Active Suspensions
Hello everyone! It’s time to go technical again. As you may know, I’m on a quest to watch all previous Formula 1 races to have an opinion on which period was the best.
I’m currently halfway through the 1988 Season, and I felt like writing about the appearance of the Active Suspension in Formula 1.
1 — Suspension Systems
In race cars, the suspension system uses springs, dampers, and linkages, to connect the wheels and chassis, with the objective of :
- Optimize tire wear and grip;
- Control the ride height and the rolling of the chassis,
- Withstand aerodynamic forces.
In every race of a Formula 1 season, the suspension system needs to be adjusted to guarantee the best performance according to the track characteristics. This is not an easy job to do. There are a lot of parameters to set up, and when you get it right for the straights, you might lose something for the slow-speed corners, for example.
2 — Active Suspension
What if you install sensors, computers, controllers, and actuators onto the car? You end up with the perfect setup in all parts of the circuit.
This might sound like an easy project in today’s world, but it was a hell of a challenge in the 80s.
The 1987 F1 season saw the first car with a functioning active suspension: The Lotus 99T, driven by Ayrton Senna and Satoru Nakajima. Senna’s victory in Monaco was the first of a car with such a system.
Sadly, Lotus had only two victories in 1987 and didn’t manage to fight for the title. The computerized suspension system added 25kg to the car and needed to “borrow” 5% of the engine power.
Willams also presented the so-called reactive suspension in 1987. It debuted in Italy, during the 11th race of the season. The development was under Williams’ no. 1 driver, Nelson Piquet, which ended up winning his third title.
1987 was just the beginning. Williams improved the system and made it better and more reliable. By 1993, their car could almost drive itself. In 1994, the active suspension was banned for good from F1. But that’s a topic for another text.
