Independent Suspensions

Swing axle suspension

This is a very old independent suspension, used by some sports cars since the 50s, such as VW
Beetle, Porsche 356 (which was based on Beetle) and Mercedes' famous 300SL Gullwing (1954).
However, it disappeared for at least 2 decades because it has so much weakness. The only
advantage is - it provides
independent shock absorption.
Handling is really awful, as camber
angle can be noticeably changed
by bouncing motion (as shown in
the first picture), change of static
weight of the car (second picture)
and body roll (third picture).
Especially is the body roll, which
makes both wheels lean towards
the corner, thus result in severe
oversteer. This explain why the
Mercedes 300SL Gullwing was
criticised as very unpredictable and
difficult to handle.
Camber variation can be reduced
via using longer swing arms, but
this could create problems in
packaging. It engages the space for
rear seats and even the boot.
Another solution is to introduce
inherent understeer by setting the
wheels negative cambered. This
could compensate the oversteer
during cornering but the drawback
is the instability in straight line. To cars as slow as VW Beetle, swing axle shows its advantage in
ride comfort over contemporary non-independent suspensions while the weakness in handling is
not easily seen. For Porsche 356, at least in the less-powerful early versions, the problem is not
severe, too. In later years, when the car got bigger and bigger engine, Porsche realised that the
days for swing axle had nearly finished. That came true when the 911 launched in 1963, used
trailing arm at the rear instead of swing axle.

Advantage:

Independent ride.

Disadvantage: Very bad handling.

Who use it ?

Mercedes 300SL (1954), VW Beetle, Porsche 356 etc.

Double wishbones suspension

To many suspension designers, double wishbones (or "A-arms") is the most ideal suspension. It
can be used in front and rear wheels, it is independent and most important, it has near perfect
camber control. For 40 years and even today, this is the first choice for racing cars, sports cars
and demanding sedans.
Basically, double wishbones suspension always maintains the wheel
perpendicular to the road surface, irrespective of the wheel's
movement. This ensure good handling.
Traditional double wishbones consists of 2 parellel wishbone arms of
equal length, which has the drawback of excessive tire scrubbing
because of the large variation in track width as the wheel moved off the
neutral position. Therefore engineers developed unequal-length nonparellel A-arms to solve this. By tilting the upper A-arm, anti-dive function is also achieved.

<< Porsche 993's rear suspension

Double wishbones suspension has been very popular in
American cars. Not so in Europe because cars in there are
smaller thus cannot accommodate this relatively space-engaging
suspension. Besides, it is more costly than MacPherson strut and
torsion beam because it involves more components and more
suspension pick up points in the car body. Owing to these
reasons, very few small cars adopt it. One of the few examples is
Honda Civic.
This does not mean American cars have better handling. No, due
to their larger size and weight and the less effort spent in
suspension tuning, the majority of double wishbones-equipped
American cars actually handles worse.

Advantage:

Ideal camber control leads to good handling.

Disadvantage: Space engaging and costly.

Who use it ?

American sports cars and some sedans, most European pure sports cars like
Ferrari, TVR, Lotus .... some Euopean sedans, most Honda .... many many
many.

MacPherson strut suspension

The MacPherson strut suspension was invented in the 1940s by Earl S. MacPherson of Ford. It
was introduced on the 1950 English Ford and has since become one of the dominating
suspensions systems of the world because of its compactness and low
cost.
Unlike other suspension designs, in MacPherson strut suspension, the
telescopic shock absorber also serves as a link to control the position of
the wheel. Therefore it saves the upper control arm. Besides, since the
strut is vertically positioned, the whole suspension is very compact. To
front-wheel drive cars, whose engine and transmission are all located
inside the front compartment, they need front suspensions which
engage very little width of the car. Undoubtedly, MacPhersion strut
suspension is the most suitable one.
Nevertheless, this simple design does not offer very good handling.
Body roll and wheel's movement lead to variation in camber, although
not as severe as swing axle suspension. From a designer's viewpoint, its relatively high overall
height requires a higher hood and fender line, which is not very desirable to sports cars' styling.

<< Hyundai Atoz's MacPherson strut

Like double wishbones suspension, MacPherson strut can be adopted in
both front and rear wheels. In the 80s, there are many budget sedans
employed Mac strut in all corners, the most famous is Fiat's Type 4 and
Tipo platforms, on which Fiat Croma, Lancia Thema, Saab 9000, Fiat
Tipo, Tempra, Lancia Delta, Dedra etc. were based. None of them was
famous of handling. Basically, Alfa Romeo's GTV / Spider is also based
on the Tipo platform, however, after experienced unsatisfatory handling
during testing, the rear MacPherson struts were replaced by the pricier
multi-link suspensions.

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