Thread: "Hiper Mcpherson suspension"

Suspension gurus, I've been reading about this new Buick suspension, and it's somewhat a similar principle to the Ford RevoKnuckle that they have in the Ford Focus RS in Europe. It is basically a modification to the McPherson suspension.
I want to know, how effective is it and if and how can we retrofit something like this to our cars, Check it out:

And link w/ video:
Quick Spin: 2010 Buick LaCrosse CXS gets HiPer [w/video] — Autoblog

Without studying in detail, this sounds like a big win for countering the changes in suspension geometry (positive cambering, bump steer, etc) we have on our comparatively crude McStrut cars.

Good on GM. I hope it appears on other GM offerings, and fast. By using existing hardpoints, it seems reasonably cheap to adapt to other models.

Maybe someone really clever could take the expensive parts - GM yoke castings, ball-joint hardpoints, etc. - and fabricate compatible tubular lower control arms and strut body mounting "ears" to mate them to our cars. Dreaming too big?

In depth: Ford's RevoKnuckle suspension and Quaife LSD for the Focus RS - MotorAuthority


I want a focus RS finally a solution for fwd tq steer coming to the masses

I like those ideas, very clever!

As for retrofitting it onto our cars, I don't think we'd have the space without modifying the stock knuckle to directly accept a balljoint in the top.

It's all just a matter of time and money.

looks very much like, on both applications, they're taking advantage of the bonuses of A-Arm/double wishbone suspension, and hybrid engineering them to work wit mac strut applications. which is definitely a good thing.

While I love the idea of totally modifying/transforming our suspensions, very few folks would ever contemplate actually doing this.

Mike K moved the pickup/mount points in order to (drop the car and) maintain the proper suspension geometry on one of his projects. Said it would outhandle a stock Evo. Yet, I have not seen anybody (mechanically inclined) follow his lead. This looks even more (way more) complicated.

Theoretically, how much better would this be than....say.....properly set-up CSK/GC coilovers with all the necessary trimmings (bushings, braces, etc..)? Would it be drastically better?

I think if we can implement something which corrects our suspension geometry, it'll get rid of the (in my opinion) ONLY inherent flaw in our cars. (besides a flexy chassis which can be corrected to an extent. )

So if this does drastically change camber angles and bump steer issues, I'd say it's worth it!

What we would need up front:

• HiPer knuckle - off-the-shelf GM cast piece
• Strut bodies - fabricate new mounting ears
• Brakes - caliper adaptor brackets
• Hubs - custom machined to mate stock axle outer CV with donor knuckle's bearings (if axle lengths work out right), or whole custom axle/hub combo (Driveshaftshop, etc.).
• Lower control arms - custom
  

This assumes everything would be small enough to be packaged in the much smaller Sentra, and fit under wheels we could use. Capable maths would need to be employed to get the geometry right, too.

IF everything could fit in the wheel well, nothing would be outlandish to fabricate. For our cars, Shigspeed has made custom strut bodies, aftermarket brake kits exist, Driveshaftshop makes custom hubs, and custom lower control arms exist. Just proof each step can be done.

Raw material and part costs for redoing the front suspension probably wouldn't outpace the car's value by too much, and then you'd have a car that could handle on par with a 20-year-old Civic DX. Just add a ton of calculations and labor, and you're there.

Someone hit the Easy Button and do this.

Ha! Well said!