Energy Efficiency as a Function of Suspension Tuning

[Ran]

Hi all,
This topic has had me looking around and finding nothing online. What would you say is a more efficient setup for normal day to day driving between a hard sporty ride and a soft wallowy one? On one side a soft ride would be less hampered by obstacles but on the other a soft ride would have the car bounce a lot therby causing a loss of energy to damper heat. I'm sure there won't be a conclusive answer as this would be very dependant on specific road conditions but I am looking to get some insight on the matter. Thanks!

[Greg Locock]

There's no single answer. When I raced solar cars Michelin did some analysis on tire pressure vs energy absorbed in the shock and sidewall, which was nice to know and somewhat relevant to your question.

[Ran]

Thanks for the quick reply, very interesting. Would you care to share any insights from that analysis?

[Greg Locock]

Sure, for our setup the optimum tire pressure was 80 psi. That's not much use to anyone using different tires or shocks!

[Ran]

So does that mean that this pressure made the system the most efficient in terms of total suspension (tire and damper) efficiency?

[Greg Locock]

Yes. Any softer and more energy was lost in the sidewall, any harder and more energy was lost in the damper.

[CBeck113]

So does that mean that this pressure made the system the most efficient in terms of total suspension (tire and damper) efficiency?

But don't forget what Greg said: for this specific system.

[Ran]

So does that mean that this pressure made the system the most efficient in terms of total suspension (tire and damper) efficiency?

But don't forget what Greg said: for this specific system.

I get it