Fiberglass captured America’s imagination in the 1950s when aspiring craft automotive companies began offering sporty fiberglass body kits, not to mention when Chevrolet introduced the 1953 Corvette. Technology has allowed fiberglass to find its way into other applications – even suspension components – and now Audi has shown that it’s possible to use composite fiberglass for coil springs.
Road & Track is reporting that Italian parts supplier Sogefi developed a “patented coil spring technology” that Audi has developed further in cooperation with the supplier. The spring is 40 percent lighter than a conventional spring, which means a weight savings of almost 10 pounds is possible for a set of four – half of that unsprung weight.
The fiberglass coil spring looks like a conventional coil spring, but the fiberglass ones are thicker. Of course, they lighter too, but they also won’t corrode or break down with common chemicals found in the nether regions of vehicles.
Audi hasn’t announced cost or what models will first receive this new item, but stay tuned to Motrolix as we’ll tell you when it happens.
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