Coinciding with the development of the coil spring, some
engineers adapted a different suspension design, torsion
springs. A torsion spring works by absorbing motion by
the twisting motion of a metal rod. The application in a
car begins with a metal rod fixed to the frame solidly at
one end, travels through a support sleeve or bearing and
is attached to the wheel or axle at the other end. As
the wheel rises and falls, the attached end of the torsion
bar twists within the bearing and un-twists returning the
wheel to its center position.
The torsion spring is not the most common suspension
design, and has mainly been used in specialty cars like
early Porsches and Mopars of the 1960s. GM trucks of
the 1990s also used a torsion bar front suspension.
The downside of a torsion spring is that the spring rate
is fixed throughout the motion of the wheel. In
contrast, a coil spring can have different spring rates for
each short length of coil, making them far more
tune-able. To change the spring rate of a torsion
bar-you must replace the bar with one of different spring
rate. Torsion bar spring rates vary with the thickness of
the rod and the length of the rod. Stiffer springs are
shorter or thicker, while softer springs are longer or
thinner.
engineers adapted a different suspension design, torsion
springs. A torsion spring works by absorbing motion by
the twisting motion of a metal rod. The application in a
car begins with a metal rod fixed to the frame solidly at
one end, travels through a support sleeve or bearing and
is attached to the wheel or axle at the other end. As
the wheel rises and falls, the attached end of the torsion
bar twists within the bearing and un-twists returning the
wheel to its center position.
The torsion spring is not the most common suspension
design, and has mainly been used in specialty cars like
early Porsches and Mopars of the 1960s. GM trucks of
the 1990s also used a torsion bar front suspension.
The downside of a torsion spring is that the spring rate
is fixed throughout the motion of the wheel. In
contrast, a coil spring can have different spring rates for
each short length of coil, making them far more
tune-able. To change the spring rate of a torsion
bar-you must replace the bar with one of different spring
rate. Torsion bar spring rates vary with the thickness of
the rod and the length of the rod. Stiffer springs are
shorter or thicker, while softer springs are longer or
thinner.
Torsion spring design
Suspension Designs
