Continuous Damping Control

Assignment

One knows all about them, the sporty, often low-slung cars, in which, by driving over a coin, one can feel whether it's heads- or tails up. In the the slightly more moderate versions, the spring suspension and particularly the damping is not that bad at all. Who hasn't experienced butterflies in the stomach when travelling at high speeds in an everyday saloon car. The road contact seems very slight, just when one needs it the most.
However, who wants to drive permanently with such a hard damping, that ones mother-in-law on the rear seat, has to hold on to her false teeth to stop them from rattling out. Wouldn't it be great, if one could choose (during the trip), and in addition, if the damping could harden itself in a flash should the situation become critical. Just this type of system, with continuous adjustment, is now available, even for the affordable mid-range.

Function

In the above picture, the most important innovation is obvious, the proportional valve, below on the left of the damper pipe. It may also be integrated into the damper piston with an electrical connection above the piston-rod. Here however, because the damper-construction is higher and its effectivity suffers, the external installation is more often found. The same is valid for the rear axle (see above). In this case, in the double-pipe damper, it replaces the base valve and controls the influx and drainage of hydraulic oil to and from the space between.
Electronic damping has been around for quite a while. The novelty of this system, is the possibility of enabling almost any number of characteristic curves, and this, in the space of milliseconds, thus, also when yawing in a curve becomes critical, or when the vehicle threatens to overturn. The equipping with sensors and thus, its possibilities, depends on the respective manufacturer. Apart from the 'sport' button, sensors are also possible for the yawing and the vehicle- or superstructure acceleration. Additionally, the movement of the steering wheel and the wheels are important.
When looking at the list of sensors, one notices the safety-system ESP immediately. In this case, there is already networking. It is to be expected, that in the future, the driving safety and the choice of a sportier damping, will be regulated by a control device.