To: dakota@csclub0.cs.fredonia.edu@INTERNET; jlindsay@oharamfg.com@INTERNET
From: Clement_D on Thu, Aug 22, 1996 9:01 AM
Subject: RE: Torsion Bars (was: Hitches)
From: jlindsay@oharamfg.com@INTERNET on Thu, Aug 22, 1996 3:43 AM
>< I really like the ride of my '95 4x4, but I'm disappointed with the
><aftermarket options available for the front end with torsion bars. Does
><anyone know why Dodge went with this system? What are the pros and cons?
> Why did Dodge go to this system? I dunno.... a gimmick probably. Some
early
>Mopars have torsion springs on =everything=.... glove boxes, trunk lids,
etc.
Gimmick maybe in the early CC cars, and yes CC does have alot of history
with torsion bars which makes it easy for them to call on that experience
for a solution to a design problem.
> Torsion bars have two advantages over coil springs..... no friction
>("torsion quiet ride"), and physical space requirements (which are not an
>issue in this application).
There is definately a space issue on the front of the Dakota.
Had they gone with coils they would have needed to be mounted on top of the
upper control arm (drive axle goes between so lower is out as used in 2wd).
This would require spring perches higher up in the wheel well. This would
have either pushed the wheels out or intruded into the engine compartment.
Pushing the wheels out would require a new fender design. Intruding into the
engine compartment would likely have required a new v6/v8 design with a
narrower v angle. Or!! keep the spring perch low and push the hole truck up
into the air which would not have been desirable for the vast majority of
potential Dakota buyers.
There is not enough front overhang on the Dakota to go with a leaf spring
design. To get acceptable ride and handling characteristics the front leaf
mount would need to be infront of the bumper (or the hole front of the truck
would have had to been lenghtened).
> The definition of a coil spring is "a torsion bar wound in a helical form".
>When the coils in a spring compress, they =do not= bend, they twist, just
>like the bar they're made from.
Absolutely
> To design a coil spring, the first factor you input is the "torsional
>modulus", 11,500,000 for carbon steel, 10,000,000 for stainless.
>
> Torsion bars in automotive applications are snake oil.
"Snake Oil" I do not think so (see your definition of a coil spring)! A
different way to "skin a cat" definately.
Dave Clement
89 4x4 LE
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