3 Purposes of a sway bar
The sway bar or known as the anti-roll bar or stabilizer bar, is one of the components in the car suspension system. The sway bar is made of a solid metal rod. The sway bar is generally installed on the lower arm, connected to the stabilizer link or bushing. In the middle, the sway bar is attached to the car's frame by using a rubber bushing as the fastener
The sway bar works by utilizing the torsion that occurs on one side of the suspension to provide a twisting effect in the opposite direction on the other side of the suspension.
When one side of the sway bar is pressed upwards due to the suspension pressing, the other side will pull the suspension downward following the twisting force on the stressed side. So, what exactly is the purpose of the sway bar in this car's suspension system? The following is the purpose of the sway bar on the car suspension system.
1. Reduce body roll when the vehicle turns.
The first purpose of the sway bar is to reduce body roll when the vehicle turns. Yes, when the vehicle moves quickly around a corner (turns), a body roll symptom will appear, a sign in the car body that occurs due to the centrifugal force that appears when the car turns fast.
The centrifugal force that occurs will make the car body tilt like thrown off the track. This condition will make the inner wheels lift, while the outside wheels will be increasingly depressed.
This body roll symptom is very dangerous because it can make the car overturn or rolling out off the track. Therefore a sway bar is used to reduce the symptoms of excessive body rollers in the vehicle when turning.
2. Maintain stability when driving
The second purpose of the sway bar is to maintain stability while driving. Yes, the sway bar is not only used to reduce body roll when the vehicle turns, but it also functions to maintain stability when driving on bumpy roads at high speed.
When driving fast on a bumpy road, there will be a change in traction on the tires' surface on each wheel according to the road conditions being traversed.
When one side of the tire passes through the hole at high speed, the tire will float over the hole. This condition will affect the rotational speed and power generated by each of the driving wheels. As a result, there will be a difference in rotation between the right and left wheels, affecting the stability of the vehicle.
A sway bar is used to prevent changes when the tire rotates and touches the road surface. It also speeds up the process of returning the tire to the road surface from the previous throw. With a sway bar installed between the two sides of the wheel, it will increase the car's stability when driving on bumpy roads at high speed.
Also read:3. Increase the tire's traction to the road surface
The last purpose of the sway bar that we know is to increase the tire's traction to the road surface. Yes, the sway bar attached to this suspension section tends to push the lower arm downward.
The lower arm that presses downward automatically will also push the wheels to tread more firmly on the road surface. This condition will increase the traction of the tires to the road surface.