November2011

e-Soft board
Theme: A multi-link suspension system
The theme encompasses the following:

Introduction
History
Technology
Designing the Four-Link
Designing the Five-Link
Rear Five - Link Suspensions
Advantages
Conclusion
References

Introduction:
Multi-link suspensions are the latest development
in road car chassis design. They are conceived to
provide high stiffness in the lateral direction and a
reasonable compliance in the fore/aft (longitudinal)
direction. This is due to the need of ensuring a good
ride quality without affecting handling and safety.
Ellis defines compliance as The change in suspension characteristics due to external forces (1). The
elastokinematic characteristics are usually tuned up to minimise camber and track changes and correctly tune toe
variations. At the rear axle of a rear-drive car the central axis of elasticity can be positioned properly to result in a
toe-in tendency under throttle-off condition, thus improving stability. The front axle of a front-drive car can be
designed with a "virtual steering axis" to optimise the steering geometry. The paper presents the application of a
simple algorithm for the force-displacement analysis of a five-rod suspension which allows for rubber bushing
compliance.
Multilink is considered to be the best and most functional independent suspension system that can be used on a
production car. A multilink design uses several short links (or arms) to attach the hub carrier to the car's body (or
a sub frame). The links are configured to ensure that the camber angle of the wheel remains unchanged during
suspension movement. 'Toe' and 'caster' dimensions are also controlled by the links depending on their initial
design geometry.
Multilink suspensions can use as few as three links; however, there are many different interpretations of the
theory and some designs use as many as five.
A multi-link suspension is a type of vehicle suspension design typically used in independent suspensions, using
three or more lateral arms, and one or more longitudinal arms. A wider definition considers any independent
suspensions having 3 control arms or more multi-link suspensions. These arms do not have to be of equal length,
and may be angled away from their 'obvious' direction.

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 From the Knowledge CentreS Desk November 2011

History:
Since the late 80s, multi-link rear suspension is increasingly used in modern sedans and coupes. The earliest
applicants include Nissan 200SX, Infiniti Q45, etc. Multi-link rear suspension became popular in 1990s. From '82
BMW 3-series to Mercedes 560SEC, even the Porsche 911, trailing arm / semi-trailing arm suspensions
dominated half the world.
It is too early to say whether multi-link suspension offer handling on a par with double wishbones. Most sports
cars and all the best racing cars still use double wishbones. Only Porsche 993 and 996, Nissan Skyline GT-R etc.
chose multi-link instead. However, it seems that multi-link can offer better compromise between handling and
space efficiency, as more and more sedans adopt it. Honda, which used to be a loyal supporter of double
wishbones, shifted to multi-link setup in the latest Accord could be evidence.
Technology:
Linked suspension setups have become much more popular in recent years and their inherent design can provide
significant performance superiority over other
suspension types. Tubular rod links and
jointed connections make up the control
systems on these vehicles and can offer
massive travel and articulation. Some of these
systems are stock suspension design, but many
are custom built by enthusiasts for their own
rigs. A basic understanding of the
fundamentals of a rear multi-link system is the
basis for this article.
In a solid-axle suspension system, the axle
moves primarily vertically, with leaf or coil
springs providing support for the vehicle's
weight, and shocks controlling dampening of
the axle and related components. Within the
system there must also be a way to confine
other movements of the axle; these being
fore/aft, side-to-side, and axle roll (the
tendency of the axle to want to turn in opposition to wheel torque).
In a leaf-spring system, the leaf springs themselves control both the fore/aft and side-to-side movement. The rigid
structure of the springs in these two directions serves these duties. The leaf springs inherently prevent axle roll (or
torque wrap) based on their thickness and spring rate. Thinner or more flexy packs do less to control axle roll and
some type of supplemental axle constraint may be needed in such a case. Added traction shocks, ladder bars, or
track bars may be used to control this third type of movement.
In a coil spring system, the coil springs serve only to support the weight of the vehicle. Coilover shocks are
similar but add a shock dampening function. However, neither of these can offer any other directional axle control
as the leaf springs can. In this case, it's necessary to use radius arms or suspension links to locate and control the
travel path and roll of the axle.
With these thoughts in mind, we'll look at what it takes to design a rear four-link suspension setup. For a deep
understanding of all the dynamics, far more extensive calculations and physics are involved than will be presented
here.
There are several configurations that can be used, but a very common one for a rear linked suspension is the
double-triangulated four-link, which will be discussed here. We'll present the basic design idea and explore some
of the performance characteristics.
Using this method, a set of lower links runs from a center point on the chassis back toward each end of the rear
axle. The upper links then run from a centered point on the top of the axle housing toward points forward on the

