Is air suspension a "transportation magic weapon"? Only when used in the right conditions can you achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Publish Time: 2024-06-11
In recent years, the popularity of air suspension has continued to rise, especially with the support of regulations, making this legendary "high-end accessory" more and more widely used in the field of freight. Unlike traditional leaf springs, air suspension uses air springs, which support the vehicle body through gas pressure, so it has many advantages that leaf spring suspension cannot achieve.
Advantages of air suspension1. Lighter weightAir suspension uses compressed gas as an elastic medium, which has obvious advantages in weight compared to traditional steel structures. The lighter weight of the vehicle means that more cargo can be loaded, and it can also improve fuel economy and reduce the overall cost of using the vehicle.2. Excellent shock absorption effectThe shock isolation effect of compressed air is better than that of leaf springs, which can greatly absorb bumps and shocks from the road, which can not only improve driving comfort, but also enhance the protection of cargo, and can ensure the constant height of the cargo compartment as much as possible, reducing or avoiding cargo damage caused by bumps.3. Height can be freely adjustedThe air suspension can realize the lifting and lowering of a single bridge or the whole vehicle. When the vehicle returns empty, the single bridge can be lifted to reduce tire wear and save fuel; when the vehicle is loaded on different cargo platforms, the air suspension can adjust the height of the vehicle body to match different cargo platforms, which is more convenient for loading and unloading goods.4. Reduce tire wearThe connection between the air suspension and the wheels and the frame is a soft connection. When the vehicle encounters poor road conditions, the fit between the tire and the road is softer, which is more conducive to reducing tire wear and saving the cost of tire replacement.5. Protect chassis componentsThe impact and bumps from the road are reduced, the loosening of fasteners on the vehicle chassis is greatly reduced, and the service life of chassis components can be extended to a certain extent.
It can be said that the air suspension almost meets all the requirements of car owners in terms of lightweight, reliability, smoothness, cost reduction and efficiency improvement. Many car owners who have used air suspension praise it and even directly call it a "transportation artifact."It is true that air suspension has played an extremely good role in the transportation of hazardous chemicals, flowers, fruits and vegetables, cold chain goods, electronic instruments, express delivery, fragile and vulnerable goods, etc. However, if it is regarded as a "transportation artifact", it is somewhat biased. After all, it is meaningless to talk about performance without considering the actual use conditions. Besides, air suspension is not without shortcomings.
Compared with traditional leaf spring suspension, air suspension does not have advantages in strength, durability, resistance and load-bearing capacity. Although many manufacturers are also promoting that air suspension can be used in the transportation of coal, gravel, wood, steel coils, etc., these goods can even crush asphalt roads during transportation. How much can the airbag of air suspension bear? Especially when it is necessary to climb, go downhill, and pass potholes, can air suspension be fully competent? I am afraid that this is not just a "can be applied" to convince the public, but also to use the actual market usage data to speak.So, it is true that air suspension is easy to use, but the premise is to combine it with the actual use conditions. If you often run heavy loads or poor road conditions, and the goods you transport have no or low requirements for cargo damage, then ordinary leaf spring suspension is enough, and the price is cheap.
Of course, the technical level of vehicles and accessories is developing rapidly. With continuous improvement and improvement, it is unknown whether air suspension can gradually overcome its own shortcomings. In addition, in recent years, relevant departments have made great efforts to promote air suspension, and the governance of overload and overlimit is also increasing. When overload and overlimit exit the stage of history, whether air suspension can completely occupy the use space of leaf spring suspension, I am afraid we need to wait and see.
