Trying to figure out what I have--. Was told it may have had use in circle track racing. It's 24 inches long, 4 inch diameter, and weighs about 60 lbs. It was located at the rear of the trunk in my 32 Ford.
From google; People also ask What does a gyro stabilizer do? AI Overview A gyro stabilizer, or gyroscopic stabilizer, uses the principles of gyroscopes to counteract unwanted rotational movements, like rolling or pitching, in vehicles like ships or aircraft. It does this by creating a strong rotating mass, usually a flywheel, which resists changes in its orientation. When the vehicle experiences a roll or pitch, the gyro's spinning flywheel reacts by generating a counteracting torque, effectively stabilizing the vessel.
Must be powered by the battery? And spin at a high rpm? Interesting wonder if it works or just snake oil as @squirrel suggests? Dan
Let's cut er open and see what's inside. Probably like when they'd put ball Bearings in Nascar frames for transfer
I could never understand the point of that. Surely that's the opposite of what you'd want? You'd want to move weight to the inside of the curve to counteract weight transfer to the outside due to lateral acceleration?
Interesting theory! OP, does it shift weight when tilted? I could picture a loose weight in oil too, but WHY? The serrations indicate hand adjustment. Does the center twist around the axle or caps?
Hey, just a wild guess! I can't think of a good reason to have weight move side to side, but it was brought up. The end links do not appear to be strong enough to act on suspension like a anti-sway bar. 60 pounds and 4 inch diameter seem to indicate an internal mechanism. Using this calculator, https://www.omnicalculator.com/construction/aluminum-weight 2 inch radius and 24 inch length shows 29.4 lb. Why would you have an aluminum shell around heavier material, and attach it with small aluminum angle at each end? Why attach it at the center axis? OP joined in 2011 and this is their second post. SO MANY questions! It was not a lasting product, so we can assume it wasn't successful. That kind of leads toward Jim's snake oil guess.
I know, I was just kidding around. I can't imagine what else it does if there isn't some sort of mass inside it doing something. Maybe the clever bit is that it slides in the opposite direction thatn you'd expect. Though again....why?
Fancy name for a ballast holder? Still seems pointless to use aluminum. Might as well use pipe with caps like the famous bumpers. Gyro as in spins up (wheelies) at launch? [insert shrug shoulders gif]
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/gyrostabilizer.745256/ here is an old thread on the subject.....
It was for cheating on the scales [at tech inspection] then they would dump the ballast during the race The SCCA racers would do a "splash'n'dash" refuel near the end of the race and dump lead shot into the fuel tank [to pass post race inspection]
yeah, fun... "They were a completely useless bit of (solidified) Snake Oil." hey, that's what I said!
I had a guy a lot older than me give me this, said it would help my dirt latemodel... Still have it but never used it. Guess I should have if even for a laugh, as the car had 300lbs of ballast to make weight. This is the car he wanted me to put it on... Grant
IIRC, some of those were filled with mercury. Also, if they actually worked, they'd be on every vehicle.
if they worked, the patent would have been granted and we could look up the number printed on the newer ones
I can see where the concept would work. If the lateral inertia forced a weighted cylinder to the inside of the turning vehicle, it would in theory reduce body rotation and aid traction. I know a lot of sanctioning bodies outlawed shifting weights. Even the pulling trucks won’t allow weight transfer devices to aid in vehicle balance.
Lot of work to make those if they did nothing . what ever it does someone but a lot of thought and effort into making it . An adjustable spring loaded shifting weight
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