Title: The design of the running gear of light passenger cars for comfort and safety

Authors: D. Bahnholzer

Addresses: Volkswagenwerk AG, Wolfsburg, Federal Republic of Germany

Abstract: The design of the running gear of a passenger car is dominated by two main requirements. comfort and safety, which often lead to conflicting demands. In this paper the choice of drive system and front and rear suspensions are discussed. The criterion taken for choosing the drive system is safety, in particular directional stability. Safety, comfort and economical manufacture influence the choice of suspension. A Macpherson strut from suspension and a |dead| trailing-arm torsion-beam rear suspension, as in the new Golf, are found to satisfy, economically, the demands of both safety and comfort.

Keywords: directional stability; driver comfort; four wheel drive; front wheel drive; kinematics; Macpherson strut suspension; rear wheel drive; running gear; trailing-arm suspension; torsion-beam suspension; vehicle components; vehicle design; component design; vehicle safety.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.1986.061169

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 1986 Vol.7 No.5/6, pp.129 - 146

Published online: 25 May 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article