My school is building our second car, out first one uses a rack and pinion. But I want to use a dual lever system, my only problem is I can't find the spindle axle, mainly since instead of connecting to one steering rod it connects to two, does anyone know where I can find one?
I have been pleasantly surprised by how direct and responsive dual lever steering is. The basic parts should be easy to build but I suspect the magic is getting the geometry correct. We are running the Blue Sky version. Here is the link: http://www.blueskydsn.com/parts2.html
At Willamette High we make our own spindles or "C" brackets so I don't know where to buy them. You might contact Kirk at Shift EV/Destiny Parts in Albany OR as he has, or can get nearly anything.
To go from a steering wheel system like rack and pinon or go cart style all you need to do is weld on a 4 to 6" piece of 1" X 1/2" 1/8" wall channel (or other strong light metal to the bottom of the normal "C" bracket which is fairly easy. These we drill a 3/8" hole in and weld a 3/8" bolt in place to hold a 'tie rod' or rod end bearings. You can see a graphic drawing of this on page 18 of the EA handbook. The alignment of these are not critical just be sure that the new parts you add are the same length and are at a height so that the tie rod and the two steering arm rods will not interfere with each other as you move the steering from side to side.
The longer you make these added pieces the less effort it take to turn but the more you have to move your hands. I like mine about 6" for the king pin bolt to the tie rod end. I then make my two actual steering handles so they have about 5-6" below the pivot point and about 10-12" above the pivot point. This way if you don't want to move your arms much you can grip it lower but it you don't have much muscle or don't want a workout you can move your hands up. I also put a slight bend in my steering handles so they tip into the car/****pit area some. This way my hands can grip it at a more natural angle and the car can be a little narrower and still have room for your hands....just leave enough room for the drivers body to get in and out easily.
I drive mine with my hands only on the steering levers and not on the brakes so my fingers are right below the brake lever. This way if I need to slow down or do an emergency stop I can easily and quickly reach for my brakes that are right above my hands but I don't tap them when not needed when coming into a corner or up on traffic which most kids tend to do.
To agree with ProEV I really like my duel lever and most of my kids love it once they have driven it. It is easier to get out of tight spots and more positive and responsive than the best rack and pinion steering system that we have ever built (again we make our own). I drive sports cars and love to corner and of course am used to a steering wheel but nearly all of the electrathon cars I have driven have under-steer or over-steer and they often change some from race to race as things get bumped and tire pressure changes etc. But the dual handle system seems not to have that problem, probably because it is not something like you normally drive and if you tell it where to go it goes that way and is very easy to steer out of skids and drifting on tight corners with other cars coming your direction.
If you want to contact me via email and give me your email I can take a picture of some of our cars steering with the two handled system and send them to you.
