Vehicle suspension is the system of springs and dampers that controls vertical oscillations of the vehicle, determining ride comfort and operating safety. With the technology available today, there are three different functions that can be accomplished with adjustable, electronically controlled suspension.
The simplest suspension adjustment is load-leveling used to control ride height for towing and carrying a heavy load in the trunk. Early versions, such as Packards in the fifties, utilized torsion bar rear springs. Ride height was adjusted by rotating the anchored end of the bar with a starter-type motor, a gearbox and heavy bell crank linkage. Since the weight on the front axle doesn’t change much, the motor solenoid was controlled with a simple mercury switch mounted parallel to the frame rail, acting as the rear height sensor. Simple load-leveling suspensions today use air-adjustable springs or shock absorbers, an onboard air compressor and a real ride height sensor......
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