The use of air suspension in automobiles has a long history. As early as 1914, the first automotive product equipped with air suspension was introduced. In 1944, air suspension began to be applied in buses and buses. By the 1960s, air suspension was rapidly popularized in commercial vehicle fields in Europe and America, and by the 1990s, air suspension was introduced to China, starting to be applied in passenger cars and buses and gradually extending to the field of freight vehicles.

Compared with traditional suspension, air suspension is lightweight and has a small self weight, which is in line with the industry trend of "lightweight"; Excellent shock absorption effect and good cargo protection effect; The height can be freely adjusted, enabling single or multi bridge lifting and lowering, while saving energy and reducing consumption, making it easy to load and unload goods; It is also beneficial for reducing tire wear, protecting vehicle chassis components, and to a certain extent reducing comprehensive vehicle costs.

Common air suspension classifications

1. European style

The biggest feature of European air suspension is that the guide arm is very similar to the traditional leaf spring structure, presenting a one piece or multi piece structure, usually directly forged, and has stronger load-bearing performance.

In addition, the guide arm of the European air suspension belongs to a flexible structure, which has a certain degree of bending elasticity and stronger shock absorption. At the same time, it can also provide the airbag with a longer movement range and good shock absorption effect.

2. American style

The American style air suspension is characterized by a rigid "I-beam" type buckle guide arm, which is generally made of steel plates by stamping, welding or casting. It looks like a whole, belonging to a rigid connection structure.

Due to the smaller front bracket of the American style suspension compared to the European style, the theoretical self importance is relatively lighter. In addition, the American style air suspension has a large contact area between the guide arm and the axle, which provides better lateral support for the vehicle. Due to its relatively short travel time and slightly poor shock absorption, the airbag is relatively more suitable for use in better road conditions.

These two types of air suspensions each have their own advantages and have been applied in China. However, in comparison, the application range of European air suspensions is wider. This is mainly because the transportation road conditions in China are relatively complex, and loading habits are more inclined towards heavy loads. Therefore, the requirements for load-bearing, shock reduction, and durability of the suspension are higher, which is why European air suspensions are more suitable.

Installation method of air suspension

The installation methods of air suspension are mainly divided into two types: front installation and reverse installation.

In general, the lowest part of the vehicle's chassis running mechanism is the axle, with wheels connected at both ends. Above the axle is the suspension system, and then the frame is connected upwards. The installation is carried out in this order, commonly known as the formal installation method. This way, the installed air suspension can directly use the guide arm to bear the weight of the vehicle body, which is more sturdy, has stronger bearing capacity, and has a more obvious shock absorption effect;

Reverse installation refers to changing the suspension originally installed above the axle to the lower part of the axle, and reinforcing it with riding screws, lower clamps, and invisible bow brackets, commonly known as lifting. After reverse installation, the height of the vehicle body has been reduced to a certain extent, and the center of gravity is lower, which can not only improve the passing ability of vehicles on height restricted sections, but also load more goods and pull more vehicles. In this installation method, the axle directly bears the load, and then the force is transmitted to the suspension by the riding screw, which is equivalent to directly bearing the force with the riding screw. Once the screw is broken, the consequences are unimaginable.

Generally speaking, reversing the suspension of small trucks can lower the center of gravity of the vehicle, prevent it from drifting when running, and prevent it from flipping when turning; Large and medium-sized trucks have relatively high load-bearing requirements, and suspension formal installation is more reliable.