Characteristics of automotive leaf spring suspension

The steel plate suspension is the oldest and oldest suspension structure. Before the birth of the automobile, it had been widely used in horse-drawn carriages; After the birth of the automobile, many structural features of the automobile also evolved from the horse-drawn carriage. In the design of small cars, off-road vehicles, trucks and even some armored vehicles and tanks of the time, steel plate suspension was almost the only way to suspension; As a practical, reliable and economical product, steel plate suspension has been widely used in many fields of automobile manufacturing.

Many of the models we typically use for off-road driving are still sheet steel suspension structures, especially pickup trucks. Whether it's Ford, Toyota, Isuzu, Nissan, or other domestic brands, the vast majority of rear suspension falls into this type. Therefore, when it comes to "playing with cars", the transformation of the steel plate suspension is an inevitable topic.

Features of steel plate suspension:

Compared to other suspension methods, whether it is double wishbone, multi-link, McPherson or trailing arm, steel plate suspension has unparalleled advantages, because it is the only suspension method that can play the role of elastic support and fixed shaft position at the same time; In other suspension structures, regardless of which suspension structure is used, the elastic support element and the fixed shaft element function separately; It includes the most widely used multi-link + spring (air) suspension.

Another obvious advantage of steel plate suspension is that it takes up very little space, which is unmatched by any suspension method; On models with sheet steel suspension, the position of the spare wheel and the position of the fuel tank are easy to arrange and do not affect the space inside the car, which is simply not possible with other types of suspension; Or, even if we barely do it, the performance of the suspension, especially for large strokes, will vary a lot.

Of all suspension methods, there is an extreme exception, which also allows the implementation of the characteristics of steel plate suspension, that is, the torsion bar (transverse) suspension commonly used on tanks; It can play the same multi-functional role as steel plate positioning and elastic support; However, the biggest problem with torsion bar suspension is that when the stroke is released and compressed, it will drastically change the wheelbase of the vehicle. If this structure is used, it will result in irregular changes in steering characteristics and sensitivity. Therefore, it is rarely used in modern vehicles, except in a few special cases, such as the Baja series in North America.

At the beginning of the application of steel plate suspension in automobiles, front and rear suspension accounted for all; This includes many applications, including front axle horizontal balance, front and rear longitudinal balance, rear multi-axle balance, etc.; Those super luxury brands that are now full of cowhide are equipped with this "carriage configuration", such as B Bugatti, RR Rolls-Royce, M Zeppelin, etc.; However, with the invention, creation and application of other suspension methods, the problems of steel plate suspension in terms of comfort and handling gradually came to light, so it is not widely used in modern vehicles, but it is still the best choice in many areas that emphasize reliability, durability and economy, so it still remains in many trucks, pickup trucks and hard-wired off-road vehicles.