Huh?fastandfurryous wrote:Although Range-rover front suspension actually only has a travel of 8", you would run in to problems with Sphere-type suspension, as you may not have enough travel in terms of sphere volume, and end up having to use uktra-rare 700cc spheres from the rear of a CX estate or something similarly silly. After all, although the front suspension travel of the CX is measured in miles, but you can't use all of that travel at once: the volume of fluid in the cylinder is way more than is available from the sphere, thus the sphere would top out before the physical suspension.
What makes you think you "cant use all of that travel at once" ? You're completely back to front about that.
The volume of fluid in the cylinder is not whats important, its simply the cc displacement which is important, just like an engine, bore size (which is 35mm on a CX if I remember right) times stroke, which is approximately 60 - 70mm, even though the total suspension travel is approx 200mm - don't forget about the large amount of upper arm leverage on the CX, which is at least 3 to 1.
The displacement in the cylinder is NOT more than the capacity of the sphere, in fact nowhere near it. If we take the 35mm and 70mm figures to be accurate, thats 67cc displacement - compare that to the 500cc capacity of CX front spheres, and thats only 13% of the sphere capacity.
Even just thinking about it without calculating it, there is no way what you say could be true - otherwise the suspension wouldn't even be able to move over its full travel even for a single load, let alone be able to move over its full travel with a variety of loads.
The fact that the total oil displacement of the cylinder is SMALL relative to the total capacity of the sphere for full suspension travel is exactly what makes Citroen suspension so linear, (stiffness vs travel) and what gives it such a wide useful operating load range while still achieving full travel.
No, if a range rover can only travel 8" then 500cc CX sized spheres would be MORE than ample, however the cylinders themselves might need a different length to diameter ratio depending on the mechanical design of the suspension, and you might need a slightly higher system operating pressure (and gas pressure) to cope with the higher average and maximum loads.
Other than that though, it would be quite doable, the only challenge would be physically coupling the suspension cylinders to the suspension arms/axles in a suitable way...
Regards,
Simon