It doesn’t increase body rigidity, it balances it
This is where STI proposes “flexible” parts. The aim is not to increase rigidity, but to improve the rigidity balance to make the car respond more linearly.
The Flexible Draw Stiffener is a part that eliminates play by pulling on the body and suspension with spring force, and aims to speed up the car’s response.
In the Impreza tested this time, it was installed in the rear bumper. By pulling the rear ends of the left and right rear frames towards each other, tension is applied to the body, thereby increasing the response to the driver’s maneuvers. Since increasing body rigidity only in one part of the body would result in an imbalance, this part is designed to respond quickly to inputs by providing tension to the frame while keeping an eye on the overall structure.
In addition, a ‘flexible tower bar’ is fitted at the front. Tower bars are generally used to increase rigidity by connecting the left and right strut towers in the engine compartment. However, with this flexible tower bar, a link ball is inserted in the middle of the bar connecting the left and right sides. Therefore, it does not increase the rigidity of the body, but has the effect of supporting the left and right strut towers.
The bar moderately resists inputs from the road surface, while holding firm during cornering to achieve strong and supple characteristics.
Regrettably, we were not able to do a comparison test drive on the same vehicle this time, but we were able to experience the handling that seems to be the effect of the Flexible Parts Series when we test-drove a vehicle equipped with the system.
Since the steering responds very slightly from the start of turning, it is difficult to feel uneasy even when diving into corners at high speeds on a closed course. You can smoothly change direction without feeling any understeer when cornering, or any increase in rigidity as when a tower bar is fitted.
I recommend these parts to people who do not have many opportunities to drive a car regularly or who are not confident in their driving skills, as they make driving a car easier.
translated by DeepL
