The key safety related systems which controls the determining factors of the car's handling and riding is called its suspension system. For a smooth ride and for better performance of your car, it is always advisable to have the systems evaluated at least once every year.
Uneven tire wear, excessive noise, bouncing or vibration, getting pulled at one side or loss of control are the symptoms when you need either a new suspension or is the call for the car servicing.
Types of suspension for cars
Non independent suspension
For the rear wheel-drive vehicles, it have live axle, tube with half shafts and differential gears. It may also have a live front axle.
For the vans and the trucks, the dead axle is used which comes with the rigid beam. Some of the front-wheel drive cars are allowed with a dead rear axle. On the other hand, the suspensions which prevent sideways movement are allowed with springs as in rigid axle.
Independent suspension
In this, each wheel of the vehicle is separately attached to the frame of the car, in place of sharing a common axle.
Double wishbone: these are generally used at the front. To keep the wheel upright, there are two wishbones which help in the rising and falling movement. MacPherson strut suspension: it is used mostly for both the rear as well as the front part. In this, the wheel hubs are tightly fixed to the telescopic, tubular strut which is again linked and anchored to the frame or to the reinforced part.
The swing axles can be used for either front or rear where it is used as a beam axle and can be cut into halves and then anchored to the frames. This half axle formed is used in the rear and front pivots to prevent it from twisting.
Anti-roll bars: It is important to restrain the cars from rolling down or from leaning over on the corners. The anti-roll bars are used for this function. Most of the times they are fixed in the front but at times they may be fitted both on the rear as well as front wheels. With crossing the bar on the two opposite sides of the frame, it is actually the torsion bar. With the help of the flexible rubber bushes, the one end is attached to each wheel and outside that of the pivots, the bar can bend backward.
Multi-link suspension: the latest version of the double wishbone system is the multi-link suspension used mainly for the Audis (Audi A8). Here, instead of the solid lower and upper wishbones, there are separate arms. This gives a better road holding property.
Transverse leaf spring is normally used for the rear suspensions. Small chassis cars use this kind of suspension.
Moulton rubber suspension: Based on the compression of the solid mass of rubber, this suspension system is often common for mountain and racing bikes.
Understand the requirements of your car before buying a car suspension. Remember, you may need ultima shock absorbers and Selby suspension. It is always a good idea to know what’s right for your car before lightening your pocket after all.
