How Different Types of Suspension System Works? Explained in Details

When people think of automobile

performance, they normally think of

horsepower, torque, and acceleration.

But all of the power generated by a

piston engine is [music] useless if the

driver can control the car. That's why

automobile engineers turn their

attention to the suspension system to

maximize the friction between the tires

and the road to provide steering

stability and better handling.

In today's world, the modern cars are

the true wonders of engineering. They

rely on multiple components and

mechanical systems working together to

guarantee smooth and safe operation.

Many don't understand what suspensions

are and what exactly it does. Let's take

a closer look together.

Your car's [music] suspension system is

a protective lattice of shock absorbing

components such as [music] springs and

dampers. Your car's suspension helps

ensure that your drive is safe and

smooth by absorbing the energy from

various road bumps [music] and other

impacts. Furthermore, it helps your

tires to stay in contact with the road

[music] by increasing tire friction.

However, while most people know a little

bit about their cars functions like how

engine works, how brakes work and how

suspension work. So today we look into

what are the different types of

suspension system and their components.

Suspension comes with two basic

components such as springs and dampers.

Now let's find out how these components

works. Starting with the springs.

Springs act as reservoirs of energy.

When the vehicle passes over

irregularities of the road, it

compresses the spring.

This energy is released when spring

expands subsequently and with the help

of dampers the energy is converted into

heat and the spring absorbs the shock

and avoids transfer to the vehicle

frame.

There are three types of springs are

used. They are leaf springs or laminated

springs, coil [music] springs and

torsion bars.

Leaf springs are also known as laminated

springs. They are basically steel strips

that are mounted over one another.

They are also called semi-eleptical

springs as they are bent in that form.

However, [music] nowadays they are

almost straight.

Coil springs can have constant and

variable rigidity. Items with constant

stiffness have the same diameter on both

ends. As for the second type, the

diameter of spring and rod vary on

different ranges. In the center of both

spring types, a rubber bump stop is

installed. This detail is required to

smoothe in fluctuations and prevent

springs damage when it is fully

compressed.

A torsion bar is a metal tube with rods

inside.

They work on the principle of twisting.

It means that before installation,

torsion bars are torqued around the axle

and then make the force of untwisting.

This function is controlled with special

levers and shock absorbers using the

bars as an elasticity element.

Dampers, commonly known as shock

absorbers, [music] protect the chassis

from the force caused when a wheel hits

a bump and prevents the springs from

continuously bouncing.

They also push the wheel back to the

road surface.

A damper is a piston filled with oil

that separates the chassis from the

wheel. When the car hits a bump, the

piston pushes into the casing and is

slowed by the oil, which flows into

another chamber as it's compressed.

Knuckle or upright. This is used to

connect the wheels to the suspension

system. The knuckle arm is positioned at

the front wheel of the car.

The wheels will be rotate continuously

on the spindle shaft that comes from the

knuckle arm. It is also connected to the

lower arm using a ball joint.

The knuckle is having a caster angle and

a kingpin on the front wheels which

helps in steering a vehicle in left or

right direction.

Strut. Strut is main component of

suspension system. Strut is basically

the combination of spring and damper

which is having two ends which will be

attached to the frame and the wheel.

Spring is used to store kinetic energy

into potential energy and damper

dissipates the kinetic energy into heat

energy.

Both these components works together to

form a strut assembly. The size of

spring used in strut depend upon the

load capacity of the vehicle.

Anti-uway bars. These are also known as

anti-roll bars. Anti-way bars play a key

role in passenger comfort and vehicle

stability to improve performance.

Anti-way bars acts as one of the key

components in [music] a vehicle

suspension system. As the name suggests,

their purpose is to reduce body roll or

sway when operating under cornering

conditions.

The ball joint functions to accept

various lateral and horizontal loads on

the car. It is also helpful as a

rotation axis when the vehicle is

turning. Ball joints consist of a metal

housing and stud. The stud is able to

swing and rotate [music] within the

housing. In this joint, you will usually

find helpful oil for lubricating the

various parts that rub against each

other. The grease lubrication is also

provided in the socket of ball joint.

There are two types of ball joints

namely upper ball joints and lower ball

joints. If there is no oil, the friction

will not work correctly and the ball

joint will tend not to function

properly. And it sounds like this.

There are different types of suspension

system will be used in automobile

vehicles. They are independent

suspension system and non-independent or

rigid axle suspension system.

Independent [music] suspension system.

Independent suspension is an automobile

suspension system [music] that allows

each wheel on the same axle to move

vertically and independently of the

others. In this system, the wheels are

linked. Movement on one side does not

affect the wheel on the other side. It

is common for the left and right sides

of the suspension to be connected with

anti-roll bars or other mechanisms.

Most modern vehicles have independent

front suspension.

Many vehicles also have an independent

rear [music] suspension.

