Static Suspension
Strongs Of Center (Part 2)
Torsion
bars.
These
tend to be found on the back of French hatchbacks, though they’re fitted to
other cars too. Torsion ‘springs’ would actually be a better description of
what they do, which is effectively replace the job of coil springs. They work
in a similar way to a go-kart chassis – the vertical movement of the wheels
acts against the torsion bar, which although it’s made of solid metal, is able
to twist slightly, allowing the wheels to move up and down when needed. Just
like the springs they replace, thicker and stiffer torsion bars are available
for many popular performance cars, and while they’re not as straight forward to
replace as springs, they can be uprated in just the same way.
Lower control arms for an EP Civic.
Shock
absorbers.
These
are also known as dampers, and this name gives a big hint to what they’re there
for. The job of a shock absorber is to control the movement of the spring.
Without a shock, the spring would just keep moving, making for a bouncy and
uncontrollable ride which is no good for performance or comfort. Shock
absorbers come in two main forms, either with the coil spring mounted on top
(or totally separate to the shock), or as coilovers, where the spring literally
sits around the shock. While the main reason for the invention of coilovers was
to create a more compact and lightweight design, for most of us, the main plus
point of coilovers is that the spring seat is threaded to the body, allowing it
to be easily moved up and down, adjusting the ride height of the car. While
most standard and budget aftermarket shocks aren’t adjustable, higher-end
setups are adjustable for stiffness (more on this later), and full-on
race-spec items are not only multi-way adjustable but also feature trick
additions, such as remote reservoirs to further improve their performance.
Shock absorbers of Toyota.
Control
arms.
These
are the hinged arms that not only mount your wheel hubs to your
subframe/chassis, but also control the arcs of movement as the wheel moves in
the arch, which are key to your car’s handling abilities. As already mentioned,
wheels move up and down in the arch as allowed by the spring and shock absorber
combo, but on most suspension designs they don’t just move up and down. They
can in fact move in all directions depending on the type of movement the car is
doing at the time. Standard control arms are designed with the intention to put
the wheels at an optimum angle for the handling characteristics the factory
required, but when ride heights or the use of the car is changed from standard,
the control arm settings may become far from optimal. This is why adjustable
control arms, which allow front and rear camber, toe, castor, and even wheel
track width adjustment, are so popular on tuned road and track cars.
Chevy Control Arms. 1955-1957 Chevy -
StrongArms Front Lower.