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 From the Knowledge CentreS Desk November 2011

frame of the vehicle. In some factory built setups, such as on some Land Rovers, two of these links may actually
be one single triangular (or wishbone) link with a single termination point on the top, center of the axle.
Note, however, that wishbone link setups can result in high force loads at the single jointed end of the wishbone.
In either case, the "triangulated" links provide lateral positioning and keep the axle positioned perpendicular to the
direction of travel.
Designing the Four-Link:
When building a four-link, the end performance will depend on the length and mounting locations of the links and
by changing these variables we can significantly change how the rig behaves under acceleration, climbing, and
side hilling. Body roll and sway are also affected by the parameters of the design. Additionally, a setup tuned to
rock crawl well will typically differ from one tuned to go fast over rough terrain.
A suspension design starts with gathering some critical measurements that will be used for calculations and
component placement. We'll need to know wheelbase, width of the axle mount points, width of the frame mount
points, and center of gravity. On many vehicles, the height of the center of gravity is often taken to be the height
of the top bellhousing bolt on the back of the engine. Also, when building your link setup, it's usually good to
design and build it at desired ride height, and then compress and articulate the axle to check clearances.
Building Links & Mounts
Links for a suspension such as this can be built in several ways. Typically the link material is either DOM thick
wall steel tubing or solid 7071 grade solid aluminum rod. The ends of the links may use female threads to accept
rod ends.
Despite all the perfected calculations you'll get on paper or from the spreadsheet, the physical constraints of your
rig will still have a lot to say as to where you locate the various components. You'll probably need to work with
the existing frame rails, gas tank, and chassis crossmembers. This can be an iterative process until you get all the
pieces to fit in place and get some performance numbers that you think will work for your application.
There are several specific characteristics that we'll want to focus on that can affect the behavior of the designed
suspension. These are anti-squat, instant center, roll center height and roll axis.
Anti-Squat
There is weight transfer from the front of the vehicle to the rear under acceleration. This is often seen on a vehicle
when the springs compress and the rear of the vehicle "squats". Anti-Squat is a characteristic that can be designed
into a suspension to counteract the natural squat forces. This is determined by the link locations and angles, the
wheelbase, and the center of gravity. You can design in sufficient anti-squat that will cause the tail to raise under
acceleration. This action can affect tire loading and traction. A 100-percent number means the suspension will
fully counteract the forces of weight transfer. Greater than 100 percent means the rear will rise and less than 100
percent means the rear will drop under acceleration. The perfect anti-squat number for your vehicle and terrain
cannot always be predicted so it may be helpful to provide some link mount adjustability in your setup to tweak
the setting once you try it out.
Instant Center
If you draw a line through the upper and lower links (viewed from the side) and extended them forward, the point
at which they would intersect in space is the instant center. This is the point about which the suspension linkage
will act. Imagine you draw a line from the rear tire contact patch to a point where the height of the COG and the
front axle centerline meet. If the instant center lies below this drawn line, you have less than 100 percent anti-
squat. If it lies above the line, you have greater than 100 percent anti-squat. The instant center should often end up
near the vehicle center of gravity.
Roll Center Height
Whenever you turn a corner, centrifugal forces cause the body/chassis to move as the suspension allows them to
"sway". The roll center height is essentially the height at which the body/chassis "pivots" with respect to the axle.
If the roll center height is the same as the COG height, there would be no body lean as you go around a corner.
However, almost all vehicles we drive will have a COG that sits higher than the roll center height so our vehicle

