Car Suspension System: Importance & Components

The roads are not the same everywhere. They are smooth somewhere, offering a comfortable ride. In others, they can be full of bumps and potholes. To overcome this and ensure a smooth ride irrespective of the road type, a proper car suspension system is extremely important.

Scroll through to get an idea of how a car suspension system protects you from accidents.

Suspension on the car is defined as a complex system that plays the vital role of joining the car's wheels to the car's frame. This system serves two primary functions:

1. Shock Absorption: It reduces the effects of road roughness, which improves the passengers' comfort.

2. Handling Stability: It ensures that the wheels always have good ground contact, which improves steering and safety.

This kind of suspension enables the up-and-down movement of the wheels to the car's body to counter any terrain. Thus, the constant interaction between stiffness and compliance is vital to securing comfort and performance, which is why the suspension system is a crucial component of any automobile.

Car suspension works mainly on the principle of conversion of friction to heat. This is not done in a single step but is a multi-step process. There are two types of springs in a suspension that acts as a cushion when your vehicle bounces frequently. These springs function to store energy.

Dampers convert this energy to heat. They act as shock absorbers containing small holes and specialized oil. The kinetic energy stored in the spring gets converted to heat energy. Nowadays, a combination of dampers and springs are used to provide maximum protection.

A car suspension performs the following function:

• Helps car to move smoothly on-road as well as in off-road conditions
• Prevents toppling off of cars at high speeds.
• Prevents premature wearing of car parts.
• Aids in turning the vehicle
• Reduces the effect of shocks

They mainly perform the above function by converting kinetic energy to heat energy. This heat energy is then dissipated via the hydraulic fluid present, thus preventing the car parts from overheating.

Car suspensions are extremely important to safeguard you and your vehicle from accidents. It provides stability to your vehicle when you drive them at a higher speed.

They also play a key role in maintaining the wheel alignment of your vehicle to avoid rolling over. Additionally, a car suspension restricts the wearing of your vehicle tyres before time. Another major advantage of suspension is that they ensure passengers' comfort during the journey.

Car suspension is the system by which shock produced from motion and weight of the vehicle is managed, and the stabilisation of the car is maintained. The components of car suspension are as follows:

1. Springs

Springs are the basics of any suspension system—the elastic links that store and release the energy of the shock pulses from the road. Springs offer cushioning effects by enabling the wheels to move up/down relative to the car body. Two main springs are used in car suspensions: coil and leaf springs.

• Coil Springs: Coil springs are usually used in most modern passenger vehicles. They are formed of a single continuous elastic steel wire wound into a helix. They provide good comfort and control and can be adjusted to have different rates depending on the load.

• Leaf Springs: Leaf springs have been primarily used in old car models and still exist in current extra-load vehicles. They are made of spring steel shaped in curves, and several are assembled to work together. They can carry weights more than coil springs and offer springing operation and axle position.

The spring rate or stiffness plays the most vital role in defining a ride's comfort and the mass's manoeuvrability.

2. Dampers (Shock Absorbers)

Another relevant electric part includes dampers, sometimes referred to as shock absorbers; they assist springs in managing the rate of the suspension movement. Although springs are excellent at absorbing energy and keeping it, a car would continue to ‘bounce’ after a hump if there were no dampers to release this energy.

A typical damper resembles a piston in a cylinder packed with hydraulic fluid. Dampers are classified into twin-tube, mono-tube, and gas-charged dampers.

• Twin-tube Dampers: These are the most common, with two cylinders nested within the other.

• Mono-tube Dampers: Mono-tube dampers have a single tube with a unique design for high performance.

Gas-charged Dampers: These are incorporated in which pressurised gas prevents fluid aeration and improves performance.

3. Anti-roll Bar (Sway Bar)

The anti-roll bar, commonly called a sway bar, is considered an essential component of the automobile and is mainly involved in issues related to cornering. Usually, a U-shaped metal bar links the left and right sides of the suspension and tries to counteract lateral force in case the car turns.

During a turn, one side of the suspension compresses, and the anti-roll bar relays some of the forces to the contrary side, making the car less tilted. This component dramatically boosts the two attributes, significantly benefiting vehicles with a high POZ.

4. Knuckle Arm

The knuckle arm, commonly known as the steering knuckle, is a crucial link in the front suspension system. It holds the wheel hub on the car, enabling it to spin on the spindle shaft. It is another pivot, interlinked to the lower control arm with the help of a ball joint, which performs functions like steering and the vertical movements of the shock absorber. 

Another significant feature of the knuckle arm is that it houses other significant attachment points, such as the tie rods and brake callipers.

5. Ball Joint

Ball joints are spherical bearings important for the suspension as they act as essential pivot points. They permit free movement in any direction with the components while ensuring that they are firmly joined. Upper and lower ball joints allow wheels to move with the steering motion.

Ball joints carry different loads and should be well-lubricated for efficiency. There are various classifications of ball joints, some of which contain grease fittings that must be lubricated; the others do not.

The types of car suspension systems are as follows:

1. Macpherson Suspension

Simple design, ease of control, providing comfort, and less space consumption is the main reasons behind its popularity. The MacPherson Strut Suspension consists of a steering knuckle, a damper, and a track control arm.

2. Rigid Suspension–Leaf spring

They are extremely suitable for a commercial vehicle since they have the ability to support a lot of weight. However, they neither assist in smooth cornering nor provides comfort at high speed.

3. Multi-Link Suspension

They are mostly used in off-road vehicles as they have a high potential to adjust to any force they encounter. Once damaged, repairing the Multi-Link Suspension is extremely expensive. Hence, it is only present in premium cars.

4. Rigid Axle Suspension

Repairing and replacing these suspensions are extremely easy due to their simple structure. These occupy extremely less space and can support an extensive load. Hence, these are a popular choice for off-road load–bearing vehicles.

5. Trailing Arm Suspension

These can be bent easily and hence stands to be an extremely unpopular choice for heavy vehicles. However, they are well suited for the rear wheels of lightweight vehicles.

6. Air Suspension

They use air bellows in place of dampers in which you can easily fill air using an air compressor. With the aid of a computer, they can become extremely adaptive and can easily adjust to any height or load.

7. Double Wishbone Suspension

It is so named because it consists of two "A" – shaped arms that look almost like a wishbone. Double Wishbone Suspension are extremely comfortable, stable, and agile and serve as a popular choice for the modified version of race cars or luxury cars.

Suspension consists of several moving parts. Hence, it is natural that they wear out after prolonged usage. Also, at times vehicles can come across sudden shocks on the road that might damage the entire system or certain parts of it. At those times, a suspension provides several indications to draw your notice towards the problem.

These indications include:

• Hearing continuous loud squeaks as soon as your car crosses a bumper.
• Facing difficulty in steering even at lower speeds.
• Had a bumpy ride even on encountering even a small obstruction.
• Problem in taking turns as the car drifts on one side.
• A sudden lowering of one side of the car compared to the other side when parked.
• Wearing off a tyre is an indication of a suspension problem.

Car suspension plays a key role in protecting you from accidents while providing you with a comfortable ride. Hence, it becomes essential to contact a mechanic or deposit the car in a garage for proper servicing once you start noticing the signals. Any negligence in this can prove to be expensive and may even be fatal.