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How stuff works suspension

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Steering axis inclination. This Video Sequence is not available in the free CDX eTextbook Click this icon for more information about CDX Automotive Resource Kit Plus This Knowledge Check is not available in the free CDX eTextbook Click this icon for more information about CDX Automotive Resource Kit Plus This Lab Experiment is not available in the free CDX eTextbook Click this icon for more information about CDX Automotive Resource Kit Plus This Workshop Activity Sheet is not available in the free CDX eTextbook Click this icon for more information about CDX Automotive Resource Kit Plus This Assessment Checklist is not available in the free CDX eTextbook Click this icon for more information about CDX Automotive Resource Kit Plus This Handout Activity Sheet is not available in the free CDX eTextbook Click this icon for more information about CDX Automotive Resource Kit Plus The axis around which the wheel assembly swivels as it turns to the right or left is called the steering axis.

Ball joint. A typical ball joint with cutaway view (right) In an automobile, ball joints are spherical bearings that connect the control arms to the steering knuckles. They are used on virtually every automobile made [1] and work similar to the ball and socket design of the human hip joint.[2] A ball joint consists of a bearing stud and socket enclosed in a casing; all these parts are made of steel. The bearing stud is tapered and threaded, and fits into a tapered hole in the steering knuckle.

A protective encasing prevents dirt from getting into the joint assembly. Usually, this is a rubber-like boot that allows movement and expansion of lubricant. The "Off-Set" ball joint provides means of movement in systems where thermal expansion and contraction, shock, seismic motion, and torsional motions, and forces are present.[3] Theory[edit] Ball joints allow a limited range of smooth movement in all directions Purpose[edit] Front wheel drive[edit] Types[edit] A SRJ024C-P Spherical Rolling Joint Failure[edit] Ball joint.

EZ Aline: Easy Adjusting Camber and Caster. Beam axle. Implementation[edit] With a beam axle the camber angle between the wheels is the same no matter where it is in the travel of the suspension. A beam axle's fore and aft location is constrained by either: trailing arms, semi-trailing arms, radius rods, or leaf springs. The lateral location is constrained by either: a Panhard rod, a Scott Russell linkage or a Watt's linkage. While shock absorbers and either leaf springs, coil springs, or air bags are used to control vertical movement. The Twist-beam rear suspension is a similar suspension design, however its beam axle is able to twist thereby functioning as an anti-roll bar to control the roll motion of the body and is considered to be an semi-independent suspension design. Live axle vs Dead axle[edit] A live axle in a Jeep. Advantages[edit] The principal advantage of the beam axle is its simplicity.

Disadvantages[edit] See also[edit] Notes[edit] External links[edit] Rubber Gaiters / Gaitors for Motorcyles and bikes. Kingpin Inclination Angle Theory | Technical Theory | Car Tyres Fitting and Wheel Alignment Specialists. The kingpin inclination is the angle, measured in degrees, that forms the line passing through the kingpin and the perpendicular to the ground, looking at the vehicle from the front, Wheel camber angle was devised to reduce the kingpin offset, which is the distance between the projection to the ground level of the kingpin axis and the point of contact with the tyre, But it was noted that a marked increase in this angle created negative effects, especially with the tyres at low pressure, the specific need arose, to reduce the camber angle almost to zero, this was also to achieve regular wear on the tyre, the problem was resolved by inclining the kingpin towards the lower part of the wheel, Included angle The angle between the kingpin axis and the wheel axis is equal to the algebraic sum of the kingpin inclination angle and the wheel camber angle and is defined as the included angle, Example If, on the other hand, the following measurements are observed,

Independent suspension. A multi-link type rear independent suspension on an AWD car. The anti-roll bar has some yellow paint on it. Most modern vehicles have independent front suspension (IFS). Many vehicles also have an independent rear suspension (IRS). IRS, as the name implies, has the rear wheels independently sprung. Independent suspension typically offers better ride quality and handling characteristics, due to lower unsprung weight and the ability of each wheel to address the road undisturbed by activities of the other wheel on the vehicle.

The relative movement between the wheels and the differential is achieved through the use of swinging driveshafts connected via universal (U) joints, analogous to the constant-velocity (CV) joints used in front wheel drive vehicles. Independent suspension[edit] Suspension[edit] Suspension is the only component that separates the driver and/or passenger from the ground. Advantages[edit] This system provides many advantages over other suspension systems. Types[edit] Torsion bar suspension. A torsion bar with no load applied. A torsion bar with a load applied. Usage[edit] Torsion bar suspensions are used on combat vehicles or tanks like the T-72, Leopard 1, Leopard 2, M18 Hellcat, and Abrams (many tanks from late in World War II used this suspension), and on trucks and SUVs from Ford, Dodge, GM, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Nissan, Isuzu and Toyota. Manufacturers change the torsion bar or key to adjust the ride height, usually to compensate for heavier or lighter engines.

