"The Tiger Ackerman Angle"
An Article by Larry Paulick
April, 2002
Preface: Larry Paulick expounds on the Tiger Ackerman Angle situation and some methods of alleviating the problems associated with that design. He has installed a commercial kit, as well, and discusses the instal at ion. This well illustrated article is the first I have seen that covers so many of the practical details.
Editor
Page 1
The Problem
There has been much written about the dreaded Ackerman Angle Problem on the Tiger. Simply put, if you turn left, then the inside wheel, the left wheel, is suppose to have a smaller turning radius than the outside, or right wheel. On the Tiger, the turning radius were reversed, i.e. the inside wheel had a larger turning radius (26 degrees & 5 minutes), that the outside wheel (30 degrees & 15 minutes), at full lock.
When the Tiger was developed, the placement of the rack and pinion, and other steering parts, conflicted with other parts of the car, most notably the crank pulley, and the placement of these steering parts resulting in the Ackerman problem.
This resulted in the tire scrubbing in turns, which was particularly pronounced, when you had the steering wheel at full turn, and backed up. The steering wheel would shutter in protest, the tires would scrub, and worst, the stress on the suspension, would take its tole on the lower fulcrum pin on the a arm.
Results of this torture to the suspension would lead to a crack in the lower fulcrum pin, at the point of transition from the small diameter to larger diameter. The a arm would then be loose, and the wheel collapse, and an accident could, and often would occur.
Not good.
The Solution(s)
(This Section, on this page, was contributed by the EDITOR. Please direct any comment to him.
Doane Spencer, who was successfully racing the New Tiger in 1965, recognized the problem, and had a fix. He essentially, reversed (flipped) the brake rotors on the hub, and used a different than stock steering arm, that put the tie rod end outboard further.
Photographer: Doane Spencer
Doane Spencer's Ackerman Change, Full Suspension
This photograph was received by e-mail, and believed to be the work of the designer, Doane Spencer.
If this is NOT correct, would the original photographer please contact the EDITOR to arrange for proper accreditation.
Photographer: Doane Spencer
Doane Spencer's Ackerman Change, Back View
This photograph was received by e-mail, and believed to be the work of the designer, Doane Spencer.
If this is NOT correct, would the original photographer please contact the EDITOR to arrange for proper accreditation.
Photographer: Doane Spencer
Doane Spencer's Ackerman Change, Front View
This photograph was received by e-mail, and believed to be the work of the designer, Doane Spencer.
If this is NOT correct, would the original photographer please contact the EDITOR to arrange for proper accreditation.
Please note that these pictures look NOTHING like the disc/hub pictures in the Rootes Workshop Manual, in which it would appear that "flipping" the rotor is physically impossible without severe interference with the inside of the rotor and the hub. This is caused by the fact that the picture in the Workshop Manual in NOT correct, and should not be used as a reference! See Below:
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