Thinking again, this board should also include aftermarket boards, and conversion boards under the manufacture, plus total custom. i.e., Jag IRS in a Mustang . Club Cobra has the ability to poll members. The board could vote best factory IRS, best aftermarket, best conversion done by members.

Last edited by Ralphy (11/22/2011 4:23 pm)

So are people coming and feeling they see the board not  addressing their needs? Maybe a Ford IRS section would draw? This board really as I see does not address factory setups. Maybe one vital factory IRS such as Mustang would help. You did say you have 30 visitors, what are they looking for?

Independent Rear Suspension Forum

Forum dedicated to installing any IRS unit on any vehicle regardless of IRS type or vehicle make and model!


Maybe also:
Forum dedicated to installing, upgrading, tuning and racing any IRS unit on any vehicle regardless of IRS type or vehicle make and model!

Also your pic screams Jag. Maybe the pic needs to be blocked as say four different units or changed?

Last edited by Ralphy (11/22/2011 4:57 pm)

Day,
I understand your concern for compartmentalizing your board. But I think at a point the lack of compartmentalizing is what may keep people away. I have seen boards really fuzzy on how to retrieve areas I have been, that sucks.

I will use Club Cobra as well designed board. They have sort of two home pages. The main shows recent topics and loads of advertisers, plus social groups. And random member pics plus pics of sale items, that's this page.
http://www.clubcobra.com/modules/Jig/index.php?s=d73183a1cebf07037be44bf2b32f6f6d

Then they have a forum page. Again listing the most recent topics and a menu of all their categories. This is my favorite start point. Which will not load right now. LOL! Well it's on the top left, (Forum) I find CC easy to navigate, some boards suck! So now when you post a new topic, you need to find that right divider. Say FE Motors. But once it's posted it goes automatically to the top. Then all responses of course stay with it. So now if I want to search FE motors I can hit the header and I can drill down on my search.

Last edited by Ralphy (11/23/2011 2:27 am)

Ralphy wrote:

Here is what a poster put up at VetteMod about your site.

The Jag setup is an interesting one and I spent a few hours looking at a site pretty much devoted to them. The "dogbone" instead of "wishbones" seems so, well "Lucas-like," but simple in approach. The inboard brakes raise a lot of discussion on the sites where guys are converting their 2nd gen suspensions. Potential difficulty to access to change pads, unsprung weight, cooling, etc. And - hey- if it is going to cut up the interior anyway -- WHY NOT?

OHHH - I've been busted!  I was that Poster!

That's a heck of a way to introduce myself. 
But here goes; I'm Jim and in the middle of modding my '78 vette.  A big part is the IRS.  I have built a revised Giovanni multi-link suspension - and also have been looking at the other options available.  I found this site - signed up and "described" some of the excellent thoughts offered here. 
I'll admit, I do like the inboard brakes myself, and even looking at doing a Spring damper linkage system -- but first I must finish my Giovanni.

And I say so what if the 'vette-guys find the site - if the IRS info is shared don't we all get better performing cars?  One of the favorite mods when I was in SOCAL - was 350 SBC in XKEs!  (Naturally eliminated the Lucas electrics too!.)

So to continue with an intro - Name Jim, Handle- phantomjock (or Snidely - whiplash - its the mustache) Rides; 78 vette in 200 pieces - middle of mod, a 2009 Pontiac Solstice Coupe(GXP),Job - retired from 26 years active duty in 1996 - returned to duty in 2009 and will continue until 2013. 


Other major habit - ocean cruising with my wife of 30 years on our sailboat. (left in southeast asia - when I returned.)  Ed: mech/aero engineer (+ grad level work) and Human Factors/Systems graduate degree.  I've flown F-4 Phantoms for 13 years - hence phantomjock .   

Site interest;  IRS builds of all types - want to make the best system for my ride - and EVEN if it breaks pedigree - I'd use the jag - but for now will do a DIY.

I accept that when doing research - I'll find various forms of presentation.  I don't join every board I find - but there is good content here and did so.  I hope I can offer some insights when I find them.  At some point there might enough traffic and members to warrant separate threads - for now - looks good to me!

BTW - I am pleased with your  choice of fonts!  It is friendly and less "direct" than the typical Ariel/Times....
Cheers - Jim

I'm not quite sure...

There's literally hundreds, possibly thousands, of different IRS designs, and those with substantial 'net-aware owner bases in their original applications get a lot of coverage in make-specific sites.    There are far more different IRS layouts, even just considering post-WWII designs, than there are stick-axle configurations,.

Nine-tenths of the discussion over here to date has been retrofits and related reengineering, and comparing and contrasting different designs and different configurations for that purpose. 

I find it hard to imagine, say, an E30 BMW guy, or even a VW Beetle guy, coming over here looking for details on their particular application.

That said, it's Daze's sandbox and when he tells us he wants to make a castle with the green bucket, then that's his prerogative.

