An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle is supported. In the latter case, a bearing or bushing sits inside a central hole in the wheel to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. Sometimes, especially on bicycles, the latter type of axle is referred to as a spindle.
The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles. The name comes from American automotive engineer Earle S. MacPherson, who invented and developed the design.
A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end terminates in a lever, the torsion key, mounted perpendicular to the bar, that is attached to a suspension arm, a spindle, or the axle. Vertical motion of the wheel causes the bar to twist around its axis and is resisted by the bar's torsion resistance. The effective spring rate of the bar is determined by its length, cross section, shape, material, and manufacturing process.
Morgan Motor Company Limited is a British motor car manufacturer owned by a British investment group Investindustrial. Morgan was founded in 1910 by Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan. Morgan is itself based in Malvern Link, an area of Malvern, and employs approximately 220 people. Morgan produce 850 cars per year, all assembled by hand. The waiting list for a car is approximately six months, but it has sometimes been as long as ten years.
Suspension is the system of tires, tire air, springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels and allows relative motion between the two. Suspension systems must support both road holding/handling and ride quality, which are at odds with each other. The tuning of suspensions involves finding the right compromise. The suspension is crucial for maintaining consistent contact between the road wheel and the road surface, as all forces exerted on the vehicle by the road or ground are transmitted through the tires' contact patches. The suspension also protects the vehicle itself and any cargo or luggage from damage and wear. The design of front and rear suspension of a car may be different.
A leaf spring is a simple form of spring commonly used for suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a laminated or carriage spring, and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, elliptical spring, or cart spring, it is one of the oldest forms of vehicle suspension. A leaf spring is one or more narrow, arc-shaped, thin plates that are attached to the axle and chassis in a way that allows the leaf spring to flex vertically in response to irregularities in the road surface. Lateral leaf springs are the most commonly used arrangement, running the length of the vehicle and mounted perpendicular to the wheel axle, but numerous examples of transverse leaf springs exist as well.
Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked. "Independent" refers to the motion or path of movement of the wheels or suspension. It is common for the left and right sides of the suspension to be connected with anti-roll bars or other such mechanisms. The anti-roll bar ties the left and right suspension spring rates together but does not tie their motion together.
In automotive design, a front-engine, front-wheel-drive (FWD) layout, or FF layout, places both the internal combustion engine and driven roadwheels at the front of the vehicle.
In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle.
The Chapman strut is a design of independent rear suspension used for light cars, particularly sports and racing cars. It takes its name from, and is best known for its use by, Colin Chapman of Lotus.
A swing axle is a simple type of independent suspension designed and patented by Edmund Rumpler in 1903 for the rear axle of rear wheel drive vehicles. This was a revolutionary invention in automotive suspension, allowing driven (powered) wheels to follow uneven road surfaces independently, thus enabling the vehicle's wheels to maintain better road contact and holding; plus each wheel's reduced unsprung weight means their movements have less impact on the vehicle as a whole. The first automotive application was the Rumpler Tropfenwagen, another early example was the 1923 Tatra 11 later followed by the Mercedes 130H/150H/170H, the Standard Superior, the pre-facelift Volkswagen Beetle and most of its derivatives, the Chevrolet Corvair, and the roll-over prone M151 jeep amongst others.
A de Dion axle is a form of non-independent automobile suspension. It is a considerable improvement over the swing axle, Hotchkiss drive, or live axle. Because it plays no part in transmitting power to the drive wheels, it is sometimes called a "dead axle".
The Lancia Lambda is an innovative automobile produced from 1922 through 1931. It was the first car to feature a load-bearing unitary body, and it also pioneered the use of an independent suspension. Vincenzo Lancia even invented a shock absorber for the car and it had excellent four wheel brakes. Approximately 11,200 Lambdas were produced.
A Corvette leaf spring is a type of independent suspension that utilizes a fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) mono-leaf spring instead of more conventional coil springs. It is named after the Chevrolet Corvette, the American sports car for which it was originally developed and first utilized. A notable characteristic of this suspension configuration is the mounting of the mono-leaf spring such that it can serve as both ride spring and anti-roll spring. In contrast to many applications of leaf springs in automotive suspension designs, this type does not use the spring as a locating link. While this suspension type is most notably associated with several generations of the Chevrolet Corvette the design has been used in other production General Motors cars, as well as vehicles from Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van. Fiat produced cars with a similar configuration, using a multi-leaf steel spring in place of the FRP mono-leaf spring.
The Lancia Appia is a passenger car introduced in 1953 by Italian car manufacturer Lancia as a replacement for the Ardea, and which remained in production for ten years. The Appia was the last in a long line of Lancia production cars dating back to the Lancia Lambda to use sliding pillar front suspension. All three series produced had a 1089cc Lancia V4 engine.
Amédée-Ernest Bollée was a French bellfounder and inventor who specialized in steam cars. He is notable for developing the earliest known form of the independent suspension. After 1867 he was known as "Amédée père" to distinguish him from his similarly named son, Amédée-Ernest-Marie Bollée (1867–1926).
The twist-beam rear suspension is a type of automobile suspension based on a large H- or C-shaped member. The front of the H attaches to the body via rubber bushings, and the rear of the H carries each stub-axle assembly, on each side of the car. The cross beam of the H holds the two trailing arms together, and provides the roll stiffness of the suspension, by twisting as the two trailing arms move vertically, relative to each other.
The Castle Three was a British three-wheeled cyclecar made from 1919 to 1922 by the Castle Motor Company of Castle Mill Works, New Road, Kidderminster, Worcestershire.
Jaguar's independent rear suspension (IRS) unit has been a common component of a number of Jaguar production cars since 1961, passing through two major changes of configuration up to 2006 and last used in the Jaguar XK8 and Aston Martin DB7. This article concentrates on the first generation Jaguar IRS, which firmly established the marque's reputation for suspension sophistication, combining as it did smooth ride with excellent roadholding and low levels of noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH). The two generations overlap in time due to their being used in both full size and sports models that were updated at different times.
Transverse leaf spring front suspension is a type of automotive front suspension, whose usage is most well known in Ford Motor Company products from 1908 to 1948. "Suicide front axle" is a term that has been used for it.
