Cheap carbon leaves
Page 17
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CARBON-FIBRE leaf spring offering considerable weight lavings over a conventional metal spring will be shown at the lilotor Show in October.
The result of cooperation )etween Rubery Owen (Pres;ings and Fabrications) Ltd and 2ourtaulds, the spring is aimed Himarily at the original equip-nent manufacturers. As an approximate guide to the weight savings possible with the carbon-fibre spring, it is around one third the weight of a tapered leaf spring and one sixth the weight of a multileaf assembly.
A typical comparison made by Rubery Owen indicates a weight of 58kg (128 lb) for the multileaf spring and 22kg (48 lb) for a single tapered leaf.
Preliminary cost estimates suggest that the carbon-fibre spring will be about twice as expensive as the metal variety.
Both companies hope that the spring will generate enough positive interest from the chassis manufacturers to enable full-scale production to go ahead.