The spring and damper has a very important role to play in race car vehicle dynamics and performance. As a system, it controls the relative motion between the sprung and unsprung masses and is arguably the most important for its influence into tyre performance.
Rear spring and damper arrangement on a modern LMP1 Car.

To understand how and why the spring and damper system influences performance you need to understand the tyre, so as we progress through this article, I?ll talk about the system with respect to how it is affecting the tyre contact patch.
The spring and damper system defines the frequency response of both the sprung and unsprung mass which is important in allowing us to understand the character of the output waveform with respect to the input. The frequency response has importance when considering 3 main dimensions:

Natural frequency of the system
Rate of wheel loading due to weight transfer (sprung mass control)
Character of contact patch pressure variation due to the road surface (unsprung mass control)

The Spring
The spring is a component which generates a force proportional to its displacement.
Front spring and damper on a Rallycross car. Credit: Bilstein

When considering displacements of the sprung mass resulting from lateral acceleration, the spring?s primary objective is to generate sufficient force to resist the effects of roll torque by providing roll stiffness (Nm/?) at each axle.
It?s important to reinforce th...