159:
127:
215:
22:
192:
206:. Although wood was widely used for axles, owing to its lightness, it could not easily be shaped with the sharp curves required to drop an axle. Shaping such an axle by sawing or cutting would place an area of cross-grain across the upright part and would rapidly break.
233:
became almost universal, so as to lower the mass of their heavy front-mounted engines, improving stability when cornering. Rear axles were also beam axles, but needed to remain straight as they contained the
267:, some axles were also prepared for racing by being mounted above the leafsprings, rather than below, although this was more common for straight rear axles than dropped front axles.
148:
of the bodywork is lowered relative to the wheels, which improves stability; secondly the wheels may be of larger diameter, giving a smoother ride over a rough surface.
296:
113:
144:
is the axle of a vehicle that is bent upwards towards the ends, i.e. the centre is 'dropped'. This gives two advantages: the
47:
94:
43:
66:
32:
73:
188:, where a dropped axle was used to give a low load bed for easy loading of churns or similar unstable liquid cargo.
51:
36:
80:
253:
famously used a round bar for their axles, with the spring passing through holes within it and avoiding the
62:
181:
158:
264:
145:
280:
131:
87:
168:
Their introduction represents one of the safety improvements from the high and unstable
258:
177:
126:
290:
246:
214:
203:
173:
191:
279:, geared hubs, used for the opposite effect to a dropped axle, so as to increase
245:
sections, so forging their upswept ends was a simple addition. To avoid creating
276:
226:
21:
195:
185:
235:
230:
242:
219:
169:
250:
254:
164:
Note that the weight of the springs has turned the axle upside down.
213:
190:
157:
125:
263:
found so ungainly. For further lowering, at the cost of reduced
152:
249:, the drop was formed as smooth curves, not as sharp corners.
15:
8:
50:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
155:: light two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicles.
114:Learn how and when to remove this message
180:. Their ultimate development was in the
7:
48:adding citations to reliable sources
297:Automotive suspension technologies
202:Dropped axles were made of forged
151:Dropped axles were first used for
137:Axle bent by design, for stability
14:
225:As cars increased in speed after
20:
241:Axles were made of drop-forged
162:Cart wheels with dropped axle.
130:Dropped axle on the front of a
1:
229:, the use of a dropped front
176:to the lower and more stable
198:, c. 1904, with dropped axle
313:
218:Dropped front axle of a
283:for off-road vehicles.
222:
199:
165:
134:
217:
194:
161:
129:
44:improve this article
223:
200:
166:
135:
265:suspension travel
146:centre of gravity
124:
123:
116:
98:
304:
281:ground clearance
119:
112:
108:
105:
99:
97:
56:
24:
16:
312:
311:
307:
306:
305:
303:
302:
301:
287:
286:
273:
212:
163:
138:
132:Bugatti Type 37
120:
109:
103:
100:
57:
55:
41:
25:
12:
11:
5:
310:
308:
300:
299:
289:
288:
285:
284:
272:
269:
211:
208:
178:governess cart
136:
122:
121:
63:"Dropped axle"
28:
26:
19:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
309:
298:
295:
294:
292:
282:
278:
275:
274:
270:
268:
266:
262:
261:
256:
252:
248:
247:stress risers
244:
239:
237:
232:
228:
221:
216:
209:
207:
205:
197:
193:
189:
187:
183:
179:
175:
171:
160:
156:
154:
149:
147:
143:
133:
128:
118:
115:
107:
96:
93:
89:
86:
82:
79:
75:
72:
68:
65: –
64:
60:
59:Find sources:
53:
49:
45:
39:
38:
34:
29:This article
27:
23:
18:
17:
259:
240:
224:
204:wrought iron
201:
174:jaunting car
167:
150:
142:dropped axle
141:
139:
110:
101:
91:
84:
77:
70:
58:
42:Please help
30:
277:Portal axle
227:World War I
236:halfshafts
196:Milk float
186:milk float
74:newspapers
260:il patron
231:beam axle
104:June 2018
31:does not
291:Category
271:See also
243:H girder
220:T bucket
170:dog cart
255:U bolts
251:Bugatti
88:scholar
52:removed
37:sources
90:
83:
76:
69:
61:
257:that
182:float
153:carts
95:JSTOR
81:books
210:Cars
67:news
35:any
33:cite
184:or
172:or
46:by
293::
238:.
140:A
117:)
111:(
106:)
102:(
92:·
85:·
78:·
71:·
54:.
40:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.