Better gas mileage with stiffer suspension.

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Well, why not? Shock absorbers (struts) soak up energy and turn it into heat which is wasted energy. When a car bobs up and down while going down the road, it cost energy to lift the car. Anyone who's ridden a dual suspension bicycle knows that it saps energy from the rider.

So taking this to the absurd level, would a car with no suspension render better fuel mileage? I know it would be undriveable, so it's for illustrative purposes only.

I got to thinking about this after I replaced all 4 struts on my car. It now rides dramatically harder and I'm wondering if I will see better fuel mileage.
 
It seems to me that a softer suspension would be the way to go (less energy lost compressing the suspension) for fuel economy over bumps but realistically it isn't going to add up to much. It really isn't all that much energy wasted.

For the suspension to provide a real-world benefit to fuel economy you want a setup that reduces or eliminates the need to brake before cornering. That will save you a lot more wasted energy than gliding over bumps.
 
Compare to aerodynamics and rolling resistance, suspension loss is nothing.

A stiffer suspension means your car will bump higher and then bonce a bit stiffer than softer suspension, just how long will those "bonce around" turns into heat, but they all turns into heat eventually.

The only way I see it is a harder suspension reduce comfort, and force the driver to slow down to be more comfortable. It is like saying speed bump reduce speed and make your drive more fuel efficient.
 
This discussion has me wondering if those BMW control arm bushings that always break might be designed to do that. The front wheels, when hitting a bump while the bushings are broken, get shoved rearward and accelerate upwards more slowly so as to change less forward motion to upwards motion, then they snap up over the ridge of the bump.
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Originally Posted By: Nayov
Well, why not? Shock absorbers (struts) soak up energy and turn it into heat which is wasted energy. When a car bobs up and down while going down the road, it cost energy to lift the car. Anyone who's ridden a dual suspension bicycle knows that it saps energy from the rider.

So taking this to the absurd level, would a car with no suspension render better fuel mileage? I know it would be undriveable, so it's for illustrative purposes only.

I got to thinking about this after I replaced all 4 struts on my car. It now rides dramatically harder and I'm wondering if I will see better fuel mileage.


A shock absorber is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp shock impulse, and dissipate kinetic energy.

Nothing more. Nothing less.
 
Originally Posted By: Trajan

A shock absorber is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp shock impulse, and dissipate kinetic energy.

Nothing more. Nothing less.


Yes, but I would add that dissipated energy (heat) is wasted and it costs fuel, but I do concede that the amount is in all probability immeasurable.
 
I have a hard time seeing how vertical motion/energy is converted into horizontal motion/energy by a stiffer suspension.

Kind of like hitting a hammer up or down on your car and expecting it to move forward.
 
Originally Posted By: Nayov
I got to thinking about this after I replaced all 4 struts on my car. It now rides dramatically harder and I'm wondering if I will see better fuel mileage.

Go a step further and remove the shocks totally. Use the bouncing motion of the springs to run a generator to charge the batteries in a hybrid system.
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No. Stiffer struts wont improve fuel economy unless its a Nissan Maxima then it might get 20% more.
 
If you have to slow down more to corner and turn due to the body roll with no or really soft shocks, you will consume more energy getting back up to speed. Verses coasting at a faster rate around corners/s turns and using less fuel to accelerate from a higher exit speed due to better suspension.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: Nayov
I got to thinking about this after I replaced all 4 struts on my car. It now rides dramatically harder and I'm wondering if I will see better fuel mileage.

Go a step further and remove the shocks totally. Use the bouncing motion of the springs to run a generator to charge the batteries in a hybrid system.
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It's been done! Well, a car powered road generator.

"The Road Surface Generator device is a revolutionary new device that incorporates current technology by utilizing the motion and weight of vehicles to produce clean, economical and ecologically sound electrical current. The Road Surface generator relies on kinetic energy produced by moving vehicles then transferred via a simple device located on surfaces that connect to a turbine generator to produce energy."

http://www.google.com/patents/US20080106103
 
You're assuming that you're converting potential energy of fuel to potential energy of ride height.

Perhaps a bouncy car has a worse aerodynamic profile, but I doubt it is much.

I can see savings from taking curves faster, as forward momentum can be wasted and is valuable.
 
Originally Posted By: Nayov
Originally Posted By: Trajan

A shock absorber is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp shock impulse, and dissipate kinetic energy.

Nothing more. Nothing less.


Yes, but I would add that dissipated energy (heat) is wasted and it costs fuel, but I do concede that the amount is in all probability immeasurable.


How is it wasted? Shock absorbers do not power or draw power from the engine.
 
The more you keep the car in a straight line, the better the fuel mileage will be.

A car getting tossed around from stiff suspension is going to affect its straight line.
 
It the suspension makes a difference at all, the wind and how much coffee the driver has had probably make double the difference as suspension.

Its pretty hard to accurately measure MPG unless you use a flow meter like Consumer Reports does.
 
The tire theory of setting to not-too-high a PSI is the tire pushes back against the road after it goes over a pebble. Stiffening the tire interferes with that. It stands to reason that stiff shocks might too.
 
Originally Posted By: Nayov
Originally Posted By: Trajan

A shock absorber is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp shock impulse, and dissipate kinetic energy.

Nothing more. Nothing less.


Yes, but I would add that dissipated energy (heat) is wasted and it costs fuel, but I do concede that the amount is in all probability immeasurable.

Until you can convert the energy from the bump into a way to propel the vehicle, it has zero effect on the fuel economy. Buying a lighter car would help more than anything.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
The tire theory of setting to not-too-high a PSI is the tire pushes back against the road after it goes over a pebble. Stiffening the tire interferes with that. It stands to reason that stiff shocks might too.


Fascinating. I always thought the harder the tire the better for MPG, but, this makes sense. He's to hoping my gas mileage won't be plummeting with my sporty stiff struts.
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The money you save in gas with stiffer shocks will probably not be enough to cover your doctor bills from back problems down the road.
 
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