Four-wheel drive suspension systems

Most 4WD vehicles are manufactured for light/medium work capacity. Any extended trips with above normal load and/or towing will require suspension enhancements to ensure a safe and enjoyable journey. So talk to the Fourbys team about your suspension requirements and get the most out of your 4 wheel drive.

Your vehicle's suspension is the all-important link between its wheels and tyres and the load-bearing platform, ie: the chassis or monocoque.

Its function is not only to provide a smooth ride for the vehicle's load (including the occupants) but to maintain the maximum permissible contact patch between the tires and the road surface.

It does this by absorbing some of the lateral loads placed on the vehicle during manoeuvres.

To absorb these loads the suspension uses a system of springs and dampers placed in between the wheel mounting hubs and the chassis.

On 4WD vehicles the springs come in a variety of designs but for the most part they will be either be coil, leaf or torsion bar types.

Less common are air bag or air springs but their use is becoming more widespread with the availability of quality kits from the aftermarket. The dampers, or shock absorbers, are normally a telescopic cartridge that hydraulically displaces oil or gas through an orifice to dampen oscillations in the spring. The springs and dampers can be set up under the vehicle a number of ways but basically they all do the same thing. Traditionally most 4WD vehicles use a 'live-axle' suspension set-up.

This is where the entire axle assembly including the differential, its housing, the axles, hubs, brakes, wheels and tyres are all suspended away from the chassis. This robust system is great for 4WDs and heavy vehicles as it delivers long wheel travel and the differential housing protects many of the axle components from road damage. Its shortcomings however, are that because the wheels on either side of the axle are linked by the axle housing they can't act independently of each other and thus when the wheel on one side drops into a pothole or bounces over a bump, an opposing action is transferred to the wheel on the opposite end of the axle, affecting that wheel's contact with the road as well as the wheel that hit the obstacle.

Four-wheel drive suspension diagram

Also the high unsprung weight of the axle with the wheels and tyres affects the ride quality and the suspension's ability to keep the tyres on the ground. Examples of 4WDs with live axles both front and rear include Nissan Patrols, Land Rovers and non-IFS Toyota LandCruisers.

4wd - 4wd design - 4wd dimension - 4wd suspension system - 4wd Front and rear axles - 4wd drivetrain capability type - 4wd racing - 4wd terminology - 4wd unusual

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