Development and Evaluation of Vehicle Suspension Tuning Metrics

By proposing and exploring a set of complimentary and cohesive metrics, meant to describe both the grip available from the tires and the comfort of the occupants, this research seeks to modernize suspension tuning efforts.;It has been shown that grip can be quantified by the wheel load distribution variation between two wheels on an axle pair: "axle load distribution variation" (ALDV). Comfort can be quantified in a bilateral approach, with an "objective comfort" metric that documents the vibration experienced by the occupants, and with a "subjective comfort" metric that assesses the intrusiveness of that vibration within the context of the function of the vehicle.;The product of this research is a set of three metrics which will allow suspension engineers to quantify the performance of a suspension in terms of its ability to achieve good grip with the road surface, and to provide the occupants with a comfortable ride.