DOUBLE WISHBONE

The major purpose of suspension system is:

To maintain uniform contact by the wheels on the
roads.
Providing better steering and control.
Providing feedback to the driver about the driving
condition.
Should be flexible and cost effective.
Commonly used suspension systems in various
vehicle are solid axle suspension,mac pherson
structs & double wishbone.
Considering all the purposes of suspension system
and the requirement for our BAJA vehicle(ATV) we
choose double wishbone.
The double wishbone suspension was introduced in
1930s. French car maker Citroen used it since 1934
in the Rosalie and Traction avent models. Packard
motor car company of Detroit, Michigan used it on
the Packard-120 from 1935 and advertised it as a
safety feature. During that time Mactherson strut
was still used in aviation technology. Later on, until
1951, Ford company decided to use the Mactherson
strut on small production cars, the English Ford
Consul and Ford Zephyr. Thus,the double wishbone
was applied early in automobiles history and there
are no genetic relation between Mactherson strut and
double wishbone suspension.
Double wishbones are usually considered to have
superior dynamic characteristics as well as load
handling capabilities and are therefore, commonly
found on sports cars and racing cars through out the

automotive history. Examples of makes in which

double wishbones can be found are Alpha
romeo,Lancia,Maserati,Mercedes Benz, MG and
Pontiac vehicles. Short long arms suspension,a type
of double wishbone suspension, is very common on
front suspensions for medium to large cars such as
Cetroen C5, Honda Accord,Mazda 6 or Peuguot 407.
The double wishbone structure is used mainly to
reduce the drive height of the vehicle.It can also be
reffered as double-A-arm,though the arms
themselves can be A-shaped,L-shaped or even a
single bar linkage.The system looks like a mac
pherson strut with another wishbone.The upper arm
is usually shorter to induce negative camber as the
suspension jounces(rises),and often this arrangement
is titled an SLA orshort long arms suspension.
From the name itself it is clear that it has
wishbone shaped arms to locate the wheel.Each
wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the
chassis and one joint at the knuckle.The shock
absorbers and coil springs are mount to the
wishbones to control vertical movement.double
wishbone design allows us to carefully control the
motion of wheel throughout the travel.It alos helps in
controlling parameter such as camber angle,caster
angle,toe pattern,roll centre height,scrub radius,scuff
etc.
Between the outboard end of the arms is a
knuckle with a spindle,nub or upright which carries
the wheel bearing and wheel.To resist fore-aft loads
such as acceleration and braking the arms require
two bushing o ball joints at the body.An L-shaped arm
is generally preferred on passenger vehicle because
it allows a better compromise of handling and

comfort to be tuned in.For a rear suspension,a pair of

joints can be used at both ends of the arm,making
them more H-shaped in plan view. Alternatively,a
fixed-length driveshaft can perform the function of a
wishbone as long as the other wishbone provides
control of the upright.
In many racing cars,the spring and dampers are
relocated inside the vehicle.The suspension uses a
bellcrank to transfer the forces at the knuckle end of
the suspension to the internal spring and damper.It is
known as push rodif bump travelpusheson the
rod.As the wheel rises,the push rod compresses the
internal spring through a pivot or pivoting system.the
vice-versa of it will be a pull rod,it will pull the rod
during bump travel,and the rod must be attached to
the top of the upright,angled downward.Using the
springs and dampers increases the total mass of the
suspension,but reduces the upsprung mass,and also
make the suspension more aerodynamic.
However it occupies more space consuming the
boot space for the passengers.also,the design
process is a little complicated and costlier than the
other systems.But taking into the consideration its
many advantages it seems to be the most
appropriate suspension system for our ATV(all terrain
vehicle)as safety is our indispensable concern.