Hi, I have noticed that many teams use a horizontal bar to connect their differential carriers. Can someone explain the engineering behind this as my team and I are debating whether or not it is actually necessary.
It is easy to quickly say that by connecting the two carriers, the whole system is more rigid and that the horizontal bar helps to resolve any axial forces that the carriers may see. A concern we had with this argument is that even with the horizontal bar, the carriers would move together anyway if the axial forces were great enough (they will not be, but assume worst case). Thus, the horizontal bar is just added weight. A further explanation on why it is needed would be greatly appreciated.
I have included some pictures that I found on google of what I am talking about.
http://imgur.com/XSgvn,ll9Ui#0
http://imgur.com/XSgvn,ll9Ui#1