Loads
Once the basic geometry is established the loads in each suspension part can be estimated. This can be as simple as deciding what a likely maximum load case is at the contact patch, and then drawing a Free body diagram of each part to work out the forces, or as complex as simulating the behaviour of the suspension over a rough road, and calculating the loads caused. Often loads that have been measured on a similar suspension are used instead - this is the most reliable method.
Read more about this topic: Automotive Suspension Design
Famous quotes containing the word loads:
“The same soil is good for men and for trees. A man’s health requires as many acres of meadow to his prospect as his farm does loads of muck.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Every increased possession loads us with a new weariness.”
—John Ruskin (1819–1900)
“What loads my hands down?”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)