Hydro pneumatic suspensions have been available on cars for over 50 years. The concept was to provide a much smoother ride than was available from other forms of suspension. It was an engineer at Citroen in France who developed the original version back in the mid to late 1940s and it hit the showrooms on the Traction Avant model in 1954. The car was unique in its day having … [Read more...]
MacPherson Struts
In this weeks technical article I will discuss the concept and history of the MacPherson Strut – what is now the most popular mode of suspension on cars today – front suspension that is, because it is connected to the steering. The rear suspension is similar but called a Chapman Strut after the founder of Lotus, Colin Chapman, took the concept and reworked it for the … [Read more...]
Power Steering
This week’s technical article is about power steering. The concept is simple: help the driver steer the car with the minimal of fuss. The implementation is a little trickier. The key to good power steering is the weight of the steering – too soft and you risk having very light steering and possibly a lack of feel – too heavy and it defeats the purpose of having the powered … [Read more...]
Anti-lock Braking Systems
Like many technologies found in cars, Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS) were originally developed for aircraft. It’s not a good idea for a plane to lock its wheels on landing! The first systems were developed in the 1920s by Gabriel Voisin a French car and aircraft engineer specifically for planes. One of the earliest systems was developed by Dunlop, the tyre company. Called … [Read more...]
Ground Effect
Over the last few months as I have described the history of vehicle manufacturing you will have noticed the close relationship between cars and aircraft – primarily because both industries were born around the same time and used similar components or materials. It was common for aircraft component manufacturers to re-use the technology for automotive use. Air-craft Ground … [Read more...]