How Car Suspensions Work Table of Contents Introduction to How Car Suspensions Work Vehicle Dynamics The Chassis Sprit Springs: Sprung and Unsprung Mass Dampers: Shock Absorbers Dampers: Struts and Anti-sway Bars Suspension Types: Front Suspension Types: Rear Specialized Suspensions: The Baja Bug Specialized Suspensions: Formula One Racers Specialized Suspensions: Hot Rods The Future of Car Suspensions Lots more Information Compare Prices for Car Suspensions When people think of automobile performance, they normally think of horsepower, torque and zero-to-60 acceleration. But all of the power generated by a piston engine is useless if the driver can t control the car That's why automobile engineers turned their attention to the suspension system almost as soon as they had mastered the four-stroke internal combustion engine Photo courtesy Honda Motor Co, Ltd Double-wishbone suspension on Honda Accord 2005 Coupe The job of a car suspension is to maximize the friction between the tires and the road surface, to provide steering stability with good handling and to ensure the comfort of the passengers. In this article, we'll explore how car suspensions work, how they ve evolved over the years and where the design of suspensions is headed in the future Vehicle Dynamics If a road were perfectly flat, with no irregularities, suspensions wouldn t be necessary. But roads are far
How Car Suspensions Work Table of Contents: › Introduction to How Car Suspensions Work › Vehicle Dynamics › The Chassis › Springs › Springs: Sprung and Unsprung Mass › Dampers: Shock Absorbers › Dampers: Struts and Anti-sway Bars › Suspension Types: Front › Suspension Types: Rear › Specialized Suspensions: The Baja Bug › Specialized Suspensions: Formula One Racers › Specialized Suspensions: Hot Rods › The Future of Car Suspensions › Lots More Information › Compare Prices for Car Suspensions When people think of automobile performance, they normally think of horsepower, torque and zero-to-60 acceleration. But all of the power generated by a piston engine is useless if the driver can't control the car. That's why automobile engineers turned their attention to the suspension system almost as soon as they had mastered the four-stroke internal combustion engine. Photo courtesy Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Double-wishbone suspension on Honda Accord 2005 Coupe The job of a car suspension is to maximize the friction between the tires and the road surface, to provide steering stability with good handling and to ensure the comfort of the passengers. In this article, we'll explore how car suspensions work, how they've evolved over the years and where the design of suspensions is headed in the future. Vehicle Dynamics If a road were perfectly flat, with no irregularities, suspensions wouldn't be necessary. But roads are far
from flat Even freshly paved highways have subtle imperfections that can interact with the wheels of a car. It's these imperfections that apply forces to the wheels. According to Newton 's laws of motion, all forces have both magnitude and direction. a bump in the road causes the wheel to move up and down perpendicular to the road surface. The magnitude, of course, depends on whether the wheel is striking a giant bump or a tiny speck. Either way, the car wheel experiences a vertical acceleration as it passes HOW CAR SUSPENSIONS WORK Vertical/ Horizontal Acceleration VERTICAL ACCELERATION ACCELERATIO o2005 Hoas hftwons Without an intervening structure, all of wheel's vertical energy is transferred to the frame, which moves in the same direction. In such a situation, the wheels can lose contact with the road completely. Then under the downward force of gravity the wheels can slam back into the road surface. What you need is a system that will absorb the energy of the vertically accelerated wheel, allowing the frame and body to ride undisturbed while the wheels follow bumps in the road The study of the forces at work on a moving car is called vehicle dynamics, and you need to understand some of these concepts in order to appreciate why a suspension is necessary in the first place. Most automobile engineers consider the dynamics of a moving car from two perspectives: Ride-a car's ability to smooth out a bumpy road Handling-a car's ability to safely accelerate, brake and comer These two characteristics can be further described in three important principles-road isolation, road holding and cornering. The table below describes these principles and how engineers attempt to solve Principle Definition Goa Solution Absorb energy from road Allow the vehicle he vehicle's ability to bumps and Road absorb or isolate road body to ride undisturbed while dissipate it solation hock from the without causing passenger compartment undue rough roads scillation in the vehicle
from flat. Even freshly paved highways have subtle imperfections that can interact with the wheels of a car. It's these imperfections that apply forces to the wheels. According to Newton's laws of motion, all forces have both magnitude and direction. A bump in the road causes the wheel to move up and down perpendicular to the road surface. The magnitude, of course, depends on whether the wheel is striking a giant bump or a tiny speck. Either way, the car wheel experiences a vertical acceleration as it passes over an imperfection. Without an intervening structure, all of wheel's vertical energy is transferred to the frame, which moves in the same direction. In such a situation, the wheels can lose contact with the road completely. Then, under the downward force of gravity, the wheels can slam back into the road surface. What you need is a system that will absorb the energy of the vertically accelerated