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Automotive engineers are constantly pushing the envelope when it comes to
horsepower, speed and luxury features, but what most consumers don’t know is
that the real advances in technology in recent years have come in the form of the
suspension system. Everyone here at Vesa’s knows that a vehicle’s true comfort
and control comes from its handling, so we thought you’d like to know how it all
works!

3 Primary Control Points

In a vehicle’s suspension system there are always three engineering principles at
work: road isolation, holding, and cornering.

Road isolation is the suspension’s ability to isolate or intercept the force
generated from the random bumps and divots in the road’s surface, specifically
the force felt by passengers in the vehicle. Not only is this important for comfort,
but maintaining road isolation is also crucial in preventing the vehicle from
oscillating at high speeds (moving back and forth on the road).

After isolation comes road holding, or the degree to which a car’s wheels maintain
contact with the surface of the road. Whether a vehicle changes direction or
accelerates/decelerates in a straight line, the weight of a car will shift significantly
and has the potential to flip or roll the car. Since the suspension itself is designed
to keep the vehicle in contact with the road, engineers design vehicle
suspensions to minimize weight shifting and keep the car balanced when
steering, braking and accelerating.

Last but certainly not least, the road cornering of the suspension system deals
with a vehicle’s ability to travel safely along a curved path. Similar to road holding,
road cornering is an engineering principle that concerns weight transfer that
occurs when a vehicle rounds a turn or corner, shifting the center of gravity from the high side of the vehicle to the low side due to centrifugal force. The more advanced the suspension the less weight is shifted from side to side while turning, resulting in smooth transitions that protects against body rolls.

As the suspension is made of many precisely engineered parts with many
functions, we won’t list them in detail here. But keep your eyes out “down the
road” for a primer on auto part trivia! Happy driving!