There are many types of suspension for vehicles that are also used in RC cars. One such suspension is the cantilever suspension. You’ve seen many pro RC car racers perform amazing and crediting cantilever suspension.
Which also convinced you to change your RC car’s suspension system to a cantilever one.
So, what are the cantilever suspension pros and cons you should consider?
The most valuable pros of cantilever suspension are that the height and compression rate is adjustable. You can articulate this suspension in many ways. Not to mention the low shock movement. The cons to consider are its squishy nature, chassis roll, lateral stability loss, and over-flex problem.
That was the gist. We’ll dive into more details about the pros and cons. Keep reading through the article to see if you should switch to a cantilever suspension.
How Does Cantilever Suspension Work
The cantilever is a beam that is dispersed along the unsupported area and supported at one end. While carrying a load in the other area.
Such a beam experiences tensile stress in the upper half of its thickness. Tensile stress is the stress that’s built up when you try to stretch something. Which tends to stretch the fibers, and compressive stress in the lower half. This tends to crush them.
Compressive stress is the built-up stress when you try to squeeze something. The role of cantilever suspension is to dampen the stress of the cars on the road.
Pros of Cantilever Suspension
The cantilever suspension does sound exciting. And it has a few benefits –
Tons of Articulation
An advantage of Cantilever suspension that all RC car fanatics love is the articulation. The suspension gives really good articulation.
It means that the movements are pretty well because of the articulation of the cantilever suspension. It’s articulated to an extent of 45-60 degrees.
The cantilever suspension offers a good range of bars, spring rates, hop-up shocks, and heights.
Thanks to the articulation range, cantilever suspension can run on a thick shock oil. If you make the ratio 2:1, the movement of the suspension will be twice faster.
More Wheel Travel with Little Shock Movement
As discussed in the previous section, the ratio of the push rod and the shock spring is 2:1. When the wheel moves up 1”, the rod compresses and 1 ⅝’’.
So where’s the benefit? Well, the benefit is that when the car is running over a bumpy surface, the wheel incurs shock. The shock spring and the push-rod absorbs the shock. Hence the shock doesn’t travel through the engine and motor.
And the wheel can travel more distance on the bumpy road. Because the shock is absorbed, the car doesn’t take time to absorb the shock. And the wheel can travel more distance.
Very Adjustable Ride Height, Compression Rate
One of the main reasons why you should choose cantilever suspension is the adjustable height.
You can easily adjust the car’s height by unscrewing some nuts. The nuts are the right threat nuts and left thread nuts. By doing so, much of the geometry of the suspension will remain unchanged.
This leads us to the adjustment of the camber on the wheel. Which is fairly easy to do with rod end. You can easily adjust the wheels thanks to the cantilever suspension.
Cons of Cantilever Suspension
Like any other gear, cantilever suspension also has its downsides –
Loss of Lateral Stability
Cantilever suspension makes the RC car lose its lateral stability. What it means is that the car will be less in control of the driver. And there’ll be a higher chance for the car to roll over.
Basically a total imbalance of the car. The driving experience of the car will also be unstable.
So with the cantilever suspension of your RC crawler and cars, you’ll experience more imbalance performance. Also lowered stability and more tendency for the car to roll over while running on bumpy roads.
You’ll also face difficulty in running your RC car through a curve.
Chassis Roll
With cantilever suspension, the possibility of chassis roll will be higher. Chassis roll is the tendency of your car to roll over during high-speed maneuvers. Or during sharp turns, the car has a higher possibility to turn over.
Because the cantilever suspension has lower lateral stability, the car takes high-speed turns. Then one wheel faces more compression in the spring roll than the other. Which creates an imbalance.
As a result, the car has an increased possibility of chassis roll. And the lower possibility of chassis rolls, the better. Hence, it’s better to opt for a normal suspension.
Over Flex Problems
Cantilever suspension tends to have more flex. This results in an imbalance of the car when running on the road. Over-flexing will increase the possibility of the car losing balance when running over a bumpy road.
Axle Steer
Axle steer allows the wheel to turn according to the travel of the car. In cantilever suspension, it is a problem. The axle steer turns the wheel more than usual. As a result, the driver loses control over the car more than it’s supposed to.
Squishy Characteristics
The wheel of RC cars with cantilever suspension is squishy. Also, the mechanism of a cantilever suspension uses air to its advantage. This adds to the car’s build of a squishy characteristic. You’ll feel that the car is losing its stability.
This also puts the RC car at a disadvantage.
What Should I Do?
It’s time for the final verdict, should you be switching to cantilever suspension?
Because of the low center of gravity and high chassis roll, cantilever suspension is suitable for racing RC cars.
So if you’re not racing with your RC car, don’t change your suspension system. Because the Disadvantages we discussed are the advantages of racing cars.
FAQ’s
Q: What Is Cantilever Suspension?
Ans: The comfortable-riding, space-saving solution is a suspension in the cantilever design. You can increase suspension travel and install the suspension parts practically anywhere you want. This is by adding a pivot point or points. But a single pivot tends to be simpler and move more freely.
Q: What Is Better Between Push Rod And Pull Rod Suspension?
Ans: The push rod is a better choice between the two for better suspension performance. The push rod is equipped with an aero advantage. A push rod allows for higher-speed stability. It also enables body roll on a lower level. The gravity center of the vehicle also becomes much lower.
Q: What Are The Benefits Of A Cantilever Suspension?
Ans: Cantilever-type suspension is a solution that saves space. It is plush riding which means it uses air to its advantage. You can introduce a pivot point that will make movements easier and freer. The pivot can be installed between the axle, chassis, and airbag and gain more suspension travel.
Ending Note
That concludes the discussion on cantilever suspension pros and cons. Hopefully, the article will help you decide whether you should opt for a cantilever suspension or not.
Bonus tip, opt for push rod suspension if you don’t intend to race with your RC car.
That’s all, best of luck!
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