Suspension and Ride Control

Chapter one
Introduction
 Types of chassis layout with reference to power
plant locations
 Types of suspension layouts and suspension
Materials
 Types of tires and wheels
 Construction and operation of manual and
power steering systems
 Types and properties of springs
 Hydraulic and pneumatic braking systems
1
General Vehicle Systems
A modern car is a very complex machine made up of
hundreds of constituent parts. The following general
automotive systems that allow a car to perform primary
functions of a vehicle.
 Engine
 Fuel System
 Ignition System
 Electrical System
 Exhaust System
 Drive Train
 Suspension and Steering
 Brake System
 Frame and Body
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 What Is Chassis?
 The word chassis is a French word that resembles the main
structure of any automobile. In simpler words, chassis is an
automobile without its body.

 Chassis is the significant structure of an automobile

 A skeletal frame with various mechanical parts like engine,

tires, brakes, steering, clutch, suspension, and axle
assemblies

 Usually made of a light metal or composite which provides

strength needed for supporting vehicle components and load.

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The chassis includes the following components
 Frame, Engine or Power plant, Wheels, tyres, Braking,
Suspension, Steering and Transmission system. And also it
includes the auxiliaries- all necessary electrical equipment.

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 Functions of The Chassis Frame:
 To carry load of the passengers or goods carried in the
body.
 To support the load of the body, engine, gear box etc.,
 To withstand the forces caused due to the sudden
braking or acceleration
 To withstand the stresses caused due to the bad road
condition.
 To withstand centrifugal force while cornering

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General Consideration Relating To Chassis

 It should be light weight.

 It should provide sufficient space for passengers and luggage.

 It should withstand vibrations while in motion.

 It should offer minimum resistance to air.

 It should be cheap and easy in manufacturing.

 It should be attractive in shape and color.

 It should have uniformly distributed load.

 It should have long fatigue life

 It should provide good vision and ventilation.

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 CLASSIFICATION OF CHASSIS
According Control Unit

1. Forward control chassis

 In which engine is fitted in front of the driver cabin and forward

type chassis generally found in light motor vehicles. It is general
construction for automobile cars.

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2. Semi-forward chassis:

 In semi-forward chassis half portion of the engine is in the

driver cabin and the remaining half is outside the cabin.

 This type of chassis arrangement gives better visibility of the

road to the driver.

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 3. Fully-forward chassis:
 The engine is mounted completely inside the driver’s cabin.
 Obviously maximum utilization of space is achieved.
 The driver seat is just above the front wheels or engine
 Driver can see the full front road sight from the cabin/front
wheels and mostly used in trucks & Buses.

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According to the arrangement of engine & transmission
1. Front Engine Front Wheel Drive

 This type of chassis mostly used on sedan type cars.

 Engine is fitted mounted on front side space. Final drive or engine

power gives direct to the front axles, which becomes a live axles.

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2. Front Engine Rear Wheel Drive

 Internal combustion engine placed at front and driven road

wheels located at the rear of the vehicle.

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3. Front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive

 In contrast to the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR),

the engine is pushed back far enough that its center of mass is
to the rear of the front axle.

 This aids in weight distribution and reduces the moment of

inertia, improving the vehicle's handling.

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4. Center Engine Rear

 The engine is between the rear wheels and front wheels and
drives the rear wheel via a driven shaft.

Reading assignment
Advantages and disadvantages Front Wheel Drive vs Rear Wheel
Drive ?
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5. Rear Engine - Rear Wheel Drive

 Both the engine and drive wheels located at the rear of the
vehicle. This arrangement does not require long propeller
shaft.

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 According to number of wheels fitted in the vehicles
and the number of driving wheels.
1. 4×2 drive chassis:

 It consists of 4 wheels out of which 2 wheels are driving

wheel.

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2. 4×4 drive chassis:

 It consists of 4 wheels and all of them are driving wheels.

 Commonly say, it is Four Wheel Drive.

What is the difference between 4WD and AWD?

Advantages and disadvantages 4WD and AWD?

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2. 6×2 drive chassis:

 It consists of 6 wheels out of which 2 wheels are driving

wheels.

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2. 6×4 drive chassis:

 It consists of 6 wheels out of which 4 wheels are driving

wheels.

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According to Frame Construction

 The frame is part of the chassis. It is a rigid structure that forms

a skeleton to hold all the components together. It should be
strong enough to hold the load, sudden brakes, and accidents.

Working of the Frame

 To carry the weight of a vehicle and passengers.

 It withstand the engine and transmission torque

 To withstand the centrifugal force while cornering.

