Stupid Suspension Questions

Ok I have some seemingly retarded questions about a 1991 z28's suspension that I'm hoping someone can help with.

What is the difference between shocks and struts?
I had always assumed they go together, but I don't really know what I'm talkin about.

What is the purpose of a sway bar? Do they come in pairs or what?
I have a basic idea, but again not really.

What are Crossmembers and how many are needed (if at all) on a car, in general.

What are torque arms? Do they come factory on any car or do people use these by application?


Also, I've heard some of these things I'm mentioning are already on the z28's and they come from the factory with performance in mind. Can anyone elaborate on why or why not I might need any of these parts for my ride? I would really like to tighten things up so I can take off in a straight line with as little jump or twist or whatever as possible. Heresay might not be pertinent but I've heard upgrading certain parts of the suspension can give you an increase in your ET. Any help is greatly appreciated.

well shocks and struts work pretty much the same way, but struts tend to be more heavy duty, and usually used on the front of the vehicle. on most applications when used on the front end of the vehicle, the knuckle bolts to the strut this how wheel camber is adjusted.

sway bars dont always come in pairs but essentially all they do is controll body roll.

crossmembers join the two siderails of the chassis together, and are also used for tranny support etc.

by torque arms, i'm assuming you mean trailing arms. those are what the rear axle bolts to, and they pivet up and down with a spring between the arms and the chassis. some vehicles use leaf springs some vehicles trailing arms, also called coil overs.

well on hawks third gen they call them torque arms and go on to explain that they might help with wheel hop and ensure power transfer to the wheels. i know that some of these parts might not mean a big difference for my car, but im basically looking at what might help the power that i have get to the wheels better. already checking out a driveshaft (dunno if i want aluminum or heavy duty) and then possibly some suspension work. thanks

changing the controll arms out for a better pair would probly increase traction and reduce wheel hop quite a bit. the stock ones are pretty cheesy and like to flex. something else you might look into is subframe connectors, maybe a thicker rear sway bar, and if you have the money a 4 link set-up for the rear end depending on how much power you have.

well my problem is this, my car is a 305 tpi. everyone likes to laugh at these smaller engines, but i've seen some that can move. now i know after drivetrain loss im not running 285 ft./lbs., after the mods i already have maybe somewhere around there but likely below that. my point is if i mod the car right and try to really get around 300 ft/lbs to the ground with a better ratio like 3:73 or something, im wondering what kind of ET's the car could pull.

Torque arms are bolted from the transmission to the rearend and they help stop the rearend from twisting upward when you launch.

Struts are basically one unit that has both the shock and spring in one. In the rear of the camaro though it has seperate springs and shocks in different locations.

Crossmembers are under the tranny and the engine and although you can get tubular ones for the engine that weigh less and have options for rack and pinion steering, the stock xmember works fine.

One thing that helps your car launch are lower control arm relocation brackets. www.spohn.net makes a good pair. Also if you plan on driving your car hard and getting some power in it, sub frame connectors are another good idea to help keep the car from twisting.

Struts are basically one unit that has both the shock and spring in one. In the rear of the camaro though it has seperate springs and shocks in different locations.


If the shock and spring are one isn't that a coilover? The struts and springs are separate on both the front and rear on Camaros.

Torque arms are bolted from the transmission to the rearend

he said arms as in 2, i'm assuming he meant the trailing arms on the rear end. there is only 1 brace from the tranny to the rear end

he said arms as in 2, i'm assuming he meant the trailing arms on the rear end. there is only 1 brace from the tranny to the rear end

No I was talking about the torque arm. I know theres only one if I meant lower control arms I would have said lower control arms.

If the shock and spring are one isn't that a coilover? The struts and springs are separate on both the front and rear on Camaros.


The front of the car has struts which is made up of a strut with a spring around it. Its similar to a shock but has a much wider base at the top.

The rears dont have struts they have spring perches and shock mounts in seperate locations.

The front of the car has struts which is made up of a strut with a spring around it. Its similar to a shock but has a much wider base at the top.

The rears dont have struts they have spring perches and shock mounts in seperate locations.

the strut and spring are separate on the front. the shock and spring are separate on the back. If it was a strut and spring-in-one it would be a coilover?

most cars have a coilover system on the front, including the camaro. generally, there isnt enough room on the front of a car to have springs seperate from the shock, you mostly only see that on trucks...

the strut and spring are mounted separately. the strut is not located in the center of the spring.

I thought a coilover was when the strut or shock was located in the center of the spring and typically mounted together.

my camaro's front strut and coil spring are separate, i can get a pic if you want.

the strut is not inside the coil spring on the front end of a camaro. there is an upper control arm that remains stationary and the bottom control arm doesn't, and there is a coil spring between the two control arms. the strut mounts to the knuckle since there is no upper ball joint, and the other end of the strut bolts through the inner fender.

i was pretty sure that my front end was coilover, maybe im mistaken. i havent looked at my front suspension in a while, very long while as you can tell...