U18AUI3201 : Assignment 3 (Suspension Systems)

One of the main purposes of a car suspension is to maximise the friction between

• The tires and the road surface

• The engine and the transmission

• The wheels and the axle

• The steering wheel and the steering column

Answer explanation

The job of a car suspension is to maximize the friction between the tires and the road surface, to provide steering stability with good handling and to ensure the comfort of the passengers.

A bump, or imperfection, on the roadway causes the vehicle's wheel to move up and down perpendicular to the road surface. What is this motion called?

• Vertical Acceleration

• Vibration

• Oscillation

• Lateral acceleration

Answer explanation

According to Newton's laws of motion, all forces have both magnitude and direction. A bump in the road causes the wheel to move up and down perpendicular to the road surface. The magnitude, of course, depends on whether the wheel is striking a giant bump or a tiny speck. Either way, the car wheel experiences a vertical acceleration as it passes over an imperfection.

Match the types of springs used in automotive suspension systems

• Torsion Bar

• 
• Air Spring

• 
• Leaf Spring

• 
• Coil Spring

• 
• Rubber Spring

• 

Answer explanation

Springs are a vital part of the suspension system, without them, you would feel every bump and carry you drove over. Most vehicles are equipped with coil springs, which are steel bars bent into a flexible coil. The job of coil springs is to absorb the shock forces we encounter when driving over a bump in the road.

The term that describes the vehicle's ability to absorb road shock from the passenger compartment is

• Road Isolation

• Road Holding

• Acceleration Control

• Cornering Efficiency

Answer explanation

Road isolation is the vehicle's ability to absorb or isolate road shock from the passenger compartment. The goal is to allow the vehicle body to ride undisturbed while traveling over rough roads.

Identify this component

• Control arm

• Sway bar 

• Steering knuckle 

• Strut Fork

Answer explanation

The steering knuckle is one of the components that make up the automotive steering system. It contains wheel hubs (or spindles) and attaches to the suspension and steering components of a vehicle to transfer the movements of a steering wheel to the front wheels.

A ___________ has a large amount of energy when it is compressed. So much care should be taken during disassembly.

• Insulator

• Coil spring

• Shock

• Control arm

Answer explanation

Elastic energy is energy stored in an object when there is a temporary strain on it – like in a coiled spring. The energy is stored in the bonds between atoms.

All modern shock absorbers are (a)   the faster the suspension moves, the more (b)   the shock absorber provides.

• velocity-sensitive
• resistance
• wishbone-shaped
• computer-controlled
• computer-controlled
• control
• grip
• displacement
• energy efficient

Answer explanation

Velocity-Sensitive enables shocks to adjust to road conditions and to control all of the unwanted motions that can occur in a moving vehicle, including bounce, sway, brake dive and acceleration squat.

Hydro Gas uses a capsule of ______ as its springing medium

• Nitrogen

• Carbon dioxide

• Helium

• Propane

Answer explanation

The fluid in the system, compressed by the movement of the suspension compresses the 'springy' nitrogen egg and also displaces some fluid to the interconnected suspension unit on the same side of the vehicle.

The mass between the road and the suspension springs is ________

• Unsprung Mass

• Axle Weight

• Wheel Mass

• Sprung Mass

Answer explanation

The sprung mass is the mass of the vehicle supported on the springs, while the unsprung mass is loosely defined as the mass between the road and the suspension springs.

Identify the types of available Independent Suspensions

• Platform Suspension

• Fishbone Suspension

• Vertical Guide Suspension

• Trailing Link Suspension

• Swinging Half Axles Suspension

Answer explanation

1. Mac Pherson Strut

2. Wishbone Suspension

3. Vertical Guide Suspension

4. Trailing Link Suspension

5. Swinging Half Axles Suspension