Upright mounted pushrod: the effects on racecar handling dynamics

This work analyzes a double wishbone type front suspension using a pushrod/rocker system to connect the chassis directly to the upright, linking the steering to the spring movement, and the related impact on racecar handling dynamics. The system has been used in the last 15 years in open wheel racing but yet no scientific analysis was done. Up to now its behaviour was analyzed using extensive testing. In this work this particular suspension design is analyzed using an analytical steady-state vehicle model, which includes previously calculated suspension derivatives and a full vehicle Multibody System (MBS) model to validate the theoretical approach. The final results are the suspension design guidelines.