A Closer Look At Car Stabilizer Bars

By Everette Jamison

Also commonly referred to as anti-roll or anti-sway bars, stabilizer bars are not just for race cars. Many modern street legal cars are now coming from the factory already equipped with them. If you haven”t purchased a new car recently, you may not be familiar what what they are or their purpose. In this article, I”ll give you a brief introduction to them, including how they work and the problem they help resolve.

The Problem

When you make a sharp turn, your body is pulled in the opposite direction of the turn. The same distribution of force is simultaneously occurring throughout the rest of the car. Essentially, the body of the car will roll 10-30 degrees towards the opposite direction of the turn. If you were to turn fast and sharp enough, the inside wheels would lose contact with the ground and your car could potentially flip over.

Absorbing the force of body rolls can take its toll on a vehicle. Over time, the heavy distribution of weight on the outside tires versus the inside tires will cause wear and tear that will result in a loss of traction. Ideally, the body of your vehicle should remain more or less flat as you maneuver through turns, with the remaining weight evenly balanced throughout all four tires.

The Solution

The purpose of the stabilizer bars is to keep the body of your vehicle flat. It does this by shifting force from one side of the body to the other. With it in place, going into a turn will cause the front suspension at the outside of the turn to be pushed upward. As the sway bar arm is pushed up, it creates a torsion effect in the rod. That causes the suspension on the opposite side of the car to become equally compressed. The presence of the stabilizer bar greatly diminishes the possibility of your vehicle flipping over.

However, there is such a thing as too much stabilization. While it’’s true that if you lack this support system and roll your car, it can lead to severe body damage, too much stabilization can lead to a loss of independence within the suspension of both sides of the vehicle. In other words, when one wheel goes over a bump, the sensitive stabilizer bar will transfer that force to the opposite side, creating a very stiff and unpleasant driving experience. Ideally, the support system will successfully regulate body roll without interfering with the independence of your 4 tires.

It is important to note that having a stabilizer bar in your vehicle should never be considered a substitute for safe driving. The best way to protect yourself and your vehicle on the road is to remain diligent and drive with caution.

About The Author

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