[dregsz]

There is a thread on IRS vs Live axle on Camaroz28.com asking why the IRS Ccobras suck.
I thought they did well in AI but don't really remember.

Does anyone have info on the IRS Cobras vs solid axle?

http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread....583#post4517583

Evan

[StanIROCZ]

I have some 3rd hand data to add to this.

At my previous employer I worked with a guy that wrote a book on chassis engineering and I asked him this exact question. He didn't do the testing first hand, but someone that he knew in the Trans Am series did what seemed to be a pretty fare test and found that the beam axle was consistantly 1-2 seconds faster on a road course. I think he said that the beam axle car was 100 lbs heavier (is a beam axle package heavier? If not it was the other way around), and I can't remember if they added weight to the IRS car to make it equal or not.

Of course I said "why?" He thought it was because of reduced wheel deflections (camber and toe) and the increased antisquat that you can get with a beam axle suspension allowed the car to put the power down sooner coming out of the corners. I didn't know this, but evidently you can't get as much antisquat with an independent.