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 From the Knowledge CentreS Desk November 2011

leans to the outside of the curve when we make a turn or leans on a side slope. Link dimensions and mounting
locations can affect the resulting roll center height, and by playing with the locations you can try to reduce the
tendency for the body to lean.
Roll Axis
The roll axis is similar to the roll center in that it somewhat defines body roll. You'll have a different roll center
front and rear, and a line drawn between the two is the roll axis. This is the axis along which the axles pivot with
respect to the chassis and is dependent on where the triangulated links converge. You typically want the forward
point of the roll axis lower than the rear point (roll understeer) to transfer weight to the rear when cornering. This
provides more predictable handling and helps minimize oversteer in the rear. (As the rear axles moves through its
range of travel and articulation it will encounter roll or bump steer which defines how much the axle steers left to
right. Your link configuration will determine the extent to which you have this roll steer.) A vehicle with a low
roll axis will tend to have greater body lean when side-hilling.
So, let's cut to the chase if you want to make doing a double-triangulated four-link rear fairly simple. Good points
to typically shoot for are:
Make the rear links as reasonably long as you can (frame constraints and ground clearance will dictate
here)
Make the link angles as reasonably flat as you can
Make the lower links about 70 to 85 percent of the upper link length (stabilizes anti-squat)
Keep your triangulation angles (viewed from the top) fairly high (40-45 degrees) to provide good lateral
axle positioning
Try to maximize vertical link separation at the rear axle (within reason; 8 to 12 inches is a good target)
Keep frame end vertical separation approximately 50 to 75 percent of the rear axle separation (work with
the calculator here)
In any case, there is no one setup that will work perfectly for all conditions. Variables such as wheelbase, COG,
engine power, tire size, and type of terrain all play into making decisions for building a four-link. It can be helpful
to talk to other drivers that have a vehicle similar to yours and play on the same type of terrain. Designing a
competent link setup is not trivial, but when done right you stand to gain a suspension of high performance that
handles well and puts the power and traction where you need it. It also allows you to separate the spring function
of the suspension from the axle location function, further allowing you to more finely tune the performance effect
of each. Choice with a linked suspension often falls to using coilover shocks with springs or nitrogen "air" shocks,
though it can also be done with coil springs and separate shocks.

When viewed from the side,

This top view of a double-
triangulated four-link system for the
rear axle shows how both the two
upper links and two lower links are
triangulated to control lateral
movement. Proper geometry design
ensures the axle fully articulates and
travels without binding or rolling
the axle more than slightly.
attaching links at two vertical points
on the axle allow them to apply
leverage to the housing and control
axle roll. The amount of vertical
separation between the links is
important. Also, note the point
where the two links would converge
in space, which is called the instant
center. We'll discuss this more as
we proceed.
This Excel spreadsheet-based
program allows you to enter all your
dimensions and it will spit out
various design numbers for review.
It not only calculates important
performance characteristics, but also
lets you see expected load forces on
the link components which can be
important when choosing parts for
the build.

