Re: ABS 'bugs'

[Eliot Lim <eliot@u.washington.edu>]

On 12 Dec 1994 glen.powell@smc.com wrote:

>   Eliot,
>   Into which category would you put something like a 1975 K5 Blazer with
>   the full-time 4WD?
>   It's a 350 V8, 350 Turbo-hydramatic, the transfer case has low-locked,
>   low, neutral, high and
>   high locked and has no locking hubs? Does this puppy have a center diff
>   or some kind of VC?

sounds like it does have a center diff with manual locking a la the
first generation quattros.  the clue is the "low-locked" and "high
locked" settings.  "neutral" sounds like front drive disengaged.
this is probably a hybrid full time/part time system.

the big question that one should consider is how the suspension
is set up for this beast?

is it set up for rwd, full time 4wd (w/ center diff free) or full
time 4wd with center diff locked?

i'd guess that they would set it up for the worst case which is 4wd
with center diff locked.. now, as a racer you know that a locked
center diff leads to oversteering tendencies, so to setup such a rig
so as to not get joe blow into trouble, a lot of understeer is dialed
into the front in the form of positive camber.

so the rig may be somewhat neutral with 4wd and center diff locked but
in the other modes it may be an understeering pig.  this is my biggest
objection to part time manually engaging systems, because the term
"optimum suspension setup" is an oxymoron.  setup for one mode is
disaster for the other.  the earlier part time manually engaging
subarus were like that, so are a lot of these macho trucks... total
sissies when it comes to anything other than a perfect straight line.


eliot