Hello, everybody. I am super excited to be here. I have no formal education, but I have always felt that I have a mind for and a passion for engineering. This is my first post I'm 35 and I really want to be a part of building things that haven't been done before.
I've been in to cars, specially lowriders since I was 10 years old and my mom took me to watch Training Day in theaters and that movie just blew my mind. Especially Denzel Washington's Black 1979 Monte Carlo with hydraulics.
Over the years I've installed several hydraulic suspensions in various cars I've owned. Each system more and more powerful and more and more suspension travel. Culminating in my 1985 Chevy Caprice Station Wagon, the rear hydraulic cylinders had an 18" stroke (which is massive) and the front wheels could hop off of the ground about 3 feet. With the large rear suspension travel, it could sit on 3 wheels with one of the front wheels also nearly 3' off the ground. These kinds of shenanigans require the frame to be reinforced from wheel to wheel.
I had so much fun in that car! But the current lowrider hydraulic status quo consists of 50 year old technology and is a study in compromises. They generally ride like a cement mixer with short springs that are very thick usually no shocks, at least in the front.
The lowrider pumps (powerpack) themselves are your typical 12v electric motor connected block/manifold on the other side is a gear hydraulic pump submerged in a hydraulic fluid reservoir. This is the kind of power pack you might find on a hydraulic lift at an auto garage (the ac variant) or you can see them on trucks' power lift gates. In order to get that explosive power when you hit the switch guys are running between 48-120vdc to these power packs. My station wagon was running 72v to the front and after hopping the front 3-4 times, you could fry an omelet on the motor. I cannot begin to count the amount of motors I've burnt up trying to learn how to hop.
Lowrider hydraulic systems use a single acting cylinder. A normally closed solenoid valve that flows from the hydraulic line to the reservoir is responsible for lowering the vehicle.
When it comes to lowering the hydraulic suspension is 1 detail that I find impressive. In the 60s-70s guys would snag hydraulic parts off of surplus WWII aircraft. The hydraulics for bomb bay doors, landing gear and the brake anti skid valve. The aircraft hydraulic pumps that are the traditional kind used by lowriders are far inferior to the aforementioned hydraulic pumps, they're more for looks. However, the solenoid valves (called dumps in lowrider lingo) from these aircraft are actually far superior to any industrial cartridge poppet valve on the market. If i could explain the design of the aircraft solenoid valves coveted by lowriders, they're very similar to a 3 way 2 position spool style solenoid directional valve. The spool is very fast acting (precise and allows for large flow). These valves are woth upwards of 1500 each, if you can find them. Aside from looking cool, they're the most accurate solenoids where you can have the most precise control of the lowering process while still having the ability to flow a lot of fluid (typically 1/2" ports). I think a spool design and it's internal balance offers the fast action and percise control essential for hopping.
There's no innovation in this industry. All the products are the same as when I purchased my first kit at age 16 in 2006. The first thing that's got to change is the motor. Running a motor intended for 12v off of 10 batteries in a series is ridiculous. They get away with it because you only have to engage the pump for a millisecond and the front is fully extended. By the way, for the competitive systems, people usually have the front very fast acting and the rear is more about long suspension travel at a substantially lower speed.
My first thought was to massively upgrade the motor size. The motors in a lowrider power pack are gener
I've been in to cars, specially lowriders since I was 10 years old and my mom took me to watch Training Day in theaters and that movie just blew my mind. Especially Denzel Washington's Black 1979 Monte Carlo with hydraulics.
Over the years I've installed several hydraulic suspensions in various cars I've owned. Each system more and more powerful and more and more suspension travel. Culminating in my 1985 Chevy Caprice Station Wagon, the rear hydraulic cylinders had an 18" stroke (which is massive) and the front wheels could hop off of the ground about 3 feet. With the large rear suspension travel, it could sit on 3 wheels with one of the front wheels also nearly 3' off the ground. These kinds of shenanigans require the frame to be reinforced from wheel to wheel.
I had so much fun in that car! But the current lowrider hydraulic status quo consists of 50 year old technology and is a study in compromises. They generally ride like a cement mixer with short springs that are very thick usually no shocks, at least in the front.
The lowrider pumps (powerpack) themselves are your typical 12v electric motor connected block/manifold on the other side is a gear hydraulic pump submerged in a hydraulic fluid reservoir. This is the kind of power pack you might find on a hydraulic lift at an auto garage (the ac variant) or you can see them on trucks' power lift gates. In order to get that explosive power when you hit the switch guys are running between 48-120vdc to these power packs. My station wagon was running 72v to the front and after hopping the front 3-4 times, you could fry an omelet on the motor. I cannot begin to count the amount of motors I've burnt up trying to learn how to hop.
Lowrider hydraulic systems use a single acting cylinder. A normally closed solenoid valve that flows from the hydraulic line to the reservoir is responsible for lowering the vehicle.
When it comes to lowering the hydraulic suspension is 1 detail that I find impressive. In the 60s-70s guys would snag hydraulic parts off of surplus WWII aircraft. The hydraulics for bomb bay doors, landing gear and the brake anti skid valve. The aircraft hydraulic pumps that are the traditional kind used by lowriders are far inferior to the aforementioned hydraulic pumps, they're more for looks. However, the solenoid valves (called dumps in lowrider lingo) from these aircraft are actually far superior to any industrial cartridge poppet valve on the market. If i could explain the design of the aircraft solenoid valves coveted by lowriders, they're very similar to a 3 way 2 position spool style solenoid directional valve. The spool is very fast acting (precise and allows for large flow). These valves are woth upwards of 1500 each, if you can find them. Aside from looking cool, they're the most accurate solenoids where you can have the most precise control of the lowering process while still having the ability to flow a lot of fluid (typically 1/2" ports). I think a spool design and it's internal balance offers the fast action and percise control essential for hopping.
There's no innovation in this industry. All the products are the same as when I purchased my first kit at age 16 in 2006. The first thing that's got to change is the motor. Running a motor intended for 12v off of 10 batteries in a series is ridiculous. They get away with it because you only have to engage the pump for a millisecond and the front is fully extended. By the way, for the competitive systems, people usually have the front very fast acting and the rear is more about long suspension travel at a substantially lower speed.
My first thought was to massively upgrade the motor size. The motors in a lowrider power pack are gener