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 From the Knowledge CentreS Desk
Rod ends can be added to
suspension links with the use of
weld-in threaded inserts. The inserts
are sized to fit the rod end thread
and the outer diameter chosen to
closely fit the inside of the tubing
with your required wall thickness.
Compiled by: Learning Centre, ERC
An example of an alternative to a
conventional rod end is this
Rubicon Express Super-Flex joint.
It is considerably larger than a
comparable rod end as shown here,
so requires greater space within the
link brackets. Also shown here is
their tool used to disassemble or
tighten the side nut. These joints are
rebuildable.
Roll center and roll axis numbers
will determine how much body lean
you experience.However, just
placing the roll center higher to
combat body lean can have other
affects on the performance. As one
tire moves up over a bump, the body
must move sideways as part of the
linked behavior. At high speeds this
can be disruptive as the tire moves
up quickly, yet the body cannot
move sideways rapidly. This can
result in the vehicle bucking as the
energy kicks the tire up rather than
compressing the shock. The final
result is a tradeoff between
minimizing lean and having a
suspension that handles rough
terrain at speed well. There's no one
setup that can do all types of
wheeling optimally.
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November 2011
This suspension link is mounted in
double-shear, which is far superior
to single-shear mounting. When a
link sits between two plates or
mounting surfaces and the bolt
spans both plates and the link, this is
referred to as double shear
mounting. Remember when
building link mounts for rod ends or
joints, angle the plates so they are
parallel to the links when in a sitting
ride height position. This will help
ensure they have some angular
movement room to keep from
binding as the links move as the
suspension cycles.
On a vehicle with a stock frame you
might use a lower link crossmember
such as this to span the factory
frame rails. You'd also want to add
some additional support tubes from
the center of the crossmember
forward out to the frame to keep it
from bending due to rearward
pulling forces.
 From the Knowledge CentreS Desk
The lower links are mounted on the
axle tubes out near the ends of the
axle. You can mount these below,
at, or above the tube centerline
depending on your needs for ground
clearance, wanting to keep the link
angle reasonably flat, and keeping a
respectable vertical separation
between the upper and lower links.
In any case, the dimensional
positioning of these components
will be an iterative process as you
move parts a bit here and there to
get the numbers and clearances to
all play well. The greater the
vertical link separation at the axle,
the better ability the suspension will
have to control any tendency of axle
wrap or roll under power or braking.
Vertical separation of the links at
the frame end can be considerably
less, typically about half to three
quarters of the separation used at the
axle end.
Designing the Five-Link:
5-Link Double Wishbone Suspension:
The five suspension arms are designed and laid out to provide optimum geometry under all driving situations, thus
guaranteeing unprecedented handling and ride levels. A compact in-wheel layout was further adopted to increase
cabin space and trunk volume.
Compiled by: Learning Centre, ERC
It's not uncommon to make the
frame end location of the upper
links adjustable in approximately 2-
inch increments. With some
variability in the upper link angle,
you can make changes to the instant
center which will change the degree
of anti-squat. The lower links are
typically placed based on axle tube
height and the bottom of the chassis
so are usually not easily moved.
Note that these mount holes are
placed on an arc so that the link can
move between them without a need
to change the link length.
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November 2011
On a leaf spring rear, down-travel is
usually limited by the amount the
leaf packs can droop. However, on a
linked setup using long travel
shocks, letting the axle fully droop
to the shock limit will often cause
the driveshaft joints to bind or cause
other problems. On rock crawlers,
it's common to place a droop limit
strap at the center of the axle. This
limits straight down travel but still
allows lots of axle articulation. On a
go-fast setup, you might place a
limit strap out at each axle end to
limit extreme down-travel, where
there's not a need for extreme
articulation.
 From the Knowledge CentreS Desk November 2011

The 5-Link Double Wishbone Suspension Layout

As shown below, the 3-link and 4-link layouts allow for movement in two or more directions. By comparison, in
Honda's new 5-link double wishbone suspension, the fore-and-aft loads are controlled by the trailing and leading
arms while lateral loads are controlled by the upper, lower and control arms. The dampers' work load is thus
reduced to vertical loads for improved stability and ride. Each suspension arm being located to take loads from
one single direction, along the arm's axis, has allowed the use of straighter, lighter arms.
5-Link Double Wishbone Suspension with Watt Link Locating Arms
Two arms, one trailing, the other leading, are aligned into a Watt link layout to allow the rear wheel to move
along a rearward line when viewed from the side. In more conventional layouts, the wheel travels along a curved
plane. Longitudinal loads from the road surface are thus substantially reduced, improving ride characteristics.
Finally, with the rear wheel locus angle remaining the same whatever the load, the advantages presented by this
layout remain the same under all driving conditions.
Increased Cabin/Trunk Space:
Wheel housing intrusion into the cabin has been reduced thanks to the Watt link layout and a very compact in-
wheel suspension design. All five arms fit within the circumference of the wheel, allowing for increased cabin
space and a larger trunk volume.
Straight Line Characteristics:
The toe change associated with wheel movement is limited and linear. This is accomplished by aligning the
virtual axis passing the trailing and lower arm mounting points and the virtual axis passing the leading and upper
arm mounting points in parallel. This translates into increased straight line stability, higher rolling resistance and
reduced understeer.
Toe-in Characteristics
Under Cornering
The upper, lower and control arms are arranged to be true to the wheel longitudinal axis, which, coupled with a
straight arm design, ensures high stiffness against lateral force. The wheel center to control arm span is longer
than the one between the wheel center and the lower arm, allowing a greater displacement of the lower arm
bushing to increase toe-in under cornering. This translates into improved handling characteristics and traceability.
Under Braking
The diagonal arrangement of the trailing and leading arms increases toe-in under braking. The control arm on the
other hand remains virtually unaffected, further allowing appropriate toe-in control. Handling characteristics are
thus maintained even under braking.

