New Car Can Lean Into Curves, Literally 243
cartechboy (2660665) writes "You know how motorcycle riders lean into the corners, sometimes even touching their knee to the ground? Mercedes-Benz has developed new technology that replicates that sensation by leaning the car into bends. It's called Dynamic Curve and it's part of the Active Body control suspension system on the new 2015 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe. In turns, special plunger cylinders raise the suspension struts and lower the opposite side, depending on the direction of the bend. This has the result of tilting the car body slightly towards the inside of the corner, countering centrifugal cornering forces. Mercedes says it's not design for increasing cornering speeds, but increasing pleasure for the driver and passengers."
Yeah. Right. (Score:4, Interesting)
It will be used for rider's comfort. Not to take corners faster. I'm amazed they don't pretend it's for safety, like all the other gadgets and improvements that, eventually, led drivers to drive faster and more risky because their gadgets allow even the worst driver to keep his car under control at higher speed.
Which doesn't mean that I think anti-lock or traction control are bad things. Quite the opposite. But someone should tell the idiots that they were NOT meant to be used as a substitute for knowing how to drive, dammit!
Poorly Designed Roadways Addressed By This (Score:5, Interesting)
This adaptive suspension technology can be valuable for addressing poor roadway design, such as opposite-camber banking (yes, such things exist and can be very dangerous in poor weather). One of the most egregious examples of opposite-camber banking occurs in Canada between Vancouver and Burnaby, BC on Boundary Drive on which vehicles travel steeply downhill, typically in rain, and are presented with an opposite-camber dogleg turn about half the way down. So, while everyone is riding their brakes their vehicle suddenly gets crossed up. Since it is noticeably uncomfortable in a low-slung sports car, it is more than an annoyance on buses and in large trucks. Redesigning/repairing those poor roadways can take years, so any step by vehicle makers to have this kind of adaptable suspension is worthwile.
Re:Poorly Designed Roadways Addressed By This (Score:5, Interesting)
Just found this academic paper called "Influence of Vehicle Tilting On Its Performance" (PDF, 4 pages) regarding test results from what seems like a forerunner of the Mercedes design:
http://www3.fs.cvut.cz/web/fil... [fs.cvut.cz]
Interesting results.
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
Bose's leans into a corner... and jump obstacles (Score:5, Interesting)
A couple of others have mentioned the ~2007 work that Bose did in active suspension, but nothing really clarifies the idea like pictures or video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSi6J-QK1lw [youtube.com]
Leaning into a curve is one thing, but At 1:40 the car jumps a curb-size obstable. Nice.
I'm not sure it's worth the engineering complexity versus standard sway bars (for a typical diver),
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_liGnV3PTiQ [youtube.com]
but Bose's system (and Mercedes') sure as hell is cool.
And while we're on the topic of making unreasonably large cars more agile than they ought to be, I'm still pretty happy with Volvo's 4C system and oversized sway bars on a 7yo S80 V8 -- switching to "advanced" it behaves like a fat WRX or that pudgy football player you didn't think could move that fast, and in "comfort" mode it hunches down *evenly* about 6-8cm in hard curves... all with just plain old leverage, a few poly bushings, and electromagnets around the ferro-oil filled shocks. Simple is good.