Vehicle Dynamics and Damping

The ride and handling of a racecar is very sensitive to a well tuned damping system which can make the difference betwen success and failure. Starting in the early Sixties, suspension components for race and high-performance cars have evolved from a simple coilover spring/damper unit to very complex instruments, adjustable in more than four ways. Jans Zuijdijk, the author, successfully designed a combination of a gas pressurised damping system with a high-displacement piston rod providing a lifting force, preloading the suspension and keeping the tyre in optimal contact with the road surface.