First I want to apologize for not chiming in on this thread more in the last day as I have ben traveling for the holidays.  Also Ralphy I really appreciate what you are trying to do with this thread.  I know you just want this place to be the best place it can be and that is why you have brought it up, so thanks.

Ralphy wrote:

So are people coming and feeling they see the board not  addressing their needs? You did say you have 30 visitors, what are they looking for?

Forum dedicated to installing any IRS unit on any vehicle regardless of IRS type or vehicle make and model!
Maybe also:
Forum dedicated to installing, upgrading, tuning and racing any IRS unit on any vehicle regardless of IRS type or vehicle make and model!
Also your pic screams Jag. Maybe the pic needs to be blocked as say four different units or changed?

You may not know this but the majority of any forum traffic is read only.  For some of them they are after quick answers to meet their immediate needs  and not looking co become part of a community.  For others they don't feel they have anything to offer.  We all have different levels of knowledge and experience and for someone who is new to this world of IRS it can be overwhelming and they don't want to ask "stupid" questions.  That is a big part of why I stress in both of my forums that there is no such thing as dumb questions.  Every one has to learn some where, and I want every one to feel they can ask any question.  Then there are others that don't have anything to offer at the moment.  Joe is a good example of that.  I know he comes by the forum and keeps up with what we are doing but he is not currently working on his IRS so for right now his participation is read only.   

As to your suggestion about changing the subtitle I would if I could.  I spent about an hour combing through the admin section of the forum and I can change everything but that, so I think I will leave it, however I will be changing the subtitle under the " Independent Rear Suspension Forum" section of the forum.

I totally agree about the pic.  So here is the deal I will not use other peoples pix as part of the banner on the forum with out their permission, SOOO if you have pix YOU have taken of different kinds of IRS then send them to me and I will rework the banner.

Ralphy wrote:

Day,
I understand your concern for compartmentalizing your board. But I think at a point the lack of compartmentalizing is what may keep people away. I have seen boards really fuzzy on how to retrieve areas I have been, that sucks.

In most cases forums that have lots of sub headings have tones of members and the sub heading are there to keep the forum from getting to big.  We don't have that problem.  The forum is still small.  Also I have found our search option to be very easy to use and allows people to find the things that apply to their application.  This is also why I have been reposting the the info from the old forum to this one.  I wanted to be able to search that info with out having to leave this site.

Mustsed wrote:

Please do not forget that forums that are categorized might be good for the group that is in each individual group but will stop trading ideas from each group into another. What I'm trying to say is that sometimes I take an idea from a Cobra IRS or a BMW IRS and apply it to a Jaguar IRS because I can fallow it in this ONE forum instead of browsing all forums for which I don't have the time. IMHO I believe that each group will beat their system to dead and after a while just repeat their info to newcomers.
Not so with new systems introduced to everybody on this one forum where anybody can chime in and put some salt into the soup.

And that right there is EXACTLY why I started this forum.  The concept of IRS is universal but the possible configurations are endless. Each system has its pros and cons and there are bits and pieces from one that can be applied to another.  By working together we can all learn something.

phantomjock wrote:

OHHH - I've been busted!  I was that Poster!

First of all WELCOME TO THE FORUM!!!  Second, now you have gone and done it way to whack the hornets nest    We would love to see some pictures of your project (I am big into pix) I am glad you like the forum and the way it is set up.  I hope it continues to grow.

Ralphy wrote:

"And I say so what if the 'vette-guys find the site - if the IRS info is shared don't we all get better performing cars?"

Hear Hear Jim! I think you will be more than welcome here.

Mustsed, this is why I point out  Club Cobra's format. It's main home page does post all current threads in order, no mater what sub category it came from. I think most people tend to respond to current topics. You can scroll more and it will keep going back by time of last post. However, the originator starts the topic in a sub category. Again I think. Most newbies start posting responses and not new topics. As you get familiar at CC you will find these topics originate from the sub categories. It's a pretty well designed system.

I hope they do, I want the forum to diversify.  I want more Vette guys and BMW guys and Hidts guys and so on.  The best way for this to happen is by word of mouth.  If you know people in other communities that could also post here, invite them.  As to the way the forum reads, am I missing something??  seams to me that this forum works the same way...  I am sure that sense you brought it up I must be missing something.

JEM wrote:

That said, it's Daze's sandbox and when he tells us he wants to make a castle with the green bucket, then that's his prerogative.

I don't agree.  Yes I started this forum, and yes I pay for it and administrate it BUT its not about me and my wants.  The way I see it is this is our forum.  It belongs to the members.  so lets build the castle, race track, animal or other sand creation together and you can use what ever color bucket you like

Ralphy wrote:

Day does make a valid point. Some boards are vast wastelands.

