This is a complicated topic that I won't try to discuss - I don't believe I could add anything to the knowledge pool. I can provide some information on the behaviour of the suspensions that I've modelled.
I've drawn out the front suspension mounting using Champion's book and a file found on the North American Locost site. One difference in the work that I've done is in the location of the chassis mounts. I believe there are some discrepencies in Champion's drawing related to the location of the chassis mounts. This could be that Ron has in some cases put a 1/8" plate between the front ends of the G's and the F's. This appears to be the case in the chassis shown in the 2nd edition, fig 4.34 on pg 64. More details can be seen the the CAD files.
Available in Turbocad V7 format BookGeometry.tcw and Drawing eXchange Format: BookGeometry.dxf for the free Turbocad Learning Edition and other CAD programs. You may need to use the pop-up menu and the save-link-as option of your browser to download these files.
The following analysis have been performed using my own suspension model. Should the values differ from a commercially available analysis, you should use those instead. The calculations here do not consider steering input, even in the dynamic movement calculations. If you have questions, email me at mailto: 7builder@rogers.com or post to the North America Locost forum on Yahoo and I'll try to answer any questions about what I did and what the results might mean.
Static analysis of the book chassis detailed in the drawings above: BookSuspension Suspension Analysis Results. I do not have the specs for the book steering geometry, so the values there are some guesses I made using my own parts.
A static analysis of the modified Toyota Corolla GTS strut suspension design using my suspension locations and control arm design rather than the book versions: GTS Suspension Analysis Results.
A static analysis of a Toyota Previa (van) spindle suspension using my suspension locations and control arm design rather than the book versions: Previa Suspension Analysis Results. Note that I machined (hand reamed) the previa uprights to fit custom ball joints, the geometry will be different using stock Toyota parts.
For comparison, here's a similar analysis of the MGB front suspension. Note that these measurements are very hard to make on a car sitting on it's wheels, covered in body work with rubber boots over the critical bits. I did the best I could, take these values with a grain of salt. MGB Suspension Analysis Results.
You can compare these results by loading them into separate browser windows and use the taskbar to switch between them.
This is a discussion of my investigations into bump steer - follow this at your peril :).