Car suspension: important details and 5 ways to soften
Content
Assess the risks. And, perhaps, you will go on a more costly, but safer path: buy a new, soft set of tires, for example, from Michelin or Pirelli.
It is known that the quality of domestic roads does not contribute to the comfort of movement by car. Therefore, drivers are looking for ways to make the suspension of the car softer: thematic forums are woolen, flipping through car magazines, asking garage craftsmen.
What affects the softness of the car suspension
In the struggle for a buyer, automakers are already on the assembly line adapting the chassis to the realities of domestic roads. Cars of the premium segment immediately receive in the configuration of the chassis tuning system. Owners of budget cars are left to independently study the topic and take measures so that the vehicle absorbs road bumps well.
The suspension is affected by:
- weight and body shape;
- power and acceleration characteristics;
- wheelbase size.
And the frequency of vibrations of the car frame affects the driver and passengers. Normally, the parameter is 1 Hz (Hertz). If the indicator is higher than one, the ride will be tough, if it is lower, the passengers will be swayed, and the suspension on the pothole will break through.
They reach the desired value with the help of an elastic part of the suspension - springs. That is, for a heavy sprung mass (body plus crew and luggage), a powerful and stiff spring is needed. This makes it possible to influence the softness of the suspension and a comfortable ride. But the lever cannot be ignored, because in some designs the springs do not act directly, but through this element.
5 Ways to Soften Your Car's Suspension
A soft suspension system is not a whim, but a necessity: long trips through pits and potholes soon respond with fatigue and pain in the driver's lower back. Car owners have gained considerable experience on how to make the car suspension softer. Let's look at 5 effective methods.
Suspension and chassis of the car
Changing tires or reducing pressure
Work with tires. You can, without investing a penny, just bleed air, reduce tire pressure. At the same time, you are expected to:
- increased fuel consumption;
- worse car handling;
- frequent replacement of tires due to accelerated wear;
- long stopping distance.
Assess the risks. And, perhaps, you will go on a more costly, but safer path: buy a new, soft set of tires, for example, from Michelin or Pirelli.
Replacing or cutting shock absorber springs
Refining the shock absorber springs causes constant controversy. Garage craftsmen offer to cut or change elements. But professionals are against both methods. In a car service, however, on your car, they will shorten the springs without any problems or offer a softer part with a variable pitch of the coils.
If you succumb to temptation, you will face the following problems:
- the center of gravity of the power frame will shift, which means that controllability will fall;
- the landing of the car will decrease, so loading the car, as before, will not work: you will touch the bottom of the road;
- a shortened spring will not be able to hold the body (often the elements even fly off from their place);
- Overcoming potholes at high speed can damage the engine and other chassis components.
It is not difficult to pick up a new, softer spring, but the work of the suspension will become torn: breakdowns are possible.
air suspension car
Replacing shock absorbers
Shock absorber struts dampen body vibrations. And they differ greatly in design and degree of compression (working stroke). Therefore, shock absorbers with certain operating parameters must be selected for the standard spring.
Overdone with softness, you will achieve that the car will chat on the slightest potholes. When buying a rack, opt for an oil-type element.
Installation of alloy wheels
In the pursuit of smoother driving, consider a good (but expensive) option - alloy wheels. Spectacular externally cast parts are lighter than steel. You will reduce the unsprung mass of the car: this will not make the suspension indestructible, but it will add a smooth ride (do not count on a cardinal result).
Air suspension installation
Completely modernized, working on a different principle, the air suspension is really practically indestructible. The mechanism on pneumatic elastic cylinders (although there are other options) delivers unparalleled convenience to the crew of the car and at the same time increases driving safety.
The progressive design cannot be installed on small cars, and the price per node starts at 100 thousand rubles. These two circumstances greatly limit the audience who want to travel in comfort.
