Suspension theories!!!

lets take a look at suspension theories

So what you see here is a picture of a lever suspension system setup included on the new D-like or

also commonly known as a VX suspension system named by WUN on there take of an existing theory of leverage. Wrap-Up Next designed a adjustable coupled system, including the arm+knuckle as one, Active Hobby, Tamiya designed stand alone knuckles, but all of them incorporate a form of the lever suspension system. Another setup that has some similar theories through different techniques but has also been of a massive debate is the BAGI-SUSPENSION system, but we'll get to that later.

After hours or Googling and reading, and research this is what i've come up with .. 

So what is lever suspension?

Lever suspension is a system that incorporates the theory of a LOW LEVERAGE RATIO.

"lever ratio is a measurement between the relationship of wheel travel to shock stroke"

So in RC its the movement of the rear knuckle to shock stroke and the VX system alloys us to create this movement of measurement.

"This effectively creates a linkage system (cantilever) with no additional moving parts. The result is a reactive and exponential dampening geometry to enhance control and drivability."
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                   -Tamiya

Now lets just take a look at the picture above..

The measurement of the lever ratio is calculated by dividing the movement of the wheel by the movement of the shock. Lets just say if the wheel had 10mm of travel and the shock stroke had 2mm of travel, the ratio would be 5:1 lever ratio(10/2 = 5), lets just say for now that that is a high lever ratio. Now this time lets just imagine that if the movement of the wheel travels at 10mm again, but the movement of the shock stroke travels a similar 10mm then the lever ratio would then be 1:1 a LOW LEVER RATIO (10/10 = 1).

 

The D-like ReR HYRBID rear suspension, WUN VX system and Active Hobby rear knuckles all incorporate this LOW LEVER RATIO design, so now lets put in perspective the movement of the RC car, as the rear slides around left to right and lets just say the chassis or knuckles are travelling 1mm then the damper stroke is also travelling 1mm. The distance the knuckle travels is the same for the damper.

So what does this all mean? it means that its a finer tuning technique of exerting force on the damper stroke, the LOWER LEVER RATIO is slowing the speed of travel of the shock shaft, but is also making the shock work more, it also means the you can use a very light oil with super soft springs in the rear for a soft plush ride in the rear but with slow piston movement, i've also been told that at times even with soft springs the suspension can still feel stiff. All of this leads to the increased traction and stability in the rear and better speeds when entering and exiting corners. 

so now this leads me to BAGI-SUSPENSION, Yamada uses a different technique on lever ratio's but the theories are fairly similar, the effect of using either a VX suspension system or bagi are both the same, hence why some may consider them to be the same thing, it's tuning or changing the exerting force put on the dampers through a leverage ratio. 

So the question is advantageous or not? ether way i say try them all for your self, i have and i've had great results with either or, at the end of the day neither one is more superior than the other so trying it or not trying doesn't make your car any better than the next, but tuning your car for everything to work in unisen does matter with or without special suspension techniques. For me i personally enjoy the VX style.

The video below shows how soft my suspension is in the rear and shows the travel of the dampers as the knuckles move.