Front Suspension

General Description

The front suspension has 2 primary purposes:

* Isolate the driver from irregularities in the road surface.
* Define the ride and handling characteristics of the vehicle.

The front suspension absorbs the impact of the road wheel travelling over irregular road surfaces and dissipates this energy throughout the suspension system. This process isolates the vehicle occupants from the road surface. This process isolates the vehicle occupants from the road surface. The suspension system must allow for the vertical movement of the tire and wheel assembly as the vehicle travels over irregular road surfaces while maintaining the tire's horizontal relationship to the road.

The steering knuckle is connected to two lower control arms and a strut assembly. The lower control arms attach to the steering knuckle with balls joints at the outermost point. The upper portion of the steering knuckle is attached to a strut assembly by two bolts and nuts. The upper most hole in the strut is a slot which allows for front camber adjustment.

The strut assembly contains a spring, shock absorber, a jounce bumper, boot, and a top mount. The top mount includes a bearing to allow the strut assembly and knuckle to rotate when the steering wheel is turned. The strut assembly is a coil over shock design that bolts to the lower control arm and the body structure. The spring absorbs the movement of the knuckle as the wheel travels over rough roads. The shock absorber dampens the oscillations of the coil spring.

The lower control arms are connected to the vehicle frame through two rigid bushings which allow the control top pivot up and down with respect to the vehicle frame and body structure. The forward most attachment points uses a bolt with a cam and slotted hole to allow for caster adjustment. A ball joint at the outermost and of the control arm allows the steering knuckle to maintain the perpendicular relationship to the road surface and to rotate as the steering wheel is turned.

A stabilizer shaft is used to help reduce body roll when the vehicle is driven around a turn. The stabilizer shaft is mounted to the sub frame or front cradle by two clamps and insulators. A link is used to connect the ends of the stabilizer shaft to each front suspension strut assembly. Each link has a ball joint on each end.