High-performance materials maker Greene Tweed and Arrow McLaren have co-engineered a lightweight anti-roll bar lever for the team’s NTT IndyCar Series race cars using Greene Tweed’s Xycomp DLF thermoplastic composite. The redesigned component reduces weight by 64 grams per car, while meeting the strength and reliability demands of open-wheel racing.
The anti-roll bar lever is a critical suspension component that helps control chassis roll and maintain consistent handling balance during high-speed cornering.
Working closely with Arrow McLaren’s engineering team, Greene Tweed evaluated the component’s performance requirements, geometry, manufacturing approach and material demands before transitioning the design from 7075 aluminum billet to Xycomp DLF. The high-performance thermoplastic composite material offers a high strength-to-weight profile and is engineered to replace complex metallic components for aerospace and defense, industrial and other demanding applications.
Greene Tweed
"Projects with Arrow McLaren are the perfect proving ground for Xycomp DLF,” Greene Tweed Senior Scientist Sebastien Kohler said. "In this case, moving from a well-understood aluminum billet to a thermoplastic composite for a complex-shaped suspension component that must endure the extreme stresses of IndyCar racing required deep collaboration and trust. Leveraging the properties of our DLF composite allowed us to reduce weight while validating a new design and manufacturing methodology for one of the most demanding racing environments.”
The Xycomp DLF anti-roll bar levers were first introduced on Nolan Siegel’s No. 6 car at Barber Motorsports Park and have since been implemented across all Arrow McLaren cars. Beyond the material change itself, the project also reduced internal development workload for Arrow McLaren’s engineering and production groups, underscoring the value of Greene Tweed’s technical support throughout the redesign and manufacturing processes.
Visit Arrow McLaren’s latest case study to learn how the combination of Arrow McLaren’s race engineering insight with Greene Tweed’s thermoplastic composite expertise delivered a lighter component designed for reliability and performance on the racecourse.
