atomflatz Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Last week I was on vacation and got a Pontiac Vibe as a rental. I always like to pop the hood on any car I rent to poke around and look at how different engine compartments are set up, anyhow, this car had strut bar that caught my eye and has piqued my curiosity. As shown below, this bar is constructed with some kind of damper built into it. I pulled the dust boot off of the damper and it appears to have a good allowance for travel that by my thinking would negate any advantage that a strut tower bar would provide in the first place, however, I can't believe that an automaker would add this unit for no reason due to the cost involved. Does anyone know what the purpose of this damper is and if it may provide any advantage over a traditional strut tower bar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I'm going to take a SWAG and say it's there for NVH reduction and has nothing at all to do with trying to locate the strut towers, since it obviously wouldn't... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over the Top Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 agreed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 This one is too obvious....it's to dampen the Vibe. Seriously, It's probably a band-aid to fix NVH as said above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONZTER Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I remember seeing the Nismo 350z as well as the new 370 use a similar set-up called mass dampers. Here is what I saw Like the Nismo 350Z, the 2009 Nismo 370Z utilizes two mass dampers between the unibody's frame rails (one front, one rear) to reduce the body vibration produced when the stiffer suspension encounters certain road surfaces. We'd tell you what the car is like without them except that we have no idea. But we can say you probably wouldn't want this structure any more rigid. Compliant it isn't. BS - Hmm I dont know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomflatz Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 Dampen the Vibe....nice, well played sir. Seriously though, seems like a nasty band aid but I guess it's cheaper than redesigning the unibody. I didn't think that strut towers could deflect enough to make this bar a functional damper, the Vibe/Matrix must have a really flimsy chassis. Kind of sad for a modern car but then again it's not like it's a sports car. Thanks for the response guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Its not a mass damper as used by the Renault F1 team or Nissan on the Nismo Z. Its just something on the Vibe to reduce Viberation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.