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27-585: Although the DKWs offered a fully enclosed body on a relatively advanced chassis with four wheel independent suspension , they used two-stroke motorcycle derived engines, and cheap, lightweight bodies of timber, clad in artificial leather, like the F1. Known within the company and in retrospect as the DKW F2, this was the first of several successive small DKWs cars to be marketed using the name, “DKW Meisterklasse”. The car came with

54-413: A better ride when taxiing compared to other types of landing gear. A semi-trailing arm suspension is a supple independent rear suspension system for automobiles where each wheel hub is located only by a large, roughly triangular arm that pivots at two points. Viewed from the top, the line formed by the two pivots is somewhere between parallel and perpendicular to the car's longitudinal axis; it

81-399: A distinction can be drawn between systems where the spring also acts as a locating link and those where the spring only acts as a spring member. The AC Cobra is an example of a transverse, multi-leaf steel spring suspension that uses the leaf spring as the upper suspension arm. Alternatively, the 1963 Corvette 's rear suspension is an example where the transverse leaf spring is used only as

108-439: A ride spring. In both examples, the leaf spring is centrally mounted, preventing displacement of the wheel on one side from affecting the wheel on the other side. In 1981, General Motors pioneered the use of a FRP plastic transverse leaf spring on the third-generation Corvette . As in the examples above, the spring used a single, central mount which isolated the left and right movements. The FRP spring reduced weight and eliminated

135-472: Is a common form of independent rear suspension on automobiles, particularly those with front wheel drive (where it allows a flatter rear floor pan). Leading arms are similar horizontal arms, perpendicular to the axle, but connecting the wheels to the vehicle structure via pivot joints to the rear of them. These are typically used on the front axle or wheels, as on the Citroën 2CV and its derivatives, and on

162-420: Is a form of vehicle suspension . In a motor vehicle it places one or more horizontal arms (or "links") perpendicular to and forward of the axle on the chassis or unibody , which are connected to the axle or wheels with pivot joint(s). These are typically used on the rear axle or wheels of vehicles, but also found in both front and main landing gear of aircraft. A "semi trailing-arm" (or semi trailing-link)

189-413: Is a type of vehicle suspension design typically used in independent suspensions, using three or more lateral arms, and one or more longitudinal arms. A wider definition considers any independent suspensions having three control links or more multi-link suspensions. These arms do not have to be of equal length, and may be angled away from their "obvious" direction. It was first introduced in the late 1960s on

216-417: Is allowed to pivot inside of the mounts which allows the displacement of the spring on one side to affect the other side. This mechanical communication between the left and right sides of the suspension results in an effect similar to that of an anti-roll bar . Chevrolet Corvettes, starting with the 4th generation in 1984 have combined the dual pivot mounts with FRP leaf springs . The transverse leaf spring

243-492: Is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i.e. reacting to a bump on the road) independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked. "Independent" refers to the motion or path of movement of the wheels or suspension. It is common for the left and right sides of the suspension to be connected with anti-roll bars or other such mechanisms. The anti-roll bar ties

270-781: Is not used as commonly as it was earlier. It is very rare on modern cars, the Corvette and a few Volvo models being examples. In the past it was more widely used in many Triumphs . The Herald , Vitesse , Spitfire , and GT6 all used a rear transverse leaf spring, as well as the 1995-98 Volvo 960/S90/V90 and a rare Swedish sports car incorporating the Volvo 960 rear suspension called the JC Indigo . This type of suspension should not be confused with earlier, rigid axle applications such as those used on early Ford cars . Trailing arm A trailing-arm suspension , also referred to as trailing-link ,

297-442: Is the only component that separates the driver and/or passenger from the ground. The suspension in a vehicle helps absorb harshness in the road. There are many systems and designs that do this, such as independent suspension. This system provides many advantages over other suspension systems. For example, in solid axle suspension systems, when one wheel hits a bump, it affects both wheels. This will compromise traction, smoothness of