Its a fine line.  you want a board to be relevant, you want lots of participation but you don't want so much participation that threads get buried by other post not relevant to an individuals needs before they get their question answered.  At this point we don't have that problem.  I also see where Ralphy is coming from.  There are things that can be done to make this site more inviting to other make IRS owners.  I am open to more ideas.  the best way I know to improve a forum is to 1.  participate, and 2.  invite others to join.  The more people we have coming to the forum the more participation we will have.

Any good forum needs interaction amongst its members regardless of specific interests. This thread is a good example. I'm a member on a van forum that deals with primarily pre-1970 rigs, It has over 1400 registered members and perhaps 30-50 actually post much. It is divided into the 3 major makes Chevy Dodge Ford and a section for Other makes. New people come in alot, ask a couple Qs and maybe post a pic and then become read only types until they need some help.  Timely responses to Qs make people come back.  There is alot of crossover interaction because alot of the issues the guys have  are generally not make specific.  How many times have you researched a topic in a forum and then realize the last post was made in 2006 or something?   I really like this format as is. As more folks come into the fold I could see making more specific sections.  But maybe instead of Makes,, maybe more in the line of Usage , Racing, Street, Custom or what ever fits.
JM2C  Digz

I'm going into my office today and reorganizing my bills. I'm going to get rid of all my dividers and just stack all my bills in one pile. I have learned it's a much better way. Hmmm.... who would of thought. Then I will shuffle all my dishes in the kitchen. Right now my garage is good to go, it's already on it's way!

And why should I sell a fish sandwich. People only come here for hamburgers! LOL!

Last edited by Ralphy (11/24/2011 8:55 am)

My Galaxie forum has a slide show but when I tried to use the same code to make it work with this site and cycle trough IRS units it locked up the site and I had to fight with it to fix it.  The chrome I did with photo shop and eye candy

Digz wrote:

How many times have you researched a topic in a forum and then realize the last post was made in 2006 or something?
JM2C  Digz

Digz, let me tell you about the other side. Again at Club Cobra a really active site. Threads many times go dormant and then someone will post on it even years later. And what do you know, it takes off again. Five new posts, ten new posts, two new pages of posts. It happens often.

Two statements made by Day:
1. You may not know this but the majority of any forum traffic is read only.
2. I am open to more ideas.  the best way I know to improve a forum is to 1.  participate, and 2.  invite others to join.

So I invite a Corvette guy to check this site out. He probably won't post because as you said majority of forum traffic is read only. So now this guy is a read only, so he starts looking for Corvette posts. Hmmm..... No Headings? How does he even sort this out? Very little info even if he does search for how long. He gets board and leaves. I can't invite someone here if there's no bowtie sandwiches.

I think your under estimating the possibilities! How many Mustang forums are there? How many Corvette forums are there? How many Volkswagen forums are there, etc... TONS! But only one true IRS forum. You have no competitors Day! But I may be wrong on how many are interested. But again when you widen your market, you have the whole world. VetteMod is truly international.

Get this, I'll type BMW IRS, VW IRS, Corvette IRS, Mustang IRS, Camaro IRS, AC Cobra IRS, Honda IRS, Heidts IRS, Roadsters Shop IRS, Van IRS, Jaguar IRS, British IRS, MG IRS, Kit Car IRS, Racing IRS, IRS Tuning. I just created the possibility that one of these owners will search the keywords and pick this up and now come here. Because Google etc... will now pick it up! Is that cool?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WNrx2jq184

Last edited by Ralphy (11/24/2011 10:57 am)

Here is something interesting look at the words searched for that brought people to our site just today.

Ralphy,  I have been thinking long and hard about your suggestions.  I am sure you can tell from my posts I don't want to compartmentalize the forum, BUT what if I un-pinned the "The IRS build progress picture thread" and the "The IRS assembly picture thread"  and then created and pinned to the top several model specific picture threads:  Jaguar IRS pix, Corvette IRS pix, Ford IRS pix, and aftermarket IRS pix.  That way new comers will see right off a post specific to their kind of IRS but we are still kept on one board so we can compare and contrast the different IRS designs.  Thoughts???

The new header pics are great! Okay I see what you mean by posting on older threads and they can come back,, probably just been my luck to find the dead ones ,,LOL
Daze, I would like to post in the build thread ,, just sorting out some pics that would make it short and relevant.  I kind of feel that my project is quite abit off the beaten path,  I'm looking at everything thats posted just to get ideas to make it work for my van . What catagory would I fall into?

Last edited by Digz (11/24/2011 8:19 pm)

Ralphy wrote:

Day you said," but the successful forums do not break down these individual areas, why because you dilute the member pool."

I do not agree

I was not talking about forums in General.  I was talking about Mustang forums and was referring to the fact that they don't break it down in to all the sub parts I listed of one car: Engine, body work, transmissions,  interior, original, modified and on and on.  Yes there are a bunch of forums that have sub sections, but it is because those forums are large and need to spread things out to be more manageable.

Last edited by Daze (11/24/2011 8:28 pm)