Some time ago, my colleagues told me that they always felt that the chassis of their car made a "creak creak" noise. At the same time, there was a certain deviation of the steering wheel during driving. They asked me what the problem was. After listening carefully, my first reaction was to suspect that it was caused by the aging and damage of the suspension bushing. Why is the suspension bushing damaged and what impact does it have on vehicle handling? Today, I'd like to talk to you about this humble but powerful small part of the car.

What is a car liner?

In the field of mechanical structure, it is often necessary to install two moving parts together, because the movement between parts will produce friction, so the use of soft connection can reduce wear, and at the same time, even if wear leads to damage, it is more convenient and convenient to replace, so the application of "industrial bushing" came into being.

The bushing on the car is mainly installed on the chassis, because there are various suspensions and control arms under the chassis, and these parts are connected through the rotating shaft. In order to reduce the mutual wear between parts, a large number of bushings are used in the middle of the car's suspension system.

What is the function of bushing?

In addition to reducing wear and convenient replacement, the biggest function of automobile bushing is to have a certain shock absorption function. As we all know, the driving shock filtering performance of vehicles has a great impact on the comfort. Among them, the soft and hard of suspension springs have the greatest impact on the comfort of vehicles, but in fact, the automobile suspension bushing also has a certain relationship with the comfort of vehicles. In fact, most of the automobile suspension bushings are made of steel rings and rubber die-casting. The hard metal of the shell is used to limit the position to prevent the bushing from being crushed, and the rubber inside can deform when subjected to external forces, thus playing the role of absorbing vibration.

Generally, the upper and lower control arms of automobile shock absorbers are connected by bushings, which will produce high-frequency vibration when the vehicle passes through the bumpy road. In addition to the shock absorbers and tires, various suspension bushings can also absorb part of the vibration, so as to avoid the vibration from being transmitted into the cockpit as much as possible and improve the comfort of the vehicle.

In addition, some models also install bushings at the lower end of the shock absorber, so that better shock filtering performance can be achieved. At the same time, when encountering bumpy roads, the tires are under pressure, and the shock absorber needs to be compressed. Because the suspension and shock absorber also use soft connections between them, there will be no impact sound between metal and metal, and the noise is relatively smaller, turning into a lower "bang bang" sound.

However, with the upgrading of shock absorber technology, oil pressure shock absorbers are becoming more and more popular. Compared with traditional shock absorbers, the biggest improvement of oil pressure shock absorbers is to break the transmission shock absorber, which depends on the softness of the rubber bushing to adjust the seismic filtering performance, while oil pressure shock absorbers can control the flow of oil through the internal structure, so as to increase the damping effect and achieve better seismic filtering performance.

At the same time, the advanced oil shock absorber can also adjust the preload, compression and rebound damping, so that the vehicle's vibration filtering performance can reach the best state. However, it should be noted that due to the exposed suspension bushing, perennial water accumulation and temperature changes, as well as the dripping of other oil and the corrosion of snow melting agent, the suspension bushing will age and crack after a certain mileage, resulting in the reduction of seismic filtering performance. At the same time, as the gap between the bushings becomes larger, the movement of the suspension will increase, which will have an impact on the handling of the vehicle, resulting in the phenomenon of vehicle deviation in high-speed driving. In addition, the lack of grease between the rubber bushings will create friction noise during the suspension movement, which makes the car owner feel very annoying.

Can the modified bushing improve vehicle handling?

Due to the short service life of the original suspension bushing, even if we replace the new suspension bushing, it will still break in a few years, which will also affect the vehicle's handling and cause the car to deviate at high speed. Is there a way to prolong the service life of the bushing and increase the handling performance of the vehicle? Of course, replace the polyurethane bushing.

First of all, polyurethane is a material similar to hard plastic, and its compression deformation is less than that of rubber bushing. However, polyurethane also has compressibility, so it can not only reduce deformation and improve vehicle performance, but also have certain comfort. In addition, compared with rubber, polyurethane has more stable components, so its service life is longer.

At present, the market has also launched various products of different grades with regard to the modification of polyurethane bushings, mainly due to the different hardness of the bushings, so that they can be built for vehicles with different positioning and users with different vehicle needs, and they can always find a product suitable for themselves. In addition, many car owners hold conservative opinions on the modified polyurethane bushing, thinking that the hardness of this bushing is too high, which will sacrifice comfort. Since the performance is so outstanding, why not directly install the polyurethane bushing by the original factory. In fact, a large part of the reason is the cost problem. In addition, most household vehicles are mainly for comfort, so there is no reason for the OEMs not to use cheap and comfortable rubber bushings.

Summary:

I believe that after reading the above articles, you have roughly understood the importance of suspension bushings to vehicle handling and comfort. In fact, no matter how well handled the vehicle is, if there is a problem with the suspension bushings, it will also have a certain impact on the handling. In addition, when you find that the vehicle is passing through some potholes, there is an obvious abnormal sound at the chassis hub, and the vehicle is running at high speed with the problem of deviation, you should pay attention to check the suspension bushing. If there is a problem, it is recommended to replace the suspension bushing in the whole vehicle. In addition, owners who pursue vehicle handling can spend more money to replace polyurethane bushings with higher hardness and longer service life. The experience effect is absolutely extraordinary.