Ford engaged on position-sensitive dampers for off-road autos

Ford is engaged on position-sensitive dampers to make off-roaders just like the Bronco Raptor even higher, a brand new patent submitting exhibits.

The patent submitting in query was printed by the USA Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) on Might 16, after being filed by Ford earlier within the 12 months. And it describes up to date position-sensitive dampers fitted to high-speed off-roading.

Place-sensitive damping alters damper habits for various driving eventualities. They could use one damping curve for regular driving and one other for when a car encounters a soar, which requires stiffer damping to stop the car from bottoming out. They’re already used within the F-150 Raptor, and the aforementioned Bronco Raptor makes use of semi-active dampers based mostly on a variant of this idea.

Within the doc, Ford notes that when driving over a sequence of whoops, the continual cycle of compression and rebound could trigger typical dampers to attain resonance, an disagreeable sensation that can pressure drivers to decelerate or endure a variety of vibration.

Ford Ranger Raptor Assault Faculty

To assist cancel this out, Ford’s design depends on a secondary damper, primarily an space blocked off by an extra piston, making a separate zone with completely different traits than the primary physique of the damper. This supplies one other device for decreasing resonance and protecting the tires involved with the terrain extra persistently.

Place-sensitive damping is already utilized in off-road racing and within the Multimatic Dynamic Suspensions Spool Valve (DSSV) dampers used within the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and different Common Motors off-road vehicles.

Multimatic additionally has a relationship with Ford. It constructed the GT supercar and led improvement of the Mustang GT3 race automotive and its GTD track-car counterpart. However the firm’s off-road suspension tech hasn’t been utilized to any Fords to date.