Subject: Continental motor mount mystery.
From: ACRE NL
Date: 8/29/2002, 9:59 PM


 Interesting. Can anybody tell me where the lateral support for the engine
 is coming from? I have no doubt what so ever that this design works.
 Clue: extremely subtle. Perhaps even Steve did not understand
 why it works.

 Paul Lamar

Paul,
Assuming the support points for the engine (marked 36 in the drawing) are
rubber bushed, I would hazard that the triangulation of the engine being
between the 4 points results in it acting like a stiffening member, i.e. for
the engine front to move sideways (say 1"), the diagonal on one direction has
to shorten 1.4" and on the other lengthen by 1.4", in addition to the bending
load on the support members. The back end of the engine is cross braced, and
the vertical bracingprevents the frame from twisting up.

Bill Schertz
KIS Cruiser #4045

Getting very warm there Bill.

Paul Lamar

Bill came closest to how it works.

The side load on the engine CG causes a moment (a torque) and a lateral shear
load around the pivot point which happens to be one of the rear rubber bushings.
As Bill mentioned above.

The moment is reacted by all four rubber bushing but the lateral shear load
is reacted successfully only by the two rear rubber bushings.
The front two rubber bushings cannot react the shear load as the tubes
would merely bend.

This puts a minor bending load on the two tubes that hold the rubber bushings.
However the the length of the tubes are so short in this area that the bending
load is minor. Notice the gussets in this area of the mount.

Paul Lamar

Aren't you just saying that the motor supplies the
triangulation?

Like I said: The motor. And you can bet Steve Whitman knew
what he was doing.

Charlie England

Perhaps but the question is; how does it supply the triangulation? 

Paul Lamar
 
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