best suspension?

[c32b1 NSX]

what do u thinks the best type of suspension? macpherson strut, wishbone, a arm, etc.

[MagicRat]

Generally speaking, unequal length upper and lower A arms are the best.

The best suspension is the one with the least amount of unsprung weight, that is the wheel, tire, hub brakes and control arms should be as light as possible. This is why expensive cars and race cars have so many lightweight aluminum pieces.

Macpherson struts are heavier than A arms, but are cheaper to make and service, which is why they are used so much.

Also, unequal length A arms change the camber of the tire as they move through their travel. In theory, this compensates for chassis roll (the car tilts to the outside) during fast cornering.

That being said, an inferior design that is tuned and set up very well can work better that a really good design that has been compromised, by bad shocks or the wrong springs, poor alignment, etc.

[CrzyMR2T]

this is generally how it usually is from best to worst.

1. unequal lenght double A arm
2. unequal lenght double wishbone(multilink)
3. strut type
4. solid axles

most cars today use independent strut type suspensions all around, or struts on the front, and multilink in the rear, but struts are more common overall. honda is probaby one of the few companies that used double wishbone suspension all around on all their cars up untill 01-02 with the new rsx using struts on the front, and multilink in rear instead of integras full double wishbone setups. unequal lenght double A arm suspensions are one of the least used setup among production cars, usually supercars, or kit cars use this setup. solid axles are also not used very often on cars, they re usually used only in the rear, like the camaros, and mustangs, solid rear axles are good for drag setups, since they provide no chamber change for good traction off the line.

[Neutrino]

Originally Posted by CrzyMR2T

this is generally how it usually is from best to worst.

1. unequal lenght double A arm
2. unequal lenght double wishbone(multilink)
3. strut type
4. solid axles

most cars today use independent strut type suspensions all around, or struts on the front, and multilink in the rear, but struts are more common overall. honda is probaby one of the few companies that used double wishbone suspension all around on all their cars up untill 01-02 with the new rsx using struts on the front, and multilink in rear instead of integras full double wishbone setups. unequal lenght double A arm suspensions are one of the least used setup among production cars, usually supercars, or kit cars use this setup. solid axles are also not used very often on cars, they re usually used only in the rear, like the camaros, and mustangs, solid rear axles are good for drag setups, since they provide no chamber change for good traction off the line.

Do you realise that double A arm suspension is the same thing as double wishbone?

have fun reading this:

http://autozine.kyul.net/technical_s...uspension2.htm

To many suspension designers, double wishbones (or "A-arms") is the most ideal suspension. It can be used in front and rear wheels, it is independent and most important, it has near perfect camber control. For 40 years and even today, this is the first choice for racing cars, sports cars and demanding sedans.

[kfoote]

A couple of other cars that come with double A-Arms from the factory are the Corvette (C4, C5, and presumably C6) and Mazda Miata (all).

McPherson Struts are less expensive for initial vehicle assembly as well.

[CrzyMR2T]

Originally Posted by Neutrino

Do you realise that double A arm suspension is the same thing as double wishbone?

have fun reading this:

http://autozine.kyul.net/technical_s...uspension2.htm

actually, i was going to explain it, that it basically works the same way, except that double A arms use A shaped upper, and lower arms, and that their arms are usually longer. its just a name for a type of double wishbone suspension mainly used in upper class sports cars, kinda like these two diff names for types of struts, macpherson, and chapman struts.

[454Casull]

Non-parallel unequal-length double wishbones. Just wait until they apply the SERAPHIM technology to linear electromagnetic suspension actuators.

[replicant_008]

It depends on the application - if you want to have a sports car then coil sprung unequal A-arms up front and a multi-link rear end are probably the way to go.

On the other hand, if you were looking for offroad application or have a trucl then leaf-sprung live axles are tough, dumb and maintain track through the full range of travel.

You can reduce the weight of live axles by using a de dion setup and in some cases on billiard table smooth race tracks, having a live axle rear end mandated in the class makes it cheap and usually results in better tire wear than say a semi-trailing arm setup.

Then again you always go for a double a-arm setup with pushrods and rockers and inboard coil and damper units if you had a open wheeler to reduce wind resistance and improve centre of gravity...