Automotive Struts

Dampers: Struts and Anti-sway Bars Another common dampening structure is the strut -- basically a shock absorber mounted inside a coil spring.

Struts perform two jobs: They provide a dampening function like shock absorbers, and they provide structural support for the vehicle suspension. That means struts deliver a bit more than shock absorbers, which don't support vehicle weight -- they only control the speed at which weight is transferred in a car, not the weight itself.

Because shocks and struts have so much to do with the handling of a car, they can be considered critical safety features. Worn shocks and struts can allow excessive vehicle-weight transfer from side to side and front to back. This reduces the tire's ability to grip the road, as well as handling and braking performance.

Anti-sway bars (also known as anti-roll bars) are used along with shock absorbers or struts to give a moving automobile additional stability. An anti-sway bar is a metal rod that spans the entire axle and effectively joins each side of the suspension together.

A strut bar, or commonly known as a strut brace or a strut tower brace, is designed to tie the two opposing strut towers together to form a single unit. This is to minimize the strut tower flex during hard cornering. When taking a turn, a car's strut towers normally flex. This may cause the losing of some traction.

The strut tower brace keeps the strut towers from flexing. They distribute the pressure applied to one strut tower when taking a turn on both towers instead of just one. This results to improved chassis rigidity.

Under steer is reduced, the tire wear is improved and metal fatigue is minimized in the strut tower portion. Adding a brace between these two strut towers is a great way to solidify a vehicle's suspension.