| De Dion Tube |
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| automotive suspension technologies | |
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The benefits of a de Dion suspension include: # Reduced Unsprung Weight compared to the Hotchkiss drive since the differential is connected to the chassis. # Unlike a fully independent suspension there are no Camber changes on suspension unloading (or rebound). Fixing the camber of both wheels at zero degrees assists in obtaining good traction from wide tires and also tends to reduce wheel hop under high power operations compared to an independent suspension. There are costs, however: # If coil springs are used then a lateral location link (usually either a Panhard Rod or Watts Linkage ), plus additional torque links on each side (five link suspension) or a combination of lower trailing links and an upper transverse wishbone are required. None of these additional links are required if steel leaf springs are used. # Sympathetic camber changes on opposite wheels are seen on single-wheel suspension compression. This is not important for operation on improved surfaces but is more critical for rough road or off road use. # Compared to a fully independent rear suspension the ability to refine the dynamic response of the vehicle is somewhat limited. De Dion tubes are generally considered exotic and are rarely used. The smart fortwo micro-compact car produced by DaimlerChrysler is the only car currently in production that utilizes this arrangement. In addition the original Mazda Cosmo , Alfa Romeo GTV6 , and Rover P6 are examples of production vehicles using this suspension. A recent production vehicle using this suspension using an Aluminum tube with leaf springs was the Ford Ranger EV . The earliest production used carbon fiber leaf springs which required the use of a transverse locating linkage of the Watts type. Subsequent production used steel leaf springs which were sufficiently rigid to perform the transverse location function. Rather than only a differential, an integrated drive component consisting of an AC electrical motor, 3:1 reduction, and differential action was mounted to the chassies. |
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