You know how, when you turn your vehicle, you feel your body being pulled to one side of the car? Why cope with this minor inconvenience when it could be solved by expensive and elaborate machinery? Cars could have a hydraulic system that tilts the entire cabin of the car into each turn, while keeping the wheels on the ground. Based on the speed of the car and the sharpness of the turn, an electronic system would determine the exact degree of tilt needed to neutralize the tiny g-force that would otherwise be experience by the driver. The feeling of driving such a car would be something like that of riding a motorcycle.
-- whippinggas, Apr 08 2005

Mercedes F300 http://www.mercedes...es/f300lifejet.html
"The most striking feature of this research vehicle was its unique Active Tilt Control, which was developed specially for the F 300 Life Jet and allows it lean into corners." [angel, Apr 08 2005]

(???) Michelin Concept http://www.autoindu...ews/news-578mambff9
"the CONCEPT leans into corners by up to 10 degrees like a motorcycle" [angel, Apr 08 2005]

The Carver http://www.carver.nl/
Generally regarded as the best tilting 'car' yet. [wagster, Apr 08 2005]

Radical new suspension http://www.shadetre...pension_systems.htm
Forget everything you know about vehicle suspensions, Mr. Bose has reinvented the wheel. [ato_de, Apr 10 2005]

CLEVER Research Vehicle http://www.clever-p...design_sketches.htm
another tilting three-wheeled vehicle. [BJS, May 30 2006]

Wow. I like this idea. +
-- -----, Apr 08 2005


Welcome to the HB. Good job on your first idea. My first got 6 votes against it.
-- -----, Apr 08 2005


Baked by Daimler Chrysler. Additionally there have been several other three-wheeled cars that lean into corners. See also the Michelin Concept, which is a four-wheeler.
-- angel, Apr 08 2005


Surely this product must be launched in Pisa.
-- benfrost, Apr 08 2005


Why not just seats on a pendulum?
-- JesusHChrist, Apr 08 2005


<Why cope with this minor inconvenience when it could be solved by expensive and elaborate machinery?>

The word-to-halfbekery-wisdom density is enormous. quassant pour vous mon chere!
-- zeno, Apr 10 2005


wow, I actually liked reading it.
-- zeno, Apr 10 2005


90's F1 Williams cars had an active suspension that kept the car level at all times for maximum aero efficiency.

At least your already baked idea won the F1 world championship before it was outlawed.
-- Giblet, Apr 10 2005


[Giblet] whipping gas's idea was the opposite of this - to tilt the car into the bend rather than keep it level.

[+]But previously baked in the infamous tilting trains, Shirley?
-- Basepair, Apr 10 2005


In order for the F1 to stay level it would have to lean into the turn, just not as much as the idea suggested. Still baked.
-- AfroAssault, Apr 10 2005


Errrr, no - to stay level, it would have to resist the tendency for it to lean out of the turn. Assuming, that is, that 'level' means 'level'. Shirley?
-- Basepair, Apr 10 2005


I assumed "level" meant "level to the road," since cars tend to lean away from a turn, which is far less stable than one that counteracts that by leaning into it enough to be level.
-- AfroAssault, Apr 10 2005


exactly
-- Basepair, Apr 10 2005


Yes, and what I'm saying is that in order to stay level, it would have to "lean into the turn" so to speak enough to counteract the outer lean. Otherwise you'd just need rock hard shocks.
But I see what you mean. I didn't word it correctly, but I basically mean the same. I thought you were saying it'd have to have shocks that don't really do anything.
-- AfroAssault, Apr 10 2005


A car with this system would need a suspension travel of a few feet in order to completely change the direction of the "g-force" from horizontal to vertical in relation to the driver, except for at very low speeds.

How exactly would this leaning system work?
-- BJS, May 30 2006


Baked by everybody up to and including Amtrak. There's lots of folks who've slapped together systems that do this (www.maxmatic.com), companies, and even Mother Earth News magazine, using pre-Microsoft technology. A damped pendulum operating a pneumatic system could operate the tilting mechanism, and even be tuned to have the car hunker down for acceleration and rare back for stops. Bun for the idea, but there's lots of similarly smart people out there.
-- elhigh, Jun 07 2006


Excellent idea. It wold be like riding a bicycle.
-- tonybe, Jan 15 2010



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