Technical 500 handling

[The Twins]

I once looked underneath my car and there was a gibbon, Dawn French and Hitler. Just because someone calls it an anti-roll bar doesn't make it one.

C'mon maxi you're being a tad pedantic. They put a 'bar' in the rear beam to resist roll so surely it's ok to call it an 'anti roll' bar

 

[The Twins]

So if Fiat say there's a rear anti roll bar, but in fact there isn't, what are they going to say if someone takes them to task about this?

Is there one, or is there not?

If you go back to the forum thread I linked, you get this as the final post:


Still puzzled.
Mick.

There is! You can clearly see the bar running through the rear beam / axle compared to earlier cars.

 

[UFI]

For my own part, ours is "roller skate" like...

That statement is somewhat dependent on the readers ability on roller skates

In summary, the updated 500 does indeed have an ARB as defined by it's geometrical function, not by the idealised notion that an ARB must be a separate component.

Even in a pre ARB car, a torsion beam is still an ARB (perhaps an Anti Roll Beam), it just doesn't look like it.

 

[306maxi]

But then by that notion the coil springs are anti roll bars, they just don't look like it? After all they perform the same function non?

 

[UFI]

But then by that notion the coil springs are anti roll bars, they just don't look like it? After all they perform the same function non?

You're not serious Maxi surely?

Coil springs are nothing like ARB's. They do not normally transfer forces from opposing sides of the suspension.

A car with independent suspension on coils is fully independent. Move one wheel and nothing happens to the other. Add an ARB and it's no longer 'fully' independent.

A twist beam locates the rear axle and transfers forces from one wheel to the other, in the later regard, performs exactly like an ARB.

The big test is that coils support the car at rest, ARB's do not.

 

[306maxi]

I know, I'm being facetious.

It does perform the task of an ARB, but that does not make it one. Like you said, if we were to call it an ARB then the car already had one anyway........