2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS: Suspension Walkaround

[franknbeans]

Found this link . . . good read.

http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtest...alkaround.html




By Dan Edmunds | March 23, 2010

I'm tired of unintended acceleration. I want to get back to talking about acceleration that is fully intended (and appreciated) and the cars that are built to manage it well. What better way to take the automotive equivalent of a Silkwood Shower than a suspension walkaround of our 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS?
Let's get right to it, shall we?


Up front, there's a coil-over MacPherson strut.




But the lower end does not have the single L-shaped lower arm that most strut suspensions have. Instead, there are two lower links (white), each with its own ball joint, just like the closely-related Pontiac G8 GT.

The front stabilizer bar (green) connects to the strut body via a long, slender link (yellow) for a 1:1 motion ratio.




Like most cars with north-south engines and rear-wheel drive, the Camaro's steering arm (yellow) acts ahead of the axle centerline. The hub carrier it attaches to (white) is aluminum, unlike the Pontiac G8, which uses one made of steel.




Here's a closer look at the dual lower links and their ball joints. The forward one (yellow) comes in from above so that the steering arm can sneak past underneath.




Them's some big brakes - much bigger than the 2-piston sliding calipers found on the front of our dearly departed G8 GT. These calipers (green) are 4-piston fixed units from Brembo. A clump of mass-damping weights (white) have been unceremoniously stuck to them (where they don't show much), presumably to quell a resonant vibration. The ventilated rotors (yellow) are 1-piece cast units.




Out back, the rear multi-link suspension looks very, very similar to that found in the G8 GT. Like the Pontiac, "multi" in this case means three links and one L-shaped upper arm.
Two links (green forward, red aft, behind the shock) make up what amounts to a lower wishbone. The fully boxed upper arm (white) curves off behind the shock to meet its hidden second pivot. A toe-link (yellow) keeps the wheel pointed in the right direction.




Here's a snail's-eye view of the lower links and their wishbonesque arrangement.




Left to right (and bottom to top): forward lower link (yellow); toe link (green); and upper arm (white). The forward upper pivot of the upper arm, a pillow ball, is just barely visible. The rear pivot is a higher volume rubber bushing that's hidden off behind the spring and shock.




The rear lower link does quite a bit of work as the spring/shock assembly and the stabilizer bar connect to it. The shape is slightly different from that of the G8 GT, but it's very close. The stab bar motion ratio looks about the same(0.4:1), but the spring/shock motion ratio looks a little smaller (0.7:1).





Like the front, the Camaro's rear knuckles (yellow) are made of aluminum. Those of the Pontiac G8 GT are steel. They also house ginormous 4-piston fixed Brembo calipers of an open design for easy pad swaps and an external crossover tube (black) to send fluid to the outer pair of pistons.




That'll do.




Front tires: 245/45ZR20 (103Y), weighing in at 63.0 pounds
Rear tires: 275/40ZR20 (106Y), weighing in at 67.5 pounds.

[sunsfan]

nice find some good info and pics.

[MillerTime]

Very informative. Thanks for the info!

[JusticePete]

You made a valuable post to a link that gives a good overview of the ZETA II suspension. If you found the material interesting I think you will enjoy these two threads.

ZETA II Suspension -- The Book

GM Designs in Chassis Strength / Crash Test Videos

[dmiller66]

Great article. However, I was a little disappointed when I took off one of my wheel and saw "Made in China" on my "Chevrolet".

[khabboub]

is this the same and/or similar to the v6?

[pincoin]

Thanks for the info!

[BLUESMOKE69]

Keep the lessons coming!!! Super Cool Stuff!!

[Tech]

thanks for taking the time...now to replace 90% of it with aftermarket parts!

[franknbeans]

Nice, my second homepage post.

[iPODFAN11]

Originally Posted by dmiller66

Great article. However, I was a little disappointed when I took off one of my wheel and saw "Made in China" on my "Chevrolet".

Saw the same on a 2010 Equinox. Emailed Chevy...

...got this in response...

Thank you for contacting us recently regarding outsourcing of parts. We appreciate you advising General Motors of your concerns and providing us the opportunity to review them, as we recognize individuals have many different views.


General Motors is present in different parts of the world. That’s what makes GM a global company, and as such, utilizes manufacturing capabilities overseas. Rest assured that our vehicles are as reliable as any products on the market. At General Motors, we have such confidence in the vehicles that we produce that we provide a comprehensive warranty to protect our customers. We constantly monitor current procedures to ensure quality is built into all of our vehicles. We also watch closely for technological innovations which may be utilized in improving and reinforcing the quality of our products.


We have documented your concerns and will forward your comments to the appropriate department. Your thoughts and opinions are very important to us. Thank you again for taking the time to let us know how you feel.


Sincerely,


The General Motors Consumer Support Team

[wrbear]

You the man!

[mdinferno]

excellent post

[JoeFire]

Great post. It's always nice to learn more about what we drive around in.