Kind of cool: GM's HiPer Strut System

[lupinsea]

Not sure if anyone picked up on this post from Autoblog, but it looks like GM has developed a new strut system that decouples the steering from the suspension motion.

GM's HiPer Strut System

It looks like a Macpherson strut except that it integrates a separate steering knuckle where the strut attaches to the lower control arm. It reduces the effective spindle length and the king pin axis is more upright. The whole system is designed to basically bolt in to existing mounting points on the various GM cars, in this case the new Buick LaCrosse.

Read through to the bottom of the article where they describe some track testing of the new steering system. It sounds very promising and worth the extra 4 lb. weight penalty of the more complex suspension design.

Originally Posted by Autoblog Article

On the first straight section we did a wide open throttle launch and the car took off straight and true without even a wiggle in the steering wheel. Further on down the road through some flat curves the LaCrosse tracked exactly where it was pointed and the steering provided much improved feedback compared to the last example we drove. Federico and his team have done an admirable job of tuning the electric power assisted steering on all versions of the LaCrosse so that the weighting is just right and there are no dead spots.

When we put the gas down at the apex, the LaCrosse just pulled itself out of the corner and shot on to the next one without any drama whatsoever. The steering unwound itself smoothly and kept tracking as the car picked up speed. Where the new suspension really showed off its newfound prowess was when we crested a hill right at the apex of a corner. The suspension went from fully unloaded to fully compressed as the car landed and continued to turn in with little more than a chirp of the tires. The LaCrosse exhibited no undesirable behavior and never jerked around even when the stability control briefly kicked in.

I would still GREATLY prefer a RWD car for any kind of sporty and fun driving but FWD cars don't seem to be going anywhere. And if GM (and Ford with their new Focus FWD suspension setup) can tame or eliminate the crappy handling aspects of FWD then good on them.

[John V]

That is very interesting. Thx for posting.