What is air suspension?

The English name of air suspension is Air suspension, and it seems that there is no problem in translating into air suspension. However, since the English name of Air suspension was born, it was actually a wrong name.

As we all know, the composition of the suspension is not only the spring, but also other parts such as the shock absorber. The main function of the spring is to store kinetic energy. The real difference between air suspension and ordinary suspension is that the medium that supports the vehicle and stores energy has changed.

In other words, the only difference between air suspension and ordinary suspension is the spring. Among them, the air suspension uses the "airbag" as the medium to support the vehicle, and supports the vehicle through the air pressure.

In addition, in order to control the air pressure in the "airbag", the air suspension is often equipped with high-pressure air cylinders, air compressors and other equipment. The "airbag" will also use vulcanized rubber as the main material, thereby improving the durability of the "airbag".

Therefore, the air suspension we often say is not actually a "real" air suspension, because compared with ordinary suspension, the air suspension just replaces the supporting medium from a metal spring to an "airbag", and the shock absorber is a always existed! In other words, the real name of the air suspension should be called "air spring".

It is reasonable to exist, and the birth of air springs is mainly to make up for some of the shortcomings of metal springs. Since the medium for storing energy is changed from metal to air, it can adjust the hardness of the vehicle suspension by adjusting the air pressure.

In addition to changing the stiffness of the suspension, the air spring also has the function of adjusting the ground clearance of the vehicle. However, since the rise of the vehicle must be accompanied by an increase in air pressure, when the suspension is adjusted to the highest state, the overall hardness will also increase slightly. Fortunately, the relationship between height and hardness is not a one-dimensional linear function, so even if the vehicle is in the highest state, the air spring hardness may only be about 10-30% harder.

Thanks to air pressure as an adjustment medium, in addition to adjusting the height and hardness, the air spring suspension has the last unique advantage, that is, automatic leveling.

We often see some cars on the road because the back seat is full of 3 people, which eventually leads to the collapse of the buttocks of the car. At this time, if it is replaced with an air spring suspension, then it can return the vehicle to its unloaded body posture by adjusting the air pressure in the "airbag".