Rear Five link Suspensions:

Independent rear suspensions are often seen on front-
wheel drive vehicles. This is because rear-wheel drive
transmission and driveline components are not
needed and the wheels can be mounted on short
(stub) axles. The spindle is sometimes mounted on a
Chapman strut. When Chapman struts are used,
lateral links are attached to the front and rear of the
spindle and to the rear crossmember to control lateral
movement. A trailing arm is used to control fore and
aft spindle movement.
The multi-link rear suspension system is similar to
the multi-link front system. Upper and lower lateral
arms attach between the knuckle and rear
crossmember, and are used to control lateral forces.

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 From the Knowledge CentreS Desk November 2011

The compression arm found on the front system is replaced with a toe control arm, which also connects between
the crossmember and knuckle. Also, a trailing arm is added to control fore and aft forces.
A coil-over shock absorber attaches between the vehicle's body and the knuckle. The toe control arm limits toe-
out on turns tendencies, and helps to control toe angles during cornering. The configuration of the lower lateral
arm and toe control arms also provide passive rear steering.
Advantages:
The tyre/road interface is a source of vibration which can heavily affect the ride comfort in a passenger car.
Moreover, the radial-type tire is structurally stiffer than its cross-ply predecessor hence more prone to generate
noise and harshness. As Bastow states (2) it has long been realized that road noise
finds its way into the car through the suspension system and that rubber in each of
the paths from wheel to car structure could provide a barrier (...). Providing some
compliance with the use of rubber bushings (the so-called silent-blocks) at the
chassis end of the suspension arms can be an effective way to improve the
comfort level but care has to be taken to avoid a flexibility excess.
Generally speaking a multi-link suspension is usually a five-rod mechanism which
can be seen as a double-wishbone system whose arms are split at the outer apices.
The geometry and the rubber bush elasticity can be properly tuned to minimise
camber and track changes and obtain the desired toe variations. At the rear axle of a RWD car the central axis of
elasticity can be positioned properly to result in a toe-in tendency under throttle-off condition, thus improving
stability and a slight toe-out tendency under power to improve the handling characterictics. The front axle can be
designed with a "virtual steering axis" to optimise the steering geometry and minimise castor variation under
traction in a front-drive car.
The multi-link system offers total flexibility of wheel/body movement control, lift, squat and dive compensation,
and mounting point placement with low unsprung mass figures. This can be achieved provided that an advanced
computer model is available to the designer, since a multi-link can not be studied with the use of traditional
drafting methods. A closed-form solution model is not very handy either since it requires the solution of a 20th
degree polynomial equation in a single unknown.
Conclusion:
The multi link suspension is seen as the best independent system for a production car because it offers the best
compromises between handling and space efficiency and comfort and handling. Moreover, because such a
suspension allows a vehicle to flex more, it's also a very good solution for off road driving. Multilink is
considered to be the best and most functional independent suspension system that can be used on a production car.
A multilink design uses several short links (or arms) to attach the hub carrier to the car's body (or a subframe).
The links are configured to ensure that the camber angle of the wheel remains unchanged during suspension
movement. 'Toe' and 'caster' dimensions are also controlled by the links depending on their initial design
geometry. Multilink suspensions can use as few as three links, however, there are many different interpretations
of the theory and some designs use as many as five.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-link_suspension
http://www.carpoint.com.au/advice/2009/what-is-multilink-suspension-7533
http://www.autozine.org/technical_school/suspension/tech_suspension21.htm
http://www.off-roadweb.com/tech/0908or_multi_link_suspension_system_technology/viewall.html
http://archimedes.ing.unibs.it/papers/documenti/Isata_mk.pdf
http://world.honda.com/news/1997/t970702b.html
http://www.stjoesauto.com/course_support/Rear%20Suspension%20System%20Design.pdf

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