the abstract
This article makes a simple analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the different suspension systems used on most of the current vehicles.Briefly introduce the three different suspension systems of MacPherson independent suspension, double wishbone independent suspension and multi-link independent suspension.
1.McPherson suspension
McPherson suspension is generally used on the front wheels and is the most commonly used suspension form today. How popular is it? From Wuling Hongguang to Porsche 911, all use MacPherson suspension.
Most people think that its biggest feature is its simple structure, low cost, and poor control, but this is actually not accurate. In fact, his biggest advantage is that it takes up little space.
Some people will say that if the suspension is placed outside the body, what does the size of the space have to do with me? It can free up more space for the engine compartment and make the arrangement of the engine and gearbox more convenient. The engine compartment is small, and the seating space can be made larger.
As a family car, space is obviously more important than handling. Even miniature cars like QQ and BYD F0 can fit McPherson. If you have to install multi-links, you probably won’t have an engine~
McPherson front suspension can actually achieve good handling, otherwise the Porsche 911 would not use it. Its engine is rear-mounted, so there is no need to consider the space in the engine compartment.
Porsche 911 suspension structure
And McPherson can also derive many variants, such as BMW's double ball joint suspension is one of them.
BMW double ball joint suspension
But the biggest shortcoming of McPherson is the incompatibility of comfort and handling.
2.Double Wishbone Independent Suspension
The double wishbone can be regarded as an improved suspension of MacPherson, which has one more upper control arm than the MacPherson type.
McPherson (left) and double wishbone (right) comparison
What good is that? It can more accurately locate various parameters of the front wheel, and it can also provide better lateral support, improve the cornering limit, and have relatively higher stiffness and torsional strength. So on the basis of having excellent handling, it can also take into account comfort.
But the disadvantage is that after adding an upper wishbone, it will take up more space, have greater quality, and the cost will be higher.
Due to this shortcoming of the double wishbone, and the fact that the McPherson suspension can meet the needs of most family cars, many models that used to use double wishbone, such as the old Accord and Ruiyi, are replaced when they are replaced (Ruiyi replacement It's Atez), all replaced with MacPherson suspension.Now the double wishbone is basically only used on high-level models, such as Infiniti Q70L, BMW X5, Maserati President and so on.
Multi-Link Independent Suspension
As the name implies, multi-link is a suspension type composed of many connecting rods, usually three or more.
The complex multi-link provides engineers with a wealth of adjustment space, which can satisfy the performance to a great extent, and adjust different characteristics to ensure the handling and comfort of the vehicle.The disadvantage is that it requires more space, and the design and tuning parameters are more complicated and costly.
Since many people know that multi-link suspension is good, some manufacturers will give a name close to multi-link suspension on the parameter table even if they do not use real multi-link suspension or use a design similar to multi-link.Such as replacing the lower arm of McPherson with two tie rods, and adding a longitudinal tie rod, also called "multi-link".
