What is the Advantage and Disadvantage of automotive suspension springs

06 Jan.,2025

 

Pros and Cons of Air, Leaf, and Coil Spring Suspensions

A good, properly maintained suspension system is essential for providing a comfortable ride through various terrains. The varied motion that your car experiences due to uneven terrain, potholes, speed bumps, and more can have a significant impact on your driving experience. However, thanks to modern spring suspensions, you can enjoy a more balanced, comfortable ride. Keep reading to learn more about the common types of spring suspension systems.

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Air Spring Suspension

An air spring suspension is a type of vehicle suspension that uses an electric pump or compressor to inflate air into flexible bellows, often made of textile-reinforced rubber. Pros of air spring suspensions include:

  • Helps to improve ride height.
  • It minimizes the occurrence of empty trucks with short wheelbases bouncing over uneven terrain.
  • It enhances driving comfort by reducing road noise and vibration.

Cons of air spring suspensions include:

  • The system's vulnerability to air leaks can cause it to malfunction.
  • Air spring suspensions are expensive to buy and install.
  • The extra weight can reduce fuel efficiency.

Leaf Spring Suspension

Leaf spring suspensions are fitted with different sizes of multiple layers of steel that are stacked on top of each other. Pros of leaf spring suspensions include:

  • Due to the stacked layers, leaf springs provide efficient support between the wheel and the vehicle's chassis.
  • The friction between each steel plate helps to control axle damping.
  • Leaf springs are simple in design and inexpensive to manufacture and repair compared to other spring suspensions.

Cons of leaf spring suspensions include:

  • Can be prone to axle wrap and shackle inversion.
  • Often lacks in ride comfort due to inter-leaf friction.

Coil Spring Suspension

A newer version of leaf spring suspensions, coil spring suspensions absorb energy and then release it or maintain a force between two contacting surfaces. Thus, it helps the wheel absorb motion by allowing the spring to compress and expand. Pros of coil spring suspensions include:

  • Coil spring suspensions have better flex capability than other systems, making them highly preferred for high-performance trucks.
  • They are a better choice for uneven terrain since they allow more suspension movement.

Cons of coil spring suspensions include:

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  • More expensive than other types of spring suspensions.
  • Not suitable for handling heavier loads.

Leaf Spring Advantages and Disadvantages

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As far as car suspension goes, leaf springs are pretty much dead and buried. But when it comes to the suspension of vans, trucks, trailers and other heavy duty, commercial vehicles, leaf springs continue to be one of the primary choices for supporting suspension.

In this article, we will look at a brief history of leaf springs and the advantages and disadvantages of the modern day leaf spring, before summarising the reasons why you would choose leaf springs for your van, truck, pickup, bus or trailer.

A Brief History&#;

As an entity, you&#;ll be able to trace leaf springs right back to the Roman times, where they were first created for damping chariots for when they were used on rough surfaces. For many years, the springs stayed the same, up until after the &#;s when the first version of the shock absorber was created and then produced in mass with the Ford Model A in .

Modern day leaf springs haven&#;t evolved a great deal. They have been developed to be more robust and hard-wearing, although the overall duty of the leaf spring and the way it functions remains the same. But what are the leaf spring advantages and disadvantages?

Although there are many key advantages of the modern day leaf spring (especially when installed in commercial vehicles), there are also a couple of disadvantages which you should be aware of. We have listed these below:

  1. They aren&#;t always the easiest to install &#; but there is a clear process to follow that makes life much easier.
  2. The ride comfort isn&#;t as great because of the inter-leaf friction between each leaf.
  3. Over time, the springs tend to lose shape and can sag. When the sag is uneven, it can alter the cross weight of the vehicle which can affect the handling slightly. This can also change the axle-to-mount angle.
  4. Wind-up and vibration can be caused by acceleration and braking torque. The wind-up can also cause nose-diving and rear-end squat.

Before making any purchase it&#;s important to consider the advantages and disadvantages, especially when it comes to vehicle performance.

Why choose leaf springs?

Large layers of metal are what make up the basic anatomy of a leaf spring, meaning they can deal with huge vertical loads. They offer a huge amount of support between the wheels, axles and the vehicles chassis, making them perfect for commercial vans, pickups, trailers and trucks, where the need to support greater weights is essential.

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