wheel, allowing the frame and body to ride undisturbed while the wheels follow bumps in the road. The study of the forces at work on a moving car is called vehicle dynamics, and you need to understand some of these concepts in order to appreciate why a suspension is necessary in the first place. Most automobile engineers consider the dynamics of a moving car from two perspectives: • Ride - a car's ability to smooth out a bumpy road • Handling - a car's ability to safely accelerate, brake and corner These two characteristics can be further described in three important principles -road isolation, road holding and cornering. The table below describes these principles and how engineers attempt to solve the challenges unique to each. Principle Definition Goal Solution Road Isolation The vehicle's ability to absorb or isolate road shock from the passenger compartment Allow the vehicle body to ride undisturbed while traveling over rough roads. Absorb energy from road bumps and dissipate it without causing undue oscillation in the vehicle
The degree to which a with the road surface in various types of irectional changes and in a straight line Keep the tires in Minimize the contact with the transfer of (Example: The weight of ground,because vehicle weight a car will shift from the it is the friction from side to rear tires to the front tires Road Holding during braking. Because between the tires side and front the nose of the car dips and the road that to back, as this toward the road, this type ability to steer, of motion is known as dive. The opposite the tire's gnp accelerate during acceleration which shifts the weight of to the back. as centrifugal Transfer the force pushes he ability of a vehicle to car's center of Cornering travel a curved path gravity while comering from he vehicle to one side of the vehicle and A cars suspension, with its ts provides all of the solutions described Let's look at the parts of a typical suspension, working from the bigger picture of the chassis down to the individual components that make up the suspension prope The chassis he suspension of a car is actually part of the chassis, which comprises all of the important systems located beneath the cars body
Road Holding The degree to which a car maintains contact with the road surface in various types of directional changes and in a straight line (Example: The weight of a car will shift from the rear tires to the front tires during braking. Because the nose of the car dips toward the road, this type of motion is known as "dive." The opposite effect -- "squat" -- occurs during acceleration, which shifts the weight of the car from the front tires to the back.) Keep the tires in contact with the ground, because it is the friction between the tires and the road that affects a vehicle's ability to steer, brake and accelerate. Minimize the transfer of vehicle weight from side to side and front to back, as this transfer of weight reduces the tire's grip on the road. Cornering The ability of a vehicle to travel a curved path Minimize body roll, which occurs as centrifugal force pushes outward on a car's center of gravity while cornering, raising one side of the vehicle and lowering the opposite side. Transfer the weight of the car during cornering from the high side of the vehicle to the low side. A car's suspension, with its various components, provides all of the solutions described. Let's look at the parts of a typical suspension, working from the bigger picture of the chassis down to the individual components that make up the suspension proper. The Chassis The suspension of a car is actually part of the chassis, which comprises all of the important systems located beneath the car's body
HOW CAR SUSPENSIONS WORK Basic Components Control Arm口 Shock Absorber口 STeering Linkage 92005 Hows artworks Chassis hese systems include The frame-structural, load-carrying component that supports the car's engine and body, which are in tum supported by the suspension The suspension system -setup that supports weight, absorbs and dampens shock and helps maintain tire contact The steering system -mechanism that enables the driver to guide and direct the vehicle The tires and wheels-components that make vehicle motion possible by way of grip and/or friction with the road With this big-picture overview in mind, it's time to look at the three fundamental components of any suspension: springs, dampers and anti-sway bars prongs Today s springing systems are based on one of four basic designs bar coiled around an axis coil springs compress and expand to absorb the motion of the n Coil springs- This is the most common type of spring and is, in essence, a heavy-duty torsi
Chassis These systems include: • The frame - structural, load-carrying component that supports the car's engine and body, which are in turn supported by the suspension • The suspension system - setup that supports weight, absorbs and dampens shock and helps maintain tire contact • The steering system - mechanism that enables the driver to guide and direct the vehicle • The tires and wheels - components that make vehicle motion possible by way of grip and/or friction with the road So the suspension is just one of the major systems in any vehicle. With this big-picture overview in mind, it's time to look at the three fundamental components of any suspension: springs, dampers and anti-sway bars. Springs Today's springing systems are based on one of four basic designs: • Coil springs - This is the most common type of spring and is, in essence, a heavy-duty torsion bar coiled around an axis. Coil springs compress and expand to absorb the motion of the wheels
Photo courtesy carDomain Coil springs
Photo courtesy Car Domain Coil springs