How Much Do You Know About the Types of Suspension in Automobiles?

Everyone should be familiar with car suspension. When we buy a car, we usually look at the configuration table, and there are two columns in which are the front/rear suspension type. There are many forms of car suspension, the more common ones in life are McPherson suspension, torsion beam suspension and multi-link suspension. Besides these, there are many other types of suspension. Today we will take a look at how many types of suspension there are in the car.

1. Integral axle hard axle automobile suspension (non-independent suspension)

Integral axle suspension means that the left and right wheels are fixed on the same axle, and the left and right wheels and the axle belong to the same whole. To put it bluntly, it is a steel rod strung with two wheels. If you don't understand, you can refer to the rack trucks that are often used in rural areas. The advantages of the integral axle suspension are its simple structure, firmness and durability, and strong bearing capacity. It is often used as a heavy duty truck air ride suspension, and some hard-core off-road vehicles also use this suspension.

The disadvantage is that when the vehicle is driving, the left and right wheels will interfere. After all, the two wheels belong to "grasshoppers on the same axle", and the jumping of the left wheel will inevitably affect the right wheel. Therefore, when driving on the road, the comfort is average, not as good as the independent suspension.

2. Torsion beam automobile suspension (semi-independent suspension)

Everyone often hears the "trolley suspension" sprayed by netizens, which is the torsion beam suspension. Strictly speaking, the torsion beam suspension is a semi-independent suspension. Although the left and right wheels are connected by a bridge body, the point is that the bridge body is not "hard". It can deform when the wheels jump and generate torque. The advantages of this type of suspension are that the structure is simple, the cost is low, the maintenance is economical and convenient, and it occupies less space when it is arranged, so it leaves more space for the cockpit.

The disadvantage of torsion beam suspension is that the comfort is not as good as that of independent suspension, and the handling is not as good as independent suspension. Many popular cars currently use independent suspension. In fact, on the paved road, the comfort performance of the torsion beam suspension and the independent suspension is not much different. From the experience, there is no difference. Also independent air suspension system in automobile is not necessarily more comfortable than a torsion beam, because tuning is also crucial.

3. McPherson automobile suspension (independent suspension)

MacPherson suspension is currently one of the most widely used forms of suspension, especially in the automotive market below 300,000, almost all of the front MacPherson independent suspension is used. This suspension has a simple structure and is mainly composed of coil springs, shock absorbers, and A-shaped lower swing arms. When the car is moving, the lower swing arm absorbs lateral shocks. The advantages of MacPherson suspension are relatively simple structure, light weight, fast response, small footprint and good comfort.

The disadvantage is that because the upper swing arm is replaced by a shock absorber and a coil spring, the lateral stiffness is relatively small, the nodding phenomenon is obvious when braking, and the roll is relatively large when turning.

4. Double wishbone automobile suspension (independent suspension)

Literally, the double wishbone suspension has two upper and lower wish arms, also known as double A-arm independent suspension. Different from the McPherson suspension, the lateral force of the double wishbone is absorbed by the upper and lower wishbone, so the lateral stability is more outstanding, and the roll when cornering is also smaller. In addition, the length of the upper and lower swing arms of the double-wishbone suspension is different, and the upper swing arm is shorter than the lower swing arm, so that the wheel can better stick to the ground when it is jumping.

The disadvantage is that the manufacturing cost is high and the setting of suspension positioning parameters is complicated. Also, double wishbone suspension takes up more space than MacPherson suspension. This type of suspension is generally used on mid-to-high-end models.

5. Multi-link automobile suspension (independent suspension)

Multi-link suspension, as the name implies, is an air suspension china composed of multiple links (three or more). This type of suspension is equivalent to replacing the two wishbones of the double wishbone with four links, and some will add a link to form a five-link suspension, and the fifth link is used to adjust the wheel parameters. Due to the many connecting rods, the wheel and the ground can be kept as vertical as possible, maintaining a sufficient ground contact area, and at the same time, the handling performance is excellent.

The disadvantage is that the structure is complex, the cost is high, there are many parts, and the assembly is time-consuming. In addition, the multi-link suspension has more links, so more space is required when the chassis is arranged. This type of suspension is generally used in mid- to high-end models.