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Suspension

Suspension, simplified, is the group of mechanisms that enable a vehicle to have its tires remain in contact with the ground as much as possible. In racing, it is important to have a good suspension design, as all cornering, acceleration, and deceleration forces come from the contact patch between the tires and the road. Suspension also plays a large part in providing ride comfort, mitigating body roll, and controlling ride height.

Working on the suspension team, one can expect to be working closely with the chassis team, as the design of the two are closely related and both very important in determining the mechanical grip, handling characteristics, and drivability of the car.

In addition, the suspension team works closely with the controls team to facilitate brakes and steering.

What We Do

We determine the suspension kinematics and design all components related to the suspension of the car such as uprights (or knuckles), rockers, and control arms. Researching tire data provided by the FSAE Tire Test Consortium assists with optimal tire selection. Additionally, the Suspension team is tasked with ordering and assembling the wheels.

History

In the past, cars used solid axles in the rear with independent suspension in the front. Recently the cars have transitioned to fully independent suspensions.

Technical Information

The car runs completely independent double-wishbone suspension on all four corners and packages its dampers on a direct-acting pushrod/damper for simplicity and weight savings. Wishbones and control rods are made of welded 4130 steel, and the car sits on Hoosier 16x7.5-10 R20 tires mounted to forged magnesium OZ Racing wheels. Outboard assemblies feature parts CNC machined from both billet 7075 aluminum and Grade 9 titanium. Vehicle dynamics simulations built completely in house inform design and tuning decisions both for suspension and other sub teams by numerically tying differences in components to vehicle behavior changes.