Patent ID: 7556272

Claim:
A twist axle suspension for an automotive vehicle, comprising: first and second trailing arms each having a front end and a rear end joined by an intermediate portion providing a weld site, the front ends of the trailing arms having pivots pivoted to a body of the automotive vehicle and the rear ends of the trailing arms supporting rear wheels of the automotive vehicle; a twist axle having first and second end sections abutting and welded to the trailing arms at the weld sites, the twist axle having a first wall portion facing the front ends of the trailing arms and a second wall portion facing the rear ends of the trailing arms; wherein the first and second end sections of the twist axle have concave edges having a profile complementing convex inside surface profiles of the trailing arms; an apex portion joining the wall portions to provide the twist axle with a cross section having a shear center line disposed above the apex portion, the shear center being spaced a selected distance H above the axes about which the trailing arms pivot; a straight intermediate section of the twist axle being displaced from the first and second end sections to lower or raise the shear center line at the intermediate section without affecting the welds of the first and second end sections to the trailing arms; and wherein the concave edges extend below and above the profiles of the trailing arms with the apex portion of the twist axle extending partially over the trailing arms.