Steer Axis
You need the steer axis of a suspension to compute suspension characteristics such as caster angle, kingpin inclination, scrub radius, and caster moment arm.
When you create a suspension template in Adams Car, you must select the method that Adams Car will use to compute the steer axis, and provide the necessary input information. You can use two methods to calculate suspension steer axes:
■Geometric - Adams Car calculates the steer axis by passing a line through the points you selected in the
Coordinate Reference text boxes. The
Kingpin Location will be set to the I Coordinate Reference, so be sure to choose a location on the wheel spin axis.
■Instant axis - Adams Car calculates the steer axis as the instant axis of rotation of the wheel carrier parts. To calculate the steer axis, in physical terms, Adams Car first locks the spring travel and applies incremental steering torque or force. Then, from the resulting translation and rotation of the wheel carrier part, it is able to calculate the instant axis of rotation for each wheel. The instant axis of rotation corresponds to the steer axis.