What’s a roll bar?

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A roll bar distributes torque across a vehicle’s suspension and chassis, aiding in cornering traction and control. It helps keep the vehicle stable and level during turns, and can also maintain traction during rapid acceleration. The anti-roll bar applies weight and traction to both sides of the vehicle during cornering, equalizing tire wear and improving control. Racing teams invest in developing more efficient sway bar systems, which can also benefit production vehicle lines.

A roll bar is a device found in a car that shifts load through the front or rear suspension. By distributing this torque across the width of a vehicle’s suspension and chassis, the roll bar aids in cornering traction and control. Without the help of a roll bar, a vehicle’s inside front tire could become airborne during a sharp turn, while the rear tire on the outside of a turn could be subjected to too much force and eventually explode. By placing the weight and load effort on both sides of a vehicle equally during a turn, the roll bar helps keep it stable, level and more easily controlled.

In certain racing conditions, a roll bar fitted to the rear axle helps the vehicle maintain traction during rapid acceleration. In drag racing applications, the roll bar exerts traction on both sides of the rear axle as the torque chassis twist travels evenly from one side of the axle to the other. This places more bite on both rear tires as the vehicle tries to turn around the center of torque on the driveshaft. Early racers used airbags mounted to the side of the rear axle in an effort to stiffen the rear suspension and prevent twisting and the resulting shock of a rear tire. Science has shown that the addition of an anti-roll bar does a much better job of distributing torque and providing adequate traction during takeoff.

On the circular track or on the highway, the anti-roll bar applies weight and therefore traction to both sides of the vehicle during cornering. This helps equal tire wear and vehicle control. Without the device, the outer tires would wear out much sooner and cause frequent blowouts. In auto racing, racing teams spend a great deal of money developing more efficient sway bar systems. In addition to the power of a vehicle, the chassis is also a major factor in a race win or loss.

Many world-class racing teams work hand in hand with car manufacturers and universities in the development of their chassis and racing components. This development allows manufacturers to apply the information to production vehicle lines and models. As a general rule of thumb, the larger the bar diameter, the stiffer the vehicle’s suspension as it travels around a corner.




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