mrd
Active Member
- Joined
- June 25, 2005
- Messages
- 65
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Fort Bragg, NC
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1995 Limited Edition
I say 'borderline' eccentric because this is only a proposition and I haven't done it yet, but I'm on the brink 
Anywho, first my general goals:
This vehicle is >90% street driven, daily driver.
I don't like having more of the undercarriage hanging low than is necessary.
I prefer coilover to torsion bar.
I prefer independent suspension, and that includes in the REAR.
This list as it stands is plenty enough. The torsion to coilover mod alone would utilize the RCD kit which is floating around $2200. Ouch. And the IRS? I'd have to find a vehicle with the correct wheelbase and find/fab an adapter for the driveshaft, adapt the brake system to it, and adapt the suspension components to the frame, which might require completely changing the suspension of the new axle! If only I was rich or retired. I've never welded, cut or done any fab work. OK so this stuff, I dont have the time, money or experience for. However I leave it for you all to think about. Advantages?
Independent suspension dramatically improves the ride
More undercarriage clearance is.. good
OK now on to the eccentric stuff I have some software programming skills and can write system-level code. I'm capable of taking some embedded system/controller and wiring it to some sensors and actuators and writing code to do things. Sounds cool?
I've been playing with the idea of implementing an intelligent suspension system. The heart of the system is an intelligent controller (this is the embedded system with the code). The controller could manipulate both the dampening of the shocks and the height of the suspension. Dampening control could be realized through any existing commercial adjustable shocks that have a remote control unit. Height manipulation could be done with hydraulics, air bags, or electromagnetic actuators. Now I don't know about the electromagnetic actuators - I was looking around and discovered that Bose developed a suspension system, an intelligent one just as I describe, that utilizes these actuators. They developed them inhouse (I assume it came naturally with their experience in speaker magnetics) and supposedly only magnetic actuation has the response time and accuracy necessary to implement this to the degree that the ride is 'ultra smooth.'
I'm not trying to ramble. If you havent heard of this Bose Suspension System I suggest you check it out, they have videos online of it in action, it's a jaw dropper. From what I've read this technology is about a decade away from appearing in the automotive industry, since they're signing an exclusive deal with one manufacturer.
If I could find small, powerful, and cheap enough electromagnetic actuators, I'd definately use them, but I doubt I will. I would like to play with using hydraulics or air bags though. If anything, I could develop a kit that is basically like Ford's Air Ride Control. Once the code is written and the algorithms are finalized for proper response and whatnot, it's too easy to reproduce
Anyway I'm wondering if any of you think this is a feasible, worth-while idea.. or if you have any other ideas.
I've also been thinking of other ways to utilize my embedded system design skills within the Exploder, but I'm not going to ramble here, I rambled enough
Anywho, first my general goals:
This vehicle is >90% street driven, daily driver.
I don't like having more of the undercarriage hanging low than is necessary.
I prefer coilover to torsion bar.
I prefer independent suspension, and that includes in the REAR.
This list as it stands is plenty enough. The torsion to coilover mod alone would utilize the RCD kit which is floating around $2200. Ouch. And the IRS? I'd have to find a vehicle with the correct wheelbase and find/fab an adapter for the driveshaft, adapt the brake system to it, and adapt the suspension components to the frame, which might require completely changing the suspension of the new axle! If only I was rich or retired. I've never welded, cut or done any fab work. OK so this stuff, I dont have the time, money or experience for. However I leave it for you all to think about. Advantages?
Independent suspension dramatically improves the ride
More undercarriage clearance is.. good
OK now on to the eccentric stuff
I have some software programming skills and can write system-level code. I'm capable of taking some embedded system/controller and wiring it to some sensors and actuators and writing code to do things. Sounds cool?I've been playing with the idea of implementing an intelligent suspension system. The heart of the system is an intelligent controller (this is the embedded system with the code). The controller could manipulate both the dampening of the shocks and the height of the suspension. Dampening control could be realized through any existing commercial adjustable shocks that have a remote control unit. Height manipulation could be done with hydraulics, air bags, or electromagnetic actuators. Now I don't know about the electromagnetic actuators - I was looking around and discovered that Bose developed a suspension system, an intelligent one just as I describe, that utilizes these actuators. They developed them inhouse (I assume it came naturally with their experience in speaker magnetics) and supposedly only magnetic actuation has the response time and accuracy necessary to implement this to the degree that the ride is 'ultra smooth.'
I'm not trying to ramble. If you havent heard of this Bose Suspension System I suggest you check it out, they have videos online of it in action, it's a jaw dropper. From what I've read this technology is about a decade away from appearing in the automotive industry, since they're signing an exclusive deal with one manufacturer.
If I could find small, powerful, and cheap enough electromagnetic actuators, I'd definately use them, but I doubt I will. I would like to play with using hydraulics or air bags though. If anything, I could develop a kit that is basically like Ford's Air Ride Control. Once the code is written and the algorithms are finalized for proper response and whatnot, it's too easy to reproduce
Anyway I'm wondering if any of you think this is a feasible, worth-while idea.. or if you have any other ideas.
I've also been thinking of other ways to utilize my embedded system design skills within the Exploder, but I'm not going to ramble here, I rambled enough
