paul cardy Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Interested to hear any opinions on the benefits of fitting a watts link kit to an S3 duratec . Will be used to compete in hilclimbs and some track days but would still be used on the road. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilg Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Here is how it works, here Locates the axle and controls undesirable movement that effect handling. Altogether a good thing for competition/ hillclimb and track. Wouldn't have thought you'd notice any difference pootling around on the road. Cheers Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Fox Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 The Watts linkage described in the Wiki link controls the lateral movement of the axle and is commonly seen in Gp 4 Escorts etc. I don't think that this can work with an A frame. The Watts linksge often referred to in Caterham speak is usually the arrangement of radius arms controlling the for/aft movement of the de-dion tube. Hope this helps, I know it doesn't answer the original question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myothercarsa2cv Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 As I understand it, the Watts link set up allows the rear axle to move up and down in a straight line rather than an arc, reducing the steering effect you get from the rear when you corner. That's good when you're on a bumpy lane and the car is bouncing about a fair bit, but on a track, the steering might be preferable. Personally, given that it's a lot of wedge for something that most do very well without, I wouldn't bother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 The Watts linkage as fitted to Caterhams helps to control longitudinal movement of the ends of the de-dion tube. This reduces rear wheel steer and helps the car to feel more planted on the road. With a single radius arm the DD tube prescribes an arc under suspension bump and rebound, when viewed from the side of the car. This causes the DD tube to twist and hence 'steer ' the rear wheels. A watts link effectively alters the length of the radius arm and thus allows the DD tube to move in a near-vertical line (at least over the majority of its travel). The wikipedia entry linked in the above post has a good animated diagram (imagine you are looking at the side of the car and the red dot is the DD tube), and the last paragraph refers to the Caterham application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 *redface*Beaten to it ! I recall that Reg Price (ex-Caterham designer who developed the original Watts Linkage) saying at the time that the ".....Superlights do not need to lift for the Bomb Hole (at Snetterton) ... " Not sure how true that is (or was) but the modification was intended to improve the handling under racing conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Richard Price Posted March 22, 2011 Area Representative Share Posted March 22, 2011 Paul, I think that you'll find that most of the quickest Caterham hillclimb cars use the normal trailing arms, not watts linkage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Locust Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I think that you'll find that most of the quickest Caterham hillclimb cars use the normal trailing arms, not watts linkage. Richard, is that because the quickest hillclimb drivers like the car borderline unstable The ability to ride one wheel bumps such as an uneven gutter on a 'B' road surface without rear steer is a noticeable difference on a Watts linked rear suspension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Durrant Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I removed the Watts linkage from my R500 (K), replaced it with standard radius arms and it improved the handling on hillclimb and sprint venues. I have not noticed any real diffference on the road Edited by - Mark Durrant on 22 Mar 2011 13:29:39 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative bluenose Posted March 22, 2011 Area Representative Share Posted March 22, 2011 Gary May recommended to me that to improve my car on track that I should think about removing the watts linkage and fitting radius arms. He reckoned it would turn in better, rear wheel steer apparently I never bothered as I would have thought it was only really worth it if I competed in competitions/races where every modification makes a difference to you being either at the front of the grid or trailing at the back. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul cardy Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 Guys Thanks for your information all opinions greatly recived as always. regards Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myothercarsa2cv Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 What position are your trailing arms in at the moment? As an aside... I wonder why the old style super long arms were changed in favour of the short ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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