At 10:31 AM -0400 6/29/04, Don Malling wrote:
>I see that some sway bars are adjustable where they mount on the
>front suspension. I don't understand what the adjustment does. What
>does it accomplish and how does it do it -- the mechanics of it?
The sway bar, or more correctly the anti-roll bar, is simply a spring
that connects the two sides of the supension together. When one side
droops or compresses, the force is reacted against the other side of
the car. It prevents the chassis from rolling.
The adjustable part is simple. Think of one half of the bar as an
L-shaped spring. One leg of the L is fixed and force is applied to
the other leg. The longer the leg the force is applied to, the
greater the torque that is applied to the fixed leg. You adjust the
roll stiffness that the bar provides by changing the mounting point
of the link that connects to the lower control arm of the suspension.
Make sense?
--
Phil Barnes (peb3@cornell.edu)
Cortland, NY (nowhere near New York City)
'71 TR6 CC61193L (27 year owner)
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