Body flex is a lack of rigidity in a motor vehicle's chassis, causing the car body to turn and twist while cornering. It is often something to be avoided by car manufacturers as higher levels of body flex is a sign of structural weakness, and means that the vehicle's suspension cannot work as efficiently - the body takes up some of the 'slack', rather than the parts of the car which were specifically designed for this purpose. Body flex is usually caused by using weaker materials to build the chassis, so the car body will twist easier when cornering. Body flex will affect the stability and handling [1] of the car, it will also contribute to body rolling. Severe body flex will weaken the chassis even more by adding stress onto it, which might eventually cause chassis failure. Therefore, sports car's chassis are often very 'stiff' to improve performance. Convertibles [2] and older cars often have more body flex because of their lack of a rigid roof to support the car body and the lack of modern structural reinforcements. Since body flex is twisting the car body, it will also lead to rattles and squeaks.
Sometimes body flex is the result of reducing weight, manufactures will choose lighter materials to build the chassis, but the cost might be a weaker chassis. Makers such as Audi (the A8), and Jaguar (with the 2003 XJ8) use aluminium in chassis production to get around this obstacle, ensuring the weight of these cars and their level of body flex can both be kept to a minimum.
Typically, the stiffness of the body is measured in torsion. The body is supported at the spring caps at the rear, and then a torque is applied to the front spring caps via a long beam and a fulcrum. Values achieved range from 1,000 lb⋅ft (1,400 N⋅m) per degree for pre-War racing cars, up to 25,000 lb⋅ft (33,900 N⋅m) per degree for some modern production vehicles.
Vehicle dynamics is the study of vehicle motion, e.g., how a vehicle's forward movement changes in response to driver inputs, propulsion system outputs, ambient conditions, air/surface/water conditions, etc. Vehicle dynamics is a part of engineering primarily based on classical mechanics. It may be applied for motorized vehicles, bicycles and motorcycles, aircraft, and watercraft.
Suspension is the system of tires, tire air, springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels and allows relative motion between the two. Suspension systems must support both road holding/handling and ride quality, which are at odds with each other. The tuning of suspensions involves finding the right compromise. It is important for the suspension to keep the road wheel in contact with the road surface as much as possible, because all the road or ground forces acting on the vehicle do so through the contact patches of the tires. The suspension also protects the vehicle itself and any cargo or luggage from damage and wear. The design of front and rear suspension of a car may be different.
The Nissan 240SX is a sports compact car that was introduced to the North American market by Nissan in 1989 for the 1990 model year. It replaced the outgoing 200SX (S12) model. Most of the 240SXs were equipped with the 2.4-liter inline 4 engine. The KA24E had a single overhead cam and the KA24DE had dual overhead cams. Two distinct generations of the 240SX, the S13 (1989–1994) the S14 (1994-1998) were produced, based on the Nissan S platform.
Automobile handling and vehicle handling are descriptions of the way a wheeled vehicle responds and reacts to the inputs of a driver, as well as how it moves along a track or road. It is commonly judged by how a vehicle performs particularly during cornering, acceleration, and braking as well as on the vehicle's directional stability when moving in steady state condition.
Car tuning is the modification of a car to optimise it for a different set of performance requirements from those it was originally designed to meet. Most commonly this is higher engine performance and dynamic handling characteristics but cars may also be altered to provide better fuel economy, or smoother response. The goal when tuning is the improvement of a vehicle's overall performance in response to the user's needs. Often, tuning is done at the expense of emissions performance, component reliability and occupant comfort.
Honda Type R models are special performance editions of their respective model families.
The Triumph GT6 is a 6-cylinder sports coupé built by Standard-Triumph, based on their popular Triumph Spitfire convertible. Production ran from 1966 to 1973.
A coilover is an automobile suspension device. The name coilover is an abbreviation of "coil over shock absorber".
The Toyota Camry Solara, popularly known as the Toyota Solara, is a mid-size coupé/convertible built by Toyota. The Camry Solara is mechanically based on the Toyota Camry and effectively replaced the discontinued Camry Coupé (XV10); however, in contrast with its predecessor's conservative design, the Camry Solara was designed with a greater emphasis on sportiness, with more rakish styling, and uprated suspension and engine tuning intended to provide a sportier feel. The coupe was launched in late 1998 for model year 1999. In 2000, the convertible was introduced, effectively replacing the Celica convertible in Toyota's North American lineup.
An anti-roll bar is an automobile suspension part that helps reduce the body roll of a vehicle during fast cornering or over road irregularities. It links opposite front or rear wheels to a torsion spring using short lever arms for anchors. This increases the suspension's roll stiffness—its resistance to roll in turns.
Ride height or ground clearance is the amount of space between the base of an automobile tire and the lowest point of the automobile, typically the bottom exterior of the differential housing ; or, more properly, to the shortest distance between a flat, level surface, and the lowest part of a vehicle other than those parts designed to contact the ground. Ground clearance is measured with standard vehicle equipment, and for cars, is usually given with no cargo or passengers.
A strut bar, strut brace, or strut tower brace (STB) is an automotive suspension accessory on a monocoque or unibody chassis to provide extra stiffness between the strut towers.
The Chevrolet Corvette (C5) is the fifth generation of the Corvette sports car, produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1997 through 2004 model years. Production variants include the high performance Z06. Racing variants include the C5-R, a 24 Hours of Daytona and 24 Hours of Le Mans GTS/GT1 winner. The C5 Corvette was the first GM vehicle to feature the third generation small block "LS" engines. Pop-up headlights were featured on a Corvette for the final time during this generation.
Plus sizing is the practice of replacing an automotive wheel with one of a larger diameter fitted with a new tire of lower aspect ratio so that the new tire has close to the same diameter and circumference as the original tire to minimize any changes in speedometer accuracy, torque and traction control, while reducing sidewall flex and (generally) increasing cornering ability.
Automotive suspension design is an aspect of automotive engineering, concerned with designing the suspension for cars and trucks. Suspension design for other vehicles is similar, though the process may not be as well established.
A vehicle frame, also historically known as its chassis, is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism.
The Ferrari California is a grand touring, high performance sports car created by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. It is a two-door 2+2 hard top convertible. When originally unveiled in 2008, the California was powered by a front-mid mounted, rear wheel drive, naturally aspirated 4.3-litre V8. In 2012, a lighter, slightly more powerful variant, the California 30, was introduced. In 2014, Ferrari announced the second generation of the model, named California T powered by a new twin-turbo 3.9-litre V8.
The Chevrolet Corvette (C7) is the seventh generation of the Corvette sports car manufactured by American automobile manufacturer Chevrolet from 2014 until 2019. The first C7 Corvettes were delivered in the third quarter of 2013. The racing variants include the C7.R, which won the GTLM 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The first generation Honda NSX, marketed in North America and Hong Kong as the Acura NSX, is a 2-seater, mid-engine sports car that was manufactured by Honda in Japan from 1990 until 2005.
A platform chassis is a form of vehicle frame / automobile chassis, constructed as a flat plate or platform, sometimes integrating a backbone or frame-structure with a vehicle's floor-pan.