The Basics of Double Wishbone Suspension

Double wishbone suspension is a type of suspension system used in vehicles to provide stability and control during movement. The system consists of two arms, one shorter than the other, which work together to support the weight of the vehicle. In this setup, the upper control arm is shorter than the lower one, allowing for a more precise control over the camber angle of the tire.

The Camber Angle: A Key Factor in Suspension

When it comes to suspension, one of the most important factors to consider is the camber angle. The camber angle refers to the angle between the top surface of the tire and the vertical plane. When a vehicle hits a bump or goes around a corner, the body of the car rolls, which affects the camber angle. In a double wishbone suspension with equal-length control arms, this can lead to changes in camber angle, resulting in positive or negative camber on the outside and inside tires.

The Problem with Equal-Length Control Arms

When both control arms are of equal length, the camber angle remains the same when traveling in a straight line. However, when the body rolls around a corner, the shorter upper control arm causes induced negative camber, which can lead to reduced contact between the tire and the road surface. This is particularly problematic on turns, as it allows the outside tire to press flat against the road while the inside tire has more clearance.

Solving the Problem: Unequal Control Arms

To address this issue, engineers developed unequal-length control arms, with the upper arm being shorter than the lower one. By doing so, they created a suspension system that can maintain negative camber even when the body rolls around a corner. This results in maximum contact between the tire and the road surface, which is essential for stability and control.

The Benefits of Double Wishbone Suspension

Double wishbone suspension has several advantages. One key benefit is its ability to provide increased negative camber with roll. As the body rolls, the negative camber increases, allowing for better contact with the road surface. Additionally, this system can handle large deflections, making it ideal for off-road use. The versatility of double wishbone suspension lies in its design, which allows for a variety of configuration options.

Positioning of Components

One of the unique features of double wishbone suspension is its flexibility when it comes to component placement. The shock absorber and spring can be mounted either on the lower control arm or the upper one, allowing for customization based on the specific needs of the vehicle. This versatility makes it easier to adapt the suspension system to different driving conditions and terrain.

Application in Front and Rear Suspension

Double wishbone suspension is not limited to just rear suspension; it can also be used in front suspension systems, particularly those that require steering. By employing double wishbone suspension in both the front and rear of a vehicle, engineers can create a highly capable and responsive handling system.

The Downsides: Higher Cost and Complexity

While double wishbone suspension has many benefits, there are some drawbacks to consider. One significant disadvantage is its higher cost compared to other suspension systems. Additionally, this system requires more components than others, which can increase maintenance costs and make repairs more complicated. However, these trade-offs are often worth it for the exceptional handling and stability provided by double wishbone suspension.

