Suspension Seminar at Munk's Motors - Mar 26, 2005
By Don Kleist
Sessions that get deeply into how Porsches and other cars are designed for
specific driving conditions appeal to the gearheads in our club. And the seminar
on Porsche suspensions presented by Dave Laing of Munk’s Motors on March 26
was no exception. About two dozen such gearheads from SEM/PCA, and a few
from the Rally Sport region, got an in-depth discussion of how Porsche
suspensions have evolved from the early 911s, through the current water-
cooled 911s and Boxsters.
Dave began the seminar with a general discussion of suspension design and the
dynamic changes that occur during actual driving. He used a model of a front
strut suspension member and wheels and tires to illustrate his points. He
showed how camber and toe in change as the weight on a suspension member
changes because of accelerating, stopping, and cornering.
Also during this part of the seminar he explained how different manufacturers
develop suspension designs that work with the particular type of ride dynamics
they build into their cars.
The last part of this session covered the differences in suspension setup for
street use, occasional track use, and all-out racing.
The discussions next turned to specific examples of Porsche suspensions. Up on
racks were an early 911, a later air cooled 911, and a 944. Dave used these
three cars to illustrate the points he had discussed earlier and to show how
Porsche designs evolved.
This session was followed buy pizza and chicken fingers that fed the many
hungry participants. This break came as the weatherman greeted those in
attendance with a fine sunny and warm spring day. This afforded all a chance
to get a close up view of the many fine Porsches parked in Munk’s parking lot.
They also got a chance to see a new Lotus Elise driven in by Mike Melville. Who
could miss this bright yellow beauty?
After the lunch break Dave used a Boxster to illustrate current Porsche
suspension design and a 928 to illustrate Porsche’s most complex suspension
design for a production car.
All in attendance came away with a better understanding of why the
suspension systems in our cars are designed the way they are. We often take
for granted these components and do not appreciate their complexity.
Dave will present other seminars on various aspects of car design. If you are at
all interested in how your car works and why it works the way it does, I
encourage you to attend these seminars. I guarantee that you will learn lots.
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