not anything new as the corvette and the caddillac uses the same technology in their shocks. I will let you guess as to what it is.

Da Fin :WayCool:
 
Very interesting - hope to learn more about it soon. Should result in less power loss and heat in the transmission and much improved performance. Present systems force tuners to settle with a lot of compromises. The electronics should match clutch operation to engine RPM and power much better than is possible now. Honda has an auto with continuously variable transmission that is electronically actuated - uses a flexible steel belt.
I believe several companies have been working on and testing active suspensions for quite a few years, and some systems are in use.
 
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Ask Turk about our discussion regarding active clutching! Imagine, being able to control/setup your clutches with a few strokes of the keyboard instead of changing weights, springs etc... It is only a matter of time. I just wish I was motivated enough to move forward with it a few years ago! I have been working on it for AWD automotive clutches for quite a few years now.

As far as the semi active dampening goes, I will let the secret out. It is Magnetorehological Fluid based shocks. It allows the full range from theoretical force to viscosity based orfice dampening. Not fully active but semi active which is pretty good right now. There is some debate as to what active vs semi active means. Fully active dampening is still really out there right now as far as technology goes. It would require that you sense a bump before you actually hit the bump. Semi active is good enough if you can respond fast enough, which MR fluid does (<1 ms). It does come into play as regards to a full vehicle dynamics setup is concerned but is not really considered fully active.

Da Fin ;)!
 
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