Optimizing Vehicle Performance: Why Suspension Calibration is Needed

Nov 21,2023
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What  is suspension calibration?


Suspension calibration refers to the process of adjusting and aligning components of a vehicle's suspension system to ensure they are in the correct position and operating as expected. The suspension system is a key component of the vehicle and consists of several components, including suspension arms, springs, shock absorbers and other connections. The goal of the suspension system is to provide a smooth driving experience while ensuring the stability and controllability of the vehicle in different road conditions.


Why is suspension calibration required?


Suspension calibration is an important step in car maintenance. Here are the reasons why suspension calibration is necessary:


① Improve driving comfort: A properly calibrated suspension system helps improve driving comfort. Proper suspension settings can slow down bumps, reduce vibration, and make the driver and passengers feel more comfortable.


② Vehicle stability: The suspension system is crucial to the stability and controllability of the vehicle. By ensuring the accurate positioning of suspension components, you can maximize your vehicle's stability when cornering, braking and accelerating.


③ Tire wear: Incorrect suspension settings may cause uneven tire wear. Suspension system calibration can reduce tire wear, extend tire life, and reduce maintenance costs.


④ Fuel efficiency: An accurately calibrated suspension system helps improve fuel efficiency. Good suspension settings reduce the vehicle's rolling resistance, thereby reducing fuel consumption.


⑤ Avoid unnecessary wear and tear: Incorrect suspension settings may cause excessive wear and tear on other parts, such as the braking system and transmission system. By performing regular suspension calibration, these unnecessary losses can be avoided.


So, under what circumstances is suspension system calibration required?


① Vehicle maintenance: When a vehicle undergoes routine maintenance or repairs, it may involve work that requires moving suspension components, such as replacing brake components, axles, or suspension connections. These tasks can affect the accuracy of your suspension system, so calibration is a necessary step to ensure everything is working properly.


② Accident repair: After an accident, the vehicle's suspension system may be affected, causing suspension components to shift or be damaged. After an accident is repaired, suspension calibration is a critical step in ensuring that the vehicle is restored to the exact condition specified by the original manufacturer to ensure stability and safety.


③ Suspension component replacement: When replacing key components of the suspension system, such as suspension arms, springs, shock absorbers or control arms, this may affect the vehicle's suspension geometry. To ensure accurate installation of new components, suspension calibration is required.


④ Tire replacement: Replacing tires may affect the vehicle's tire alignment and suspension settings. Since the suspension system directly affects tire wear and performance, calibration after replacing tires is a critical step in ensuring tire life and performance.


⑤ System updates: With the development of automobile technology, manufacturers may release software or hardware updates related to the suspension system. After these updates are installed, suspension calibration ensures that new settings and parameters are applied correctly.


These conditions can negatively affect the accuracy of the suspension system, thereby affecting driving comfort, vehicle stability and handling performance. Suspension system calibration ensures that suspension components are in the correct position to maximize vehicle performance and safety. This is a job that needs to be performed by professional technicians using specialized equipment to ensure accuracy and safety.


Suspension calibration process


Suspension calibration requires professionally trained technicians to perform using specific equipment and tools, and its calibration process is a complex task. The following are general steps for suspension system calibration for your reference:


① Preparation: Before calibrating the suspension system, ensure that the vehicle is on a flat workbench and has the necessary safety support. Turn off the vehicle's electronic stability control (ESC) and other related systems.


② Diagnosis and measurement: Use professional diagnostic tools and measurement equipment to conduct a comprehensive inspection and measurement of the suspension system. This may include checking the vehicle's tire alignment, suspension geometry, angles and sensor readings.


③ Vehicle positioning: Position the vehicle on the calibration equipment to ensure that the wheels are in the appropriate position. This usually involves the use of positioning equipment such as 3D cameras or laser projectors.


④ Sensor calibration: If the suspension system includes sensors, such as suspension height sensors or steering angle sensors, they need to be calibrated. This ensures that these sensors provide accurate data.


⑤ Adjust suspension components: Using professional tools, technicians may need to adjust the position of suspension components to ensure they meet the manufacturer's specifications. This may include adjusting suspension arms, springs, shock absorbers, and other related components.


⑥ Software calibration: For vehicles equipped with electronically controlled suspension systems, software calibration may be required. This involves using specialized software provided by the manufacturer to ensure that the vehicle's electronic systems correctly recognize and respond to the position and status of the suspension components.


⑦ Test drive: After completing the suspension system calibration, perform a test drive to ensure that everything is normal. This includes checking driving comfort, handling performance and vehicle stability.


⑧ Recording and verification: Record the completed calibration work, including all adjustments and measured values. Verify the calibration results to ensure that the vehicle's suspension system has been restored to normal operating conditions as specified by the manufacturer.


Suspension system calibration often requires the use of highly precise equipment and tools, and trained technicians have the necessary expertise and skills to effectively perform this process and ensure suspension system accuracy and performance. Because each vehicle's suspension design may be different, you need to follow the manufacturer's recommendations and guidelines when performing a suspension calibration.


Future trends in suspension calibration


In the future, the field of suspension system calibration may develop in the following directions. These innovations will play a positive role in improving the efficiency and accuracy of the calibration process:

Smart calibration systems may become an important innovation in the field of suspension calibration. These systems leverage advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence technology to automatically analyze a vehicle's suspension geometry and sensor data and make real-time adjustments. This automated approach greatly improves the efficiency of calibration while reducing the risk of human error.

In addition, data cloud storage and sharing has become another major trend in suspension system calibration. By storing calibration data in the cloud, technicians in different locations can access and share data in real time, allowing for more collaborative work.

Overall, the field of suspension calibration is moving towards becoming more intelligent, automated and collaborative. These innovations offer new possibilities for improving vehicle suspension performance and driving experience, making the calibration process more precise and efficient.





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