While the ride height may be adjusted by turning the adjuster bolts on the stock torsion key, rotating the stock key too far can bend the adjusting bolt and (more importantly) place the shock piston outside its standard travel. Over-rotating the torsion bars can also cause the suspension to hit the bump-stop prematurely, causing a harsh ride. Advantages and disadvantages[edit] Leveling[edit] History[edit] The system was applied to many new combat vehicle designs during the Second World War. Variations[edit] Torsion bar suspension. Strut bar. Mounted strut bar front strut bar Combined strut bar and overflow container in an mk2 Saab Sonett. A strut bar is designed to reduce this strut tower flex by tying two parallel strut towers together. This transmits the load of each strut tower during cornering which ties the two towers together and reduces chassis flex.

To accomplish this effectively (especially on MacPherson strut suspensions), the bar must be rigid throughout its length. On versions of the Saab Sonett, the overflow container for the cooling system doubles as a strut bar. GM vehicles[edit] See also[edit] Lower tie bar External links[edit] Strut Tower Bar Theory. How Does a Car's Steering Column Work? How a Steering Gearbox Works. Ackermann steering geometry. Ackermann geometry Ackermann steering geometry is a geometric arrangement of linkages in the steering of a car or other vehicle designed to solve the problem of wheels on the inside and outside of a turn needing to trace out circles of different radius.

It was invented by the German carriage builder Georg Lankensperger in Munich in 1817, then patented by his agent in England, Rudolph Ackermann (1764–1834) in 1818 for horse-drawn carriages. Erasmus Darwin may have a prior claim as the inventor dating from 1758.[1] Advantages[edit] The intention of Ackermann geometry is to avoid the need for tyres to slip sideways when following the path around a curve.[2] The geometrical solution to this is for all wheels to have their axles arranged as radii of a circle with a common centre point.

As the rear wheels are fixed, this centre point must be on a line extended from the rear axle. Design and choice of geometry[edit] Simple approximation for designing Ackermann geometry References[edit] Caster angle. Θ is the caster angle, the red line is the pivot line, and the grey area is the tire. Bikes[edit] In the context of bicycles and motorcycles, caster is more commonly referred to as "rake and trail", especially in American English. British English still predominantly uses the term caster. Front end alignment[edit] When a vehicle's front suspension is aligned, caster is adjusted to achieve the self-centering action of steering, which affects the vehicle's straight-line stability. Positive caster angle[edit] The pivot points of the steering are angled such that a line drawn through them intersects the road surface slightly ahead of the contact patch of the tire on the pavement.

Trail or trailing[edit] History[edit] See also[edit] References[edit] Jump up ^ "Merriam Webster Dictionary". External links[edit] Camber angle. From the front of the car, a right wheel with a negative camber angle The 1960 Milliken MX1 Camber Car showing a large negative camber. Camber angle alters the handling qualities of a particular suspension design; in particular, negative camber improves grip when cornering.

This is because it places the tire at a better angle to the road, transmitting the forces through the vertical plane of the tire rather than through a shear force across it. Another reason for negative camber is that a rubber tire tends to roll on itself while cornering. On the other hand, for maximum straight-line acceleration, the greatest traction will be attained when the camber angle is zero and the tread is flat on the road. Off-road vehicles such as agricultural tractors generally use positive camber. See also[edit] References[edit] External links[edit] EATON Detroit Spring - The leading manufacturer of leaf and coil springs for the street rod and restoration industries.

Dampers: Shocks" Unless a dampening structure is present, a car spring will extend and release the energy it absorbs from a bump at an uncontrolled rate. The spring­ will continue to bounce at its natural frequency until all of the energy originally put into it is used up. A suspension built on springs alone would make for an extremely bouncy ride and, depending on the terrain, an uncontrollable car. Enter the shock absorber, or snubber, a device that controls unwanted spring motion through a process known as dampening. Shock absorbers slow down and reduce the magnitude of vibratory motions by turning the kinetic energy of suspension movement into heat energy that can be dissipated through hydraulic fluid.

To understand how this works, it's best to look inside a shock absorber to see its structure and function. A shock absorber is basically an oil pump placed between the frame of the car and the wheels. Shock absorbers work in two cycles -- the compression cycle and the extension cycle. How Car Suspensions Work" Photo courtesy Honda Motor Co., Ltd.Double-wishbone suspension on Honda Accord 2005 Coupe. 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.

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. If a road were perfectly flat, with no irregularities, suspensions wouldn't be necessary. A car's suspension, with its various components, provides all of the solutions described.