Stupid strut cars

Why do so many car manufacturers make cars that require struts these days ?

Shocks are about 15 to 20 times cheaper to install.

And who needs $1000.00 airbags, when seat belts work just fine ?

Newfangled, easily crunchable JUNK !

In article >,
"Tim Kett" > wrote:

> Why do so many car manufacturers make cars that require struts these days ?
>
> Shocks are about 15 to 20 times cheaper to install.
>
> And who needs $1000.00 airbags, when seat belts work just fine ?
>
> Newfangled, easily crunchable JUNK !

Lemme take a wild guess here...

You attempted to replace the struts on your Saturn and things
didn't go exactly as planned?

"aarcuda69062" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Tim Kett" > wrote:
>
> > Why do so many car manufacturers make cars that require struts these
days ?
> >
> > Shocks are about 15 to 20 times cheaper to install.
> >
> > And who needs $1000.00 airbags, when seat belts work just fine ?
> >
> > Newfangled, easily crunchable JUNK !
>
> Lemme take a wild guess here...
>
> You attempted to replace the struts on your Saturn and things
> didn't go exactly as planned?

No, but I might get it done in the spring, if I feel I cant handle it
properly. Shocks, no problem, but even with proper tools and info, struts
are a time consuming pain in the butt + the required alignment afterward.
All well, I will keep restoring my truck, which is much cheaper and easier
to keep on the road. Just what *is* the advantage of struts on a
non-performance car ? A teeny amount of weight less ?

On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 23:12:06 -0500, "Tim Kett"
> wrote:

>Why do so many car manufacturers make cars that require struts these days ?
>

For the same reason they do most things. It's cheaper to build em
with struts because they can get rid of several other parts you would
need to have if it just used shocks.


>Shocks are about 15 to 20 times cheaper to install.
>
>And who needs $1000.00 airbags, when seat belts work just fine ?
>
>Newfangled, easily crunchable JUNK !
>
>
>

--
Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts:

"What, sir, is the use of militia? It is to prevent the
establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. . .
Whenever Government means to invade the rights and liberties of
the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order
to raise a standing army upon its ruins." -- Debate, U.S. House
of Representatives, August 17, 1789

"AZGuy" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 23:12:06 -0500, "Tim Kett"
> > wrote:
>
> >Why do so many car manufacturers make cars that require struts these days
?
> >
>
> For the same reason they do most things. It's cheaper to build em
> with struts because they can get rid of several other parts you would
> need to have if it just used shocks.
>

Thanks ! I dont like it, but what you said makes sense.

Tim Kett wrote:
>
> No, but I might get it done in the spring, if I feel I cant handle it
> properly. Shocks, no problem, but even with proper tools and info, struts
> are a time consuming pain in the butt + the required alignment afterward.
> All well, I will keep restoring my truck, which is much cheaper and easier
> to keep on the road. Just what *is* the advantage of struts on a
> non-performance car ? A teeny amount of weight less ?
>

Less parts. Instead of two control arms, two balljoints, shocks,
spring, bushings, ... you have one control arm, one balljoint and one
strut assembly with the shock & spring. They have to align the front
end on the assembly line anyway...

Assembly line time is big money - if they can save 5 minutes per car on
assembling the front end x 200,000 cars, that's a lot of $.

So, yeah, it really has nothing to do with performance or servicing.
Not too many performance cars come with struts - although I think the
Boxster does...

Other than the alignment, they're not that hard - unless removing seized
up shock bolts is your idea of a good time.

Ray

Tim Kett wrote:

> Why do so many car manufacturers make cars that require struts these days ?
>
> Shocks are about 15 to 20 times cheaper to install.
>
> And who needs $1000.00 airbags, when seat belts work just fine ?
>
> Newfangled, easily crunchable JUNK !
>

Ah, but a strut and strut bearing replaces the upper control arm and
ball joint, so that's two bushings and a ball joint that you won't have
to replace. Win some, lose some. I don't really think it's that big a
deal overall, might be a little more expensive but overall probably not
much. A strut type suspension also allows more room for stuff in the
engine bay, which IMHO is a Good Thing

The fact that Porsche uses struts shows that they don't negatively
impact handling, at least in normal street use...

I do agree with you on airbags though, I'm fairly happy without them.
If I had the choice, I probably wouldn't pay the extra for them on a new
car, as I can't remember the last time I moved a car more than 10 feet
without a seatbelt on. Well, actually, yes I can - I picked up an old
car in Philly for a friend and it didn't *have* seatbelts. That was
maybe 2-3 years ago.

nate

--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

On Thu, 23 Dec 2004, Tim Kett wrote:

> Just what *is* the advantage of struts on a non-performance car?

Easier (cheaper) manufacture of the front suspension components
Easier (cheaper) factory installation of the front suspension assembly
More compact packaging

In article >,
says...

>Why do so many car manufacturers make cars that require struts these days ?

Cost and packaging efficiency. You can eliminate some suspension parts
by using struts. Strut suspensions also tend to take up less space.

>Shocks are about 15 to 20 times cheaper to install.

That's abit of an exageration. I doubt it is more than twice the price.

>And who needs $1000.00 airbags, when seat belts work just fine ?

Side curtain airbags have been shown to help in accidents. Front airbags
have been shown to kill smaller people.

>Newfangled, easily crunchable JUNK !

Crunchable is generally good. That is usually a sign of controlled energy
dissipation. Exactly what you want in a car accident.
------------
Alex

In article >,
says...

>No, but I might get it done in the spring, if I feel I cant handle it
>properly. Shocks, no problem, but even with proper tools and info, struts
>are a time consuming pain in the butt + the required alignment afterward.
>All well, I will keep restoring my truck, which is much cheaper and easier
>to keep on the road. Just what *is* the advantage of struts on a
>non-performance car ? A teeny amount of weight less ?

Proper tools make the job go much faster.
-------------
Alex