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324-509: The Citroën DS , as well as on the M422 Mighty Mite jeep. Trailing-arm designs in live axle setups often use just two or three links and a Panhard rod to locate the wheel laterally. A trailing arm design can also be used in an independent suspension arrangement. Each wheel hub is located only by a large, roughly triangular arm that pivots at one point, ahead of the wheel. Seen from

351-455: The differential unit does not form part of the unsprung elements of the suspension system. Instead, it is either bolted directly to the vehicle's chassis or more commonly to a subframe . The relative movement between the wheels and the differential is achieved through the use of swinging driveshafts connected via universal joints (U joints) , analogous to the constant-velocity (CV) joints used in front-wheel-drive vehicles. Suspension

378-401: The 584cc 2-stroke 2-cylinder engine of the early DKW F1, initially still producing a claimed maximum power output of 11 kW (15 PS) at 3500 rpm. The power is sent to the front wheels via a 3-speed manual transmission. The body was based on a self-supporting timber frame with a “U-profile” subframe. All four wheels were attached via independent suspension. The most frequently specified body

405-609: The Meisterklasse and the Reichsklasse. 1932 had found DKW placed fourth in terms of passenger car sales, with just 3,934 cars sold. In 1933, the year in which the government decided to stimulate the German auto-industry by abolishing the annual car tax charge, DKW overtook Mercedes-Benz (whose cars, admittedly, would have been much larger and, per unit, more profitable) and Adler to become Germany’s second best selling auto-brand, beaten to

432-602: The Mercedes-Benz C111 prototype and put into production later on their W201 and W124 series. This is the most common, widely used front suspension system in cars today. It is a very simple and effective design that uses a strut-type spring and shock absorber that work as a team that will pivot on a single ball joint. This system was popularized in British Fords in the 1950s, then adopted by BMW (1962) and Porsche (1963). Later, this space-efficient system became widespread with

459-412: The ability of each wheel to address the road undisturbed by activities of the other wheel on the vehicle. Independent suspension requires additional engineering effort and expense in development versus a beam or live axle arrangement. A very complex IRS solution can also result in higher manufacturing costs. The key reason for lower unsprung weight relative to a live axle design is that, for driven wheels,

486-467: The efficiency of the fuel feed and extraction into and out of the cylinders and enabled the manufacturer to raise the claimed maximum power output of the 584cc engine to 13 kW (18 PS). The system would appear on many of the F2’s 2-stroke engined successors through and beyond the 1930s. As the first in a succession of confusing model name changes from DKW, the 584cc engined car with the improved fuel feed system

513-685: The growing popularity of front-wheel drive vehicles. One problem with this system is that once the spring or the top plate becomes worn, the driver of a car with this system may hear a loud "clonk" noise at full lock (i.e. steering wheel turned to the extreme left or extreme right positions), as the strut's spring jumps back into place. This noise is often confused with CV-joint knock. Several independent suspension designs have featured transverse leaf springs. Most applications used multi-leaf steel springs, although more recent designs have used fiber reinforced plastic (FRP, typically fibers are fiberglass) springs. In addition to spring type (multi-leaf steel, FRP),

540-451: The inner leaf friction as compared to the multi-leaf metal spring which was standard on the car. Rather than centrally mounting the transverse leaf spring and thus isolating the left and right sides of the springs, some manufacturers, starting with Fiat used two widely spaced spring mounts. This was first used on the front of the 1955 Fiat 600 and later at the rear on the Fiat 128 . The spring

567-656: The left and right suspension spring rates together but does not tie their motion together. Most modern vehicles have independent front suspension ( IFS ). Many vehicles also have an independent rear suspension ( IRS ). IRS, as the name implies, has the rear wheels independently sprung. A fully independent suspension has an independent suspension on all wheels. Some early independent systems used swing axles , but modern systems use Chapman or MacPherson struts , trailing arms , multilink , or wishbones . Independent suspension typically offers better ride quality and handling characteristics, due to lower unsprung weight and

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594-443: The ride, and could also cause a dangerous wheel shimmy when moving at high speeds. With independent suspension systