Rob, thanks for all your effort on Vsusp. Very impressive!
I've been using the Windows version of Wishbone for the last couple of months, and became interested in exploring Vsusp when this thread first appeared. I needed to change browsers, but got that done and Vsusp up and running.
I love Vsusp's graphical interface and its dynamic plots of multiple suspension settings. Making iterative runs using Wishbone and then plotting them is a huge PIA. Vsusp solves all of that
but as you pointed out is limited to 2D calculations.
Rob7 wrote:
Steering/toe: To make the program show steering properly, I'd have to add a third dimension to the steering knuckle and also have the steering axis in 3D. It seemed like too much bad hacking to try to do that in 2D. The closest I could get would probably be to show how the tie rod end moves laterally in comparison to the steering axis during bump/roll .. hmm
So here's a wild thought for a 3D version of Vsusp: First, since you've been away from the forum for awhile, you may not be aware that the original DOS version of McDermott's Wishbone program
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1438&start=105 has been rewritten in visual Basic 6 by
kf2qd and available here
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=11985 I believe Peter has made his VB source available as well. Wishbone's strength is in its proven 3D math package that works out steering inputs and effects, anti-dive/anti-squat calculations and all the rest of the "normal" double a-arm geometry computations. And it's push-button quick for single iterations. But its one bump/roll/steer iteration at a time followed by manual data recording and plotting.
So here's my thought. What if the updated Wishbone math package were to be extracted and used as a 3D geometry engine behind an evolution of Vsusp's graphical interface to provide iterative 3D calculations from Vsusp inputs?
While I'm sure this would raise architectural and other issues, it would save you having to recreate a 3D math package and could shorten the flow to a fully funcitonal 3D Vsusp.
Just thinkin'...
Meanwhile, keep up the great work on the 2D package. It looks like a fantastic tool. And thanks again for sharing.