Air Suspension
Citroen, Austin and others may have gone with hydropneumatic, hydrolastic and other fluid-based systems, but it takes air to give a true flying-carpet feel (and reduce the risk of nausea-inducing wallowing).
The British Cowley Motor Works was experimenting with air-filled tubes back in 1909. Firestone took things a stage further for the 1933 Stout-Scarab experimental car, often called the world's first MPV, but it didn't make production until the 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham. The Firestone system involved four rubber bellows in place of springs, with air compressors on each, but modern-day designs use enclosed springs surrounded by air, electronically controlled to apply air pressure according to road surface or driver demand. Not only do they self-level, giving a flat, roll-free ride, they can work in different modes - soft, taut and sporty, high-riding for off-roading - at the touch of a button.
Citroen, Austin and others may have gone with hydropneumatic, hydrolastic and other fluid-based systems, but it takes air to give a true flying-carpet feel (and reduce the risk of nausea-inducing wallowing).
The British Cowley Motor Works was experimenting with air-filled tubes back in 1909. Firestone took things a stage further for the 1933 Stout-Scarab experimental car, often called the world's first MPV, but it didn't make production until the 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham. The Firestone system involved four rubber bellows in place of springs, with air compressors on each, but modern-day designs use enclosed springs surrounded by air, electronically controlled to apply air pressure according to road surface or driver demand. Not only do they self-level, giving a flat, roll-free ride, they can work in different modes - soft, taut and sporty, high-riding for off-roading - at the touch of a button.
Anti-roll bar
Does exactly what its name suggests: also known as the equally self-explanatory stabiliser bar. It joins each side of the suspension, with the shock absorbers and struts, and distributes movement between the wheels to stop rolling or swaying, yet maintaining the independent movement of each wheel.
Now standard front and rear under most passenger cars, front anti-roll bars were common in the 50s, but a rear anti-roll bar was a highly-desirable extra and selling point in runaround and small family cars of the 60s and 70s. So-called sports suspension systems often include reinforced, or larger-diameter, anti-roll bars.
Does exactly what its name suggests: also known as the equally self-explanatory stabiliser bar. It joins each side of the suspension, with the shock absorbers and struts, and distributes movement between the wheels to stop rolling or swaying, yet maintaining the independent movement of each wheel.
Now standard front and rear under most passenger cars, front anti-roll bars were common in the 50s, but a rear anti-roll bar was a highly-desirable extra and selling point in runaround and small family cars of the 60s and 70s. So-called sports suspension systems often include reinforced, or larger-diameter, anti-roll bars.
Independent suspension
A system used in most modern road-going passenger cars. Each wheel is sprung separately from the others, so if one hits a bump it doesn't affect the others. It uses a so-called MacPherson strut with combined spring and damper set-up, or a multi-link layout at the rear, and makes for a smoother ride and better handling.
The first car with this was the Michigan-built 1914 Cornelian – as driven by Louis Chevrolet at Indianapolis in 1915 – but it didn't make it into a production car till 1924, the ground-breaking monocoque-bodied Lancia Lambda (see below). The Lambda had it only at the front, however: the first all-independently-sprung car to sell in any numbers was the Citroen Traction Avant.
A system used in most modern road-going passenger cars. Each wheel is sprung separately from the others, so if one hits a bump it doesn't affect the others. It uses a so-called MacPherson strut with combined spring and damper set-up, or a multi-link layout at the rear, and makes for a smoother ride and better handling.
The first car with this was the Michigan-built 1914 Cornelian – as driven by Louis Chevrolet at Indianapolis in 1915 – but it didn't make it into a production car till 1924, the ground-breaking monocoque-bodied Lancia Lambda (see below). The Lambda had it only at the front, however: the first all-independently-sprung car to sell in any numbers was the Citroen Traction Avant.
Macpherson strut
An independent suspension system with combined spring and damper set-up, commonly believed to provide the best ride and handling balance – yet it's compact, lightweight and cheap to build. It comprises a vertical telescopic shock absorber that links to the upper control arm to dictate the wheel position and is more predictable than swing-axle suspension, cheaper than multi-link layouts and ideally suited to front-wheel drive cars.
Developed in the 40s by Ford's Earl S MacPherson, it was introduced on the 1949 Ford Vedette, and then made it into the Consul, Zephyr and Zodiac.
An independent suspension system with combined spring and damper set-up, commonly believed to provide the best ride and handling balance – yet it's compact, lightweight and cheap to build. It comprises a vertical telescopic shock absorber that links to the upper control arm to dictate the wheel position and is more predictable than swing-axle suspension, cheaper than multi-link layouts and ideally suited to front-wheel drive cars.
Developed in the 40s by Ford's Earl S MacPherson, it was introduced on the 1949 Ford Vedette, and then made it into the Consul, Zephyr and Zodiac.
Shock absorbers
The suspension spring is a fine invention, but without a shock absorber (aka damper) you'd just bounce along.
The shock absorber does exactly what its name suggests: absorbs the kinetic and subsequent heat energy and dissipates it, usually via hydraulic fluid within a piston or cylinder – though higher-spec cars have air-filled cylinders (see Air Suspension) and some manufacturers have experimented (eg Citroen's gas-charged spheres).
Fitting a different or new set of shock absorbers is an instant way of sharpening up a car's handling responses or reducing its tendency to wallow; some high-performance models designed for track use will have manually-adjustable shock absorbers with valves to twiddle to give further-reduced rebound.
The suspension spring is a fine invention, but without a shock absorber (aka damper) you'd just bounce along.
The shock absorber does exactly what its name suggests: absorbs the kinetic and subsequent heat energy and dissipates it, usually via hydraulic fluid within a piston or cylinder – though higher-spec cars have air-filled cylinders (see Air Suspension) and some manufacturers have experimented (eg Citroen's gas-charged spheres).
Fitting a different or new set of shock absorbers is an instant way of sharpening up a car's handling responses or reducing its tendency to wallow; some high-performance models designed for track use will have manually-adjustable shock absorbers with valves to twiddle to give further-reduced rebound.