 To withstand the bending stresses and twisting due to the front

and rear axles.
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Types of Chassis Frames

1. Conventional Frame

 It has two long side members and 5 to 6 cross members joined

together with the help of rivets and bolts.

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 2. Integral Frame
 There is no frame and all the assembly units are attached to
the body.
 All the functions of the frame carried out by the body itself.
 Due to elimination of long frame it is cheaper and due to less
weight it is most economical.
 Only disadvantage is repairing is difficult.

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 3. Semi Integrated Frame
 Half frame is fixed in the front end on which engine,
gear box and front suspension is mounted.
 It has the advantage when the vehicle is met with accident
the front frame can be taken easily to replace the
damaged chassis frame.

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Types of suspension
 The suspension system of a vehicle refers to the group of
mechanical components that connect the wheels to the frame or
body.
Requirement of a Suspension system
 Deflection should be kept to a bare minimum.
 It should be as light as possible.
 It should be low-maintenance and low-cost to operate.
 It should have the least amount of tire wear possible.
 It should have a low start-up cost.

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Function of suspension
 Shock forces are reduced as much as possible
 Maintain the proper ride height of your car
 Maintain proper alignment of the wheels
 Maintain tire contact with the road
 To maintain a solid grip on the road while driving, cornering,
or braking.
 Maintaining vehicle stability while traveling over uneven
terrain or turning
 To protect passengers from road shocks and give a
comfortable ride.

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 Types of suspension
Suspensions can be divided in to three based on the difference in
their construction
1. Dependent suspension (Rigid axle)
 The oscillation (up and down movement) of one wheel has a
maximum effect on the other.
 The two wheels of the same axle are engaged in a rigid linkage.
 It is a very strong contact.
 It is typically used in the heavier vehicles like trucks and buses.
 The capacity of the shocks in this system has greater capacity as
compared to the independent suspension system.

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1.1 Rigid axle
 A dependent type of suspension is a solid axle or beam axle.
 Both the front and rear wheels are attached to the solid live
axle, which supports the chassis.
 A leaf spring arrangement is employed to dampen the shock
between the solid axle and the frame.

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2. Semi-Dependent suspension
 The rigid connection between pairs of wheels is replaced by a
beam link.
 A beam which can bend and flex providing both positional
control of the wheels as well as road compliance.
2.1 Twist Beam:
 A torsion-beam is another name for the twist-beam
suspension.
 The majority of these are made up of C or H-shaped members.
 The H-cross shape’s beam connects the two trailing arms and
gives roll stiffness to the suspension.

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 It is particularly advantageous because of its low cost and
durability.
 It has a simplistic design and is quite light.
 On the other hand, camber angle is limited, and roll stiffness
is difficult to achieve.

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3. Independent suspension
 There is no mechanical linkage between the two hubs of the
same axle.
 The oscillation of one wheel will not transfer to another. Each
wheel is free to oscillate with no or a minimum effect on
another).
 It has better handling and riding comfort.

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3.1 Type of Independent suspension
There are six type of Independent suspension
1. Macpherson strut
2. Double wishbone
3. Swing axle
4. Multi link
5. Trailing arm
6. Swing arm

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1. Double wishbones:
 It’s uses two wishbone-shaped arms to place the wheel.
 There are two mounting points on the chassis for each
wishbone or arm, as well as one joint at the knuckle.
 It offers more control over suspension travel and other
variables like camber angle and toe pattern.

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2. MacPherson Strut
 It uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot.
 MacPherson’s key advantage is that all of the pieces that
provide suspension and wheel control may be consolidated into
a single system.

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 It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles
 It simplifies the installation of a transverse engine.
 Because of its simplicity and inexpensive manufacturing cost,
this design is quite popular.
 The downside is that insulating against road noise is more
difficult.
3. Swing axle
 It is a simple type of independent rear wheel suspension.
 This suspension, allow the driven (powered) wheels to follow
uneven road surfaces independently.

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 Thus enabling the vehicle's wheels to maintain better road
contact and holding;
 Plus each wheel's reduced unsprung weight means their
movements have less impact on the vehicle as a whole.

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4. Multi-Link
 Multi-Link suspension has a fairly complicated construction
design because it has separate parts that are held together by
joints. It has quality grip and controlling of the car.
 suspension also has many variations, If this suspension is
damaged, then the replacement process takes a long time and
the spare parts are still rare, so the price is relatively more
expensive than other suspensions.

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 Suspension Materials
 Steel alloys are the most commonly used spring materials.
 High strength steels for automotive applications like
suspension coil springs are alloyed with high amounts of
silicon because it confers increased strength and hardness.
 Other metals that are sometimes used to make springs are
beryllium copper alloy, phosphor bronze.
 Ceramic material has been developed for coiled springs in
very high-temperature environments.

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Tires and wheels
 A TIRE is a circular-shaped component designed to transfer
a load through the wheel to the ground.
 To provide traction on the surface over which the wheel
travels.

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Types of tires
 Tires can be categorized into two; tubed and tubeless tire.
[Link]
 In tube tire combination of tyre and tube, combined all in one
piece.
 The tube is filled with air and has a valve through which air
can come inside.
 Its tyres are exposed to puncture and can cause a massive
burst of air if find any puncture spot.
 These puncture spots drive the vehicle to lose control during
motion.
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2. Tubeless Tyres:
 The construction of tubeless tyres is the same as tubular
tyres.
 The difference is that they don’t have a tube (internal tube) to
hold the pressurized air; instead, they are held between the
rim of the wheel and the tyre.
 If there is any hole in the tyre, the air will escape out slowly,
and there will be no loss of control during the motion.
 They are lightweight, puncture-proof

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 Parameters Tubular Tubeless
Puncture can occur and air Puncture can occur, but air
Occurrence of can escape very rapidly will escape slowly which
Puncture causing vehicles to lose maintains good control of
control the vehicle during motion
Weight Heavier than tubeless Lighter than tubed
Cost Less costly More costly
High maintenance is required Less maintenance is
Maintenance because probability of required as probability of
puncture is high puncture is low

Traction with Less traction with ground More traction with the
ground (due to more weight) ground (less weight)
Less fuel efficient due to More fuel efficient due to
Fuel efficiency
heavy weight light weight

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Wheels
 A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on
an axle bearing. The entire metal part that holds your tire is
the wheel.
Types
 Pressed Steel wheels
 Wire wheels
 Light alloy wheels
1. Pressed Steel wheels:
 They are used by over 90% manufacturers worldwide because
of its simplicity, robust construction, lower manufacturing
cost and ease in cleaning.

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  They require negligible maintenance and are easy to
produce.
 This types of wheel consists of two parts, a steel rim
and pressed steel disc. The rim and disc may be
integral, permanently attached or attachable.

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 2. Spoke or Wire Wheels:
 Wire wheel has a separate hub which attached to the
rim through a number of wire spokes.
 Each spoke is individually hooked at one end of the hub
while other end is pushed through a hole in the rim.
 It is light weight and strong construction but costly.

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3. Alloy Wheels
 These wheels are manufactured as a single-piece rim and disc.
 Magnesium and aluminum alloys are most commonly used for
reduction in weight. Magnesium alloy produces a saving of
weight of 30% over aluminum alloys and 50% over steel for
similar strength. Magnesium alloys exhibit very good fatigue
properties and excellent resilience, due to which they are capable
of resisting vibrational and shock loading better than both
aluminum alloy and steel.

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 Steering system
 Steering is the group of components and linkages, which
allows the driver for controlling the direction of a car.
Manual steering system
 The effort needed to turn the steering wheel and the front
wheels was supplied by the driver.

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Power steering
 The steering is powered by another power source other than
the force of the driver. It allows the vehicle to better absorb
shocks, less effort, better controllability and safety.
 There are two types of powered steering, hydraulic and
electrical.

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 Power Steering Manual Steering
Uses an auxiliary source of
Manual force is used to steer
power
Uses rack, pinion, worm,
Can be either hydraulic or
roller and recirculation ball,
electrical
and nut
Comparatively fast Comparatively slow
Little resistance to wheel Some resistance to wheel
movement movement

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Types and properties of springs
There are two main types of springs used in vehicle suspension
 Helical coil springs
 Leaf springs.

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Helical springs
 The wires in a helix shape with different cross-sections can
form helical springs.
 Helical springs are highly reliable compared to other types.
 They have an excellent constant spring rate.
 These springs generally have good stability.
 The main drawback of helical springs is that they are quite
expensive.

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Leaf spring
A leaf spring made of several strips of metal curved slightly
upwards and clamped together on top of each other.
 These are made of rectangular metal plates, also known as
leaves.
 This spring provides good support to the axle and chassis.
 It can withstand a higher amount of load than helical springs.
 Ride comfort is not as good due to the inter-leaf friction
between each leaf.

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 Assignment (total mark 12%)
Explain Construction, Working principal, Significant components
and Advantages and disadvantage of
1. Hydraulic and pneumatic braking systems?
2. Swing arm and trailing arm independent suspension system?
3. Different types of steering gear boxes?
4. Power and power assisted steering - Steering of crawler
tractors?

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