Automobile Suspension

• Every car has a suspension. The suspension includes anti-roll bars or sway bars. This is a U-shaped piece of steel that goes with the suspension in the body of the vehicle. Race cars rely heavily on the anti-roll bar as they go around the track, taking high-speed turns and maneuvers. The sway bars work with springs, so that if one side needs more leveling, the sway bar balances by compressing or expanding the spring.
  
  

Basics

• Anti-roll bars prevent a car from rolling by balancing both sides of the car. For example, while driving, you go over a speed bump. The bump lifts your car up, but the anti-roll bar does nothing, since both sides of the cars go up at the same time. However, if you go around a corner, the car's chassis leans to one side. The anti-roll bars compress the outside suspension, so you have a bigger spring on the outside that keeps the car balanced and unable to roll.
  
  

Camber Angles

• When taking a turn, the angle that the tire leans in or out in relation to the body of the car is known as the camber. This camber angle controls how the tire meets the road and controls lateral grip or traction of the tires. The sway bars in the suspension compress to handle a difficult turn, and the camber angle changes to help keep the car level to the ground. However, if the camber angle goes negative -- meaning that the arm of the sway bar swings out straight, then upward -- the car is then riding on the side of the tires on one side, which is very dangerous.
  
  

Lateral Grip

• Car racers depend on the trick of lateral grip. Every time a car goes around the track, the spring rates of the suspension are very high. The cars also sit very low to the ground. The tracks are also very flat, so the suspension travel is very minimal. Race cars use a big sway bar on the front of the car to increase rear lateral and motive traction, and then they place a big sway bar at the back to control front lateral and motive traction.