That tiny strut (black) is the working end of a position sensor that tells the control computer exactly how the suspension is moving. Still, this stuff was available last year. The C7 Corvette continues on with a transverse composite leaf spring (yellow) that presses against the lower control arm. This height adjuster (green) is a nice feature of this layout, and a Corvette has one at each corner. Twirl all four and you can lower the car. Tweak selected ones while the car is sitting on a set of digital pad scales and you can 'corner weight' the car to evenly distribute your own mass or optimize the car to suit whatever track or autocross course you might be tackling. The composite spring runs underneath the car in about the lowest position you could possibly imagine. And it's made of a lightweight glass fiber composite that doesn't weigh much to begin with. Imagine the weight of a like-size hunk of hardwood and you'll be in the ballpark.īoth sides share a single spring that spans the width of the car, which is what makes it a transverse composite leaf spring. GM prefers to emphasize the 'transverse' and 'composite' aspects while ignoring the horse-and-buggy implications of the term 'leaf' spring. We get their point, but this clearly isn't a coil spring, an air spring or a torsion bar. Leaf spring is the term that's left - not that there's anything wrong with that. The transverse leaf is always loaded up against the subframe, even when the car is up in the air with the wheels dangling like it is here. That's why these retaining clips can be so small they're not shouldering much real load, even now.

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