It has almost same advantages of the

independent front suspension but the

main advantage that it reduces the

unsprung weight of the vehicle.

In independent suspension there are

various types are available. They are

Mac firsterson and strut suspension

double wishbone suspension,

multi-link suspension

and trailing arm suspension.

Macfersonen strut assembly. Earl S.

Macferson, an engineer with Ford USA,

developed a single wishbone with a

telescopic strut type system in 1947.

Both the strut and lower control arm are

connected to the frame of the vehicle

[music] with a flexible joint.

In the whole system, the main component

is the strut. It consists of spring and

a damper.

When the vehicle comes in contact with

the irregularities of the road, the

wheel moves up and down on the radius of

the lower link. Due to this [music]

motion, all the shock is transferred to

the strut, which absorbs the maximum

amount of force. It has relatively

simple construction which results in a

compact design [music] and cheap

double wishbone suspension system. In

this system, the wheel is mounted on the

wheel hub. The wheel hub is provided

with two links that is upper link and a

lower link. Both the links are pivoted

with the frame of [music] the vehicle. A

shock absorber is also placed between

the frame and the lower link which

consists of a flexible joint. When the

vehicle moves on uneven [music]

surfaces, the wheel faces shocks. These

shocks are transferred to the shock

absorber through the lower link. The

shock absorber absorbs the maximum

amount of shocks. The upper link is used

to maintain the camber of the wheel.

This system is complex as well as costly

and it requires more space.

Multilink is a suspension developed by

Double Wishbone and Multilink that has a

fairly complicated construction design

because it has separate parts that are

held together by joints.

This type of suspension has a quality

grip and controlling the car becomes

easier. The multi-link suspension also

has many variations.

If this suspension is damaged, then the

replacement process takes a long time

and the spare parts are still a rare.

So, the price is relatively more

expensive than other suspensions.

Trailing arm independent suspension

maintains constant track and wheel

altitude [music] with a slight change in

wheel basease and caster angle.

A coil spring is attached to the

trailing arm which itself is attached to

the shaft carrying the wheel hub.

When the wheel moves up and down, it

winds and unwinds the spring. A torsion

bar has also been used in certain

designs in place of the coil springs.

Non-independent or rigid axle suspension

system. In this both the wheels on same

axle are dependent to each other. There

is a solid or live axle. It allows both

left and right wheel to connect together

as team. If one side of automobile bends

in one direction then other side will

also bends in the same direction. This

is called dependency.

In non-independent or rigid axle

suspension system there are two types.

They are solid axle leaf spring

suspension and solid axle coil spring

suspension.

In solid axle leaf spring suspension,

leaf springs are used as suspension

members. The longest spring in the setup

bends into a circle to form a spring

eye. This spring's eye [music] is bolted

to the spring hanger and the other end

of spring's eye is attached to the

shackle. This shackle allows a change in

length of the leaf spring when it bends.

Also, the shackle includes a rubber

bushing which absorbs vibrations and

prevents them from reaching the vehicle.

The center portion of the leaf spring is

attached to the rear and axle housing

with the help of Ubolts and a rebound

clip holds all the springs together.

This type of suspension is used in truck

intended for more severe operations

[music] and with rear axle with high

payload.

Solid axle coil spring suspension. In

this type, the coil springs are seated

on pen-shaped brackets which are

attached to the rear axle. Torque tube

drives are also attached to this setup

and the coil springs are not subjected

to the driving thrust. The shock

absorbers prevent the vehicle from

rolling and the energy stored in the

coil springs is greater than the leaf

springs.

This type of suspension is always used

in conjunction with [music] torque tube,

torque reaction link or torque rod

drive. Therefore, the coil springs are

not subjected to driving thrust or

twist.

In air [music] suspension system, air

spring is used instead of a mechanical

spring. Air spring has a higher load

carrying capacity than mechanical

spring.

Air spring also has the advantage of

variable spring rate by adjusting air

pressure which is not possible in the

case of mechanical spring. In air

spring, two ends are provided. One is

mounted on the frame and the others to

the swing arm.

Three connection lines which are

pressure line, return line and control

line are also provided for the operation

and control.

In this type of suspension system, there

is an integrated fluid fil displacer

fitted to each wheel. The front and rear

units were connected making them two

pairs. The units were filled with a

mixture of alcohol, water, and additives

to prevent corrosion.

When wheel on one side of the car hit a

bump in the road, the fluid was

displaced and caused the unit on the

other wheel to react. In this way, a

bump at the front made the rear of the

car rise to a corresponding height and

the car always remained level.

So that's it. That's all about the

suspension system. If you think I have

missed anything, then please let me know

in the comments. So now you know

everything about suspension system but

the transmission is also one of the most

important function in automobile

vehicles. There are different types of

transmissions are available. Click on

this video and find out which type of

transmission is better for your new car.