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 | Illustrated: Suspension Components |
Suspension: The term suspension refers to the ability of this bridge to "suspend" a vehicle's frame, body and powertrain above the wheels.
Solid axle suspension (also known as rigid beam, or rigid axle) is the most elementary form of connecting the upper and lower halves of a vehicle. As the name implies, it utilizes a single piece of metal -- a common axle for both wheels -- sprung beneath the car's undercarriage. Pivots located between the axle and the wheel spindles allow the wheels to swivel on each end.
| In solid axle suspension, because both wheels share the same axle, the up or down movement of one wheel causes a like movement in the other wheel. They respond as one unit. As you can imagine, this doesn't make for the most comfortable ride. Even though solid axle designs utilize springs to soften their inherently harsh ride characteristics ,they still bump along like a brick outhouse. So why use them at all? Well, strength, for one. Because of the unitized construction, solid axle suspension systems offer incredible load bearing capacity. They also handle uneven roads superbly. You'll find them in trucks and offroad vehicles.
A modified form of the solid axle design is called Twin-I-beam suspension, or semi-rigid axle. In this setup, two rigid axles one for each wheel take the place of a single axle. This design offers many of the strengths of the solid axle design, with a slightly softer ride. You'll find it used primarily in the front end of light trucks.
The other main design is called independent suspension. As the name suggests, independent suspension assemblies offer a separate "bridge" for each wheel. They deliver the best ride characteristics by far, and are found most frequently in passenger cars, minivans, and other street vehicles. This is the most popular kind of suspension system in use today. If you like the "smoothness" of your car's ride, we can almost guarantee it has independent suspension.
In addition to axles, wheels and Tires, today's suspension systems utilize two other components that are critical to safe and comfortable driving: Springs and Shock Absorbers. | | :: Recommended Reading / Videos :: | | | |
| :: Recommended material containing aditional info about Suspension :: |
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