Conclusion

Double wishbone suspension is a highly effective and responsive suspension system that has become a standard in the automotive industry. Its ability to maintain negative camber with roll, handle large deflections, and provide versatility make it an attractive option for vehicle designers. While there are some drawbacks to consider, including higher cost and complexity, the benefits of double wishbone suspension far outweigh its limitations. As engineers continue to refine this system, we can expect even more advanced suspension technologies that will further enhance driving experiences.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey everyone hope you're all doing fantastic so this video will be my first uh suspension variant video where I go into a specific suspension and this one will be the double Wishbone suspension or double ar ar or double control arm or a AR or whatever you would like to call it but point is it has two control arms and that's the suspension variant I'll be going over uh before you watch this if you haven't watched my video on camber where you don't know much about camber um it's really important so watch my video on cambera I should have a link on here um and so that'll help you out when I'm explaining this suspension variant all right anyway so basically what a double Wishbone suspension is is you've got two control arms and they're in the shape of a wishbone hence the name and so these two control arms will be connected to a frame the frame of your car and then the front of it here is where your brake will mount on and then your wheel on top top of that so originally double Wishbone suspensions used two control arms of equal length and the advantage of this is that as you have uh positive or negative travel of this um vertical or motion of the tire um say you're going straight you hit a bump and the tire goes up well your camber angle is going to stay the same when you're going straight now the disadvantage is when you go around a corner that camber angle changes because your body the body of the car rolls so what they decided to do they being Engineers was to use a shorter upper control arm so as you can see in this picture the upper control arm is shorter than the bottom one and as you have vertical travel now this is exaggerated but as you have vertical travel you'll have induced negative camber so that's beneficial when you go around a corner so here I'm going to look at camber as you're going around the corner so these probably aren't the greatest uh drawings here but it gets the idea across so you're going around a corner this will be a uh a left corner and so the the body is going to roll to the right so as the Body Rolls to the right and you have equal equal length um top and bottom control arms you're going to have positive slight positive camber on the outside Tire which is taking most of the load and this is bad and you're going to have slight negative camber on the inside which isn't carrying as much of the load and being slightly negative that's also a disadvantage so once you put on these uh shorter upper control arms you can see that it'll have a slight negative camber when going around that leftand corner and so the the tire will make itself flat with the road surface um even as your body rolls and that's what you want that's exactly what you want want to keep maximum amount of contact uh with the road and then your outside or inside Tire of that in that corner which doesn't have as much as the load is going to have a slight positive camber which means it will also be pressing flat against the road and that's exactly what you want have maximum contact so double wishbones with the uh unequal control arms the top one being slightly shorter is a great suspension setup uh some of the advantages as I've discuss you have increased negative camber with roll so as you roll more your negative camber increases and it matches it so that you're always having fantastic contact with the road um and not all suspensions can do that so that's one advantage of this one um another thing it can handle very large deflections it has a large range with these control arms that they can move so you can hit large bumps um say you're doing something off-road it's a great suspension variant for that because of how much travel it has now it's not quite as bulky as something like a solid axle which if you go off-roading with it's not going to break but it doesn't have the kind of clearance movement that you can get with a double Wishbone uh versatile the reason I say versatile is because in this picture I've got the shock absorber and the spring uh both together mounted to the lower control arm well it doesn't need to be like that necessarily you can put that shock absorber on the lower and you can have a spring on this upper or you can just switch it however you want you can change where you have that shock absorber and where you have the spring um and so it's it's versatile as far as placement so if you have if there's something bulky in this area and you can't use it well then move it up or change it however you want and then also front back so you can use a double Wishbone suspension in both the front of the car even with the steering and in the rear of the car so that's another advantage um some of the downsides some of the bad things of a double Wishbone suspension well it can be more expensive and also it has a greater number of parts so greater number of parts means when you're working on it it can take longer or if you're getting it worked on it can be more expensive to have someone uh service it so that's definitely a negative side but overall double Wishbone is a great suspension variant definitely one of the best out there so here we have our double Wishbone suspension or double a arm uh and you can see the controlling arm here at the top and it's obviously a little bit smaller than this controlling arm here at the bottom and then you've got your shock absorber here connecting with the lower control arm and that's all connected to the outside Tire the tire is not on here we just got the disc brake but there's a basic setup of a double a arm or double Wishbone suspensionhey everyone hope you're all doing fantastic so this video will be my first uh suspension variant video where I go into a specific suspension and this one will be the double Wishbone suspension or double ar ar or double control arm or a AR or whatever you would like to call it but point is it has two control arms and that's the suspension variant I'll be going over uh before you watch this if you haven't watched my video on camber where you don't know much about camber um it's really important so watch my video on cambera I should have a link on here um and so that'll help you out when I'm explaining this suspension variant all right anyway so basically what a double Wishbone suspension is is you've got two control arms and they're in the shape of a wishbone hence the name and so these two control arms will be connected to a frame the frame of your car and then the front of it here is where your brake will mount on and then your wheel on top top of that so originally double Wishbone suspensions used two control arms of equal length and the advantage of this is that as you have uh positive or negative travel of this um vertical or motion of the tire um say you're going straight you hit a bump and the tire goes up well your camber angle is going to stay the same when you're going straight now the disadvantage is when you go around a corner that camber angle changes because your body the body of the car rolls so what they decided to do they being Engineers was to use a shorter upper control arm so as you can see in this picture the upper control arm is shorter than the bottom one and as you have vertical travel now this is exaggerated but as you have vertical travel you'll have induced negative camber so that's beneficial when you go around a corner so here I'm going to look at camber as you're going around the corner so these probably aren't the greatest uh drawings here but it gets the idea across so you're going around a corner this will be a uh a left corner and so the the body is going to roll to the right so as the Body Rolls to the right and you have equal equal length um top and bottom control arms you're going to have positive slight positive camber on the outside Tire which is taking most of the load and this is bad and you're going to have slight negative camber on the inside which isn't carrying as much of the load and being slightly negative that's also a disadvantage so once you put on these uh shorter upper control arms you can see that it'll have a slight negative camber when going around that leftand corner and so the the tire will make itself flat with the road surface um even as your body rolls and that's what you want that's exactly what you want want to keep maximum amount of contact uh with the road and then your outside or inside Tire of that in that corner which doesn't have as much as the load is going to have a slight positive camber which means it will also be pressing flat against the road and that's exactly what you want have maximum contact so double wishbones with the uh unequal control arms the top one being slightly shorter is a great suspension setup uh some of the advantages as I've discuss you have increased negative camber with roll so as you roll more your negative camber increases and it matches it so that you're always having fantastic contact with the road um and not all suspensions can do that so that's one advantage of this one um another thing it can handle very large deflections it has a large range with these control arms that they can move so you can hit large bumps um say you're doing something off-road it's a great suspension variant for that because of how much travel it has now it's not quite as bulky as something like a solid axle which if you go off-roading with it's not going to break but it doesn't have the kind of clearance movement that you can get with a double Wishbone uh versatile the reason I say versatile is because in this picture I've got the shock absorber and the spring uh both together mounted to the lower control arm well it doesn't need to be like that necessarily you can put that shock absorber on the lower and you can have a spring on this upper or you can just switch it however you want you can change where you have that shock absorber and where you have the spring um and so it's it's versatile as far as placement so if you have if there's something bulky in this area and you can't use it well then move it up or change it however you want and then also front back so you can use a double Wishbone suspension in both the front of the car even with the steering and in the rear of the car so that's another advantage um some of the downsides some of the bad things of a double Wishbone suspension well it can be more expensive and also it has a greater number of parts so greater number of parts means when you're working on it it can take longer or if you're getting it worked on it can be more expensive to have someone uh service it so that's definitely a negative side but overall double Wishbone is a great suspension variant definitely one of the best out there so here we have our double Wishbone suspension or double a arm uh and you can see the controlling arm here at the top and it's obviously a little bit smaller than this controlling arm here at the bottom and then you've got your shock absorber here connecting with the lower control arm and that's all connected to the outside Tire the tire is not on here we just got the disc brake but there's a basic setup of a double a arm or double Wishbone suspension\n"