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How A Car’s Suspension System Works!

23 May 2010

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The quest for the smoothest ride is likened to King Arthur’s quest for the Holy Grail: endlessly pursued yet somehow elusive. But, by upgrading your vehicle with an air suspension system, you can quickly realize nirvana through driving bliss.

A car’s suspension system is like a public school teacher: overworked and under-appreciated systems. It has to support the weight of the car, including passengers and cargo, while allowing the tires and wheels to move up and down to minimize impacts from cracks, bumps and the other numerous imperfections in the road. Your suspension also prevents excessive body squat and dive during acceleration and braking. There are a number of suspension systems on the market, but without question, air suspension remains the most popular.

Air shocks are powered by an engine-driven or electric air compressor and continue to be wildly popular among those in the know. The compressor pressurizes air and uses it to replace conventional steel springs. An air bag suspension provides a smoother ride and is fully adjustable, allowing drivers to tweak each wheel’s air pressure individually and even tilt the vehicle side to side or front to back to level it out. The air cushion softens the contact between the axle and the frame to reduce bottoming out, and they provide between 500 – 5,000 lbs of load-leveling capacity depending on your vehicle and the type of air suspension you get.

Most air compressor kits are a complete solution for upgrading your suspension, including the air compressor, manifold, wiring harness, control box and some that even feature a 5-gallon air tank that fills with 200psi in less than 40 seconds.

A performance grade air suspension kit is the Road Runner of the auto world: pretty much unbeatable. And since we live in the time of tech, many air compressors can be controlled by a wireless remote from inside the cab of your vehicle. This innovative system makes adjusting your air springs from inside (or outside) your cab simple-just push a button, and you’re off. Plus, the wireless design means you won’t have a nest of wires running through your cab.

Many air suspension systems feature advanced diagnostics to provide complete control of your air shocks. In addition, many systems provide a setting for user-defined memory, allowing you to quickly switch between your most frequently used settings.

One word of advice: don’t be tempted by generic parts. When it comes to your suspension system, the best kits are those that have been personally-tailored to your unique make, model and year, providing all the components required for a quick and easy do-it-yourself installation. Nothing’s worse than getting half-way through a suspension upgrade only to find out the kit you ordered is missing some key component, like the air compressor or the air lines.

Learn more about Air Suspension Kits. Stop by Justin Lofton’s site where you can find out all about Air Spring and what it can do for you.

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Some Basic Things About Car Suspension Parts!

19 Apr 2010

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A car’s suspension system is among the most significant aspects in determining the quality of the ride. Perhaps the smoothest roads are full of variations in height and surface texture. Along with the car’s natural shake as the engine runs and also the constant buffeting of air at high speeds, suspension makes driving a comfortable and safe undertaking.

Although car suspensions come in a variety of configurations, the basic elements are springs and shock absorbers. Springs provide a simple mechanical disconnect between the shocking forces sustained by the vehicle’s wheels and axles and the body of the car with the passengers inside. The majority of modern cars employ classic coil springs that are affixed vertically (or at a vertical angle) between the axle and the car’s frame. In some cases torsion bars or metal leaf springs are used. They serve the same purpose as a coil spring.

Shock absorbers provide damping of the motion experienced by the vehicle’s wheels as the move up and down over an uneven road surface. They normally use a hydraulic system to provide potential to deal with the kinetic energy manufactured by the wheels. Shock absorbers also are variable across different speeds, and therefore the more energy they are asked to absorb, the more resistance they produce. This prevents the car’s wheels firmly on the road while providing a smoother ride for the car at all points above the suspension.

The modern pairing of springs and shock absorbers evolved from earlier systems alongside the development of the automobile in general. Early car suspensions were derived from the springs used on horse-drawn carriages. As cars were designed to move at faster speeds, new suspension systems were necessary. Besides providing comfort to the passengers, excessive shaking could damage a vehicle, literally shaking it apart if the proper suspension system was not used. The first suspensions to use shock absorbers designed specifically for cars were used in the early 1900s. By 1920, British automaker Leyland was using torsion bar suspensions on some of its models. Independent suspension systems became popular in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Since the 1930s, different suspension configurations have come and gone. However, the fundamental layout of a variety of a spring and a shock hydraulic absorber has remained the standard for all types of cars. An independent suspension system allows each one of the two wheels on a shared axle (front or rear) to move vertically independent of one another. This prevents motion on one side of the vehicle from affecting motion on the other hand and offers a smoother ride and more consistent handling. Independent suspension is especially useful during acceleration, braking, turning, and when a car’s load is unevenly distributed from side to side. Most modern cars feature independent front suspensions, where steering is performed. Other cars, especially rear-wheel drive models, may also include independent rear suspension. Cars with all four wheels suspended independently are known as “fully independent suspension”.

Independent suspension systems may feature any number of mechanical layouts and are often quite complex. For this reason, full independent suspension is found on more expensive or performance-oriented cars and trucks. Many widely used terms exist that refer to specific kinds of suspension. The “MacPherson Strut” is a simple design in which a spring and shock absorber pivot on a ball joint as the vehicle receives kinetic energy from impacts with the road.

A “double wishbone suspension” is commonly cited in automobile marketing. This term refers to a pair of wishbone-shaped arms that support the wheel spindle with a spring and/or shock absorber sandwiched in between. Double wishbone suspensions take up a great deal of space under the vehicle but allow for a large range of motion of the wheel. “I-Beam suspension” is another common term. I-Beam suspensions, also known as “twin I-Beam suspension,” is actually a seldom-used design in which a solid axle is split and rejoined in an offset pattern that produces independent front suspension. This configuration is useful in trucks carrying heavy loads, but provides little shock absorption when the vehicle is unladen.

Looking to find the best deal on Air Suspension Parts, then visit www.strutmasters.com to find the best advice on Air Suspension Conversion Kits for you.

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