10 replies to this topic

[kma4444]

Anyone here have any idea where I can get custom torsion bars made. I am building a sportsracer for club racing and am looking around for different bits.

Thanks

[Greg Locock]

Try the same guys who make custom sta bars. Ask at your local performance suspension shop, they should know. It does depend a bit on what sort of termination you want, if you want forged serrations you may need to search around a bit more, but anybody should be able to make the forged hex ends. Having said that, make sure that whoever is doing the job has done it before and can point you at some happy customers.

[Ray Bell]

If I were you I'd be looking at production cars with them and designing around the ones that are there...

Maybe you could then have a couple of sets that you get turned down a fraction to give you a choice of spring rates.

[Engineguy]

Sway-A-Way has been supplying racing torsion bars and axles for decades, for off-road racing cars and trucks, VW, Porsche (I was buying 911 bars from them almost 30 years ago), and sprint cars. They've got mating splined collars you can fab into your chassis and/or suspension arms. Hundreds of length and diameter combinations, and decent prices since they make 'em by the gazillions for the off-road folks. And as you might imagine, they know a lot about engineering the right bar for your needs.

http://www.swayaway.com

[kma4444]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll look into these.

Thanks again;
Kevin

[hydra]

You should also search some Sprint/Midget racing catalogs, they've got quite an assortment of bars, including hollow bars and titanium bars to give you that extra bounce to the ounce

[kma4444]

Yeah, I did find Schroeder, they do lots of stuff and can do custom bits also. Has anyone here ever dealt with bars on an F1 car? I saw some video from practice at Germany and the Mclaren guys were changing their bars. They were little bitty things, just curious if anyone had any info.

[imaginesix]

A quick question (I hope)...

Would it be possible to anchor the ends of a torsion bar to tapered fittings instead of splines? If so, I imagine the taper would have to narrow towards the centre of the bar as the bar should shrink as it is twisted, correct?

OK, 2 quick questions.

[Greg Locock]

Don't do it, is my advice.

It's a neat idea, but in the real world set and forget beats infinite tunability.

That's a subtle point about the elongation by the way. How would you separate the tapers once you've been over a kerb?

[imaginesix]

You'd separate them the same way you install them, by splitting the female taper in two. A two-piece taper receptacle (with two halves that bolt together) would be necessary for installation of a 'reverse-tapered' bar end. Rigidity issues would arise, I'm sure.

For the time being I'm not interested if it is a superior method but only if it is possible. Are my assumptions regarding the strength of a taper connection, and the elongation of the bar, in the ballpark?

[Greg Locock]

Oh, sorry, yes they are a possible solution. Great fatigue life. In the UK we used to use Fenner TaperLock couplings to hold pulleys onto motor shafts, I'm sure your market has an equivalent. These have a female part with tightening and ejector bolts built in.

I'm still dubious that you'll ever get the things apart once you've been over a kerb, but yes, it is certainly an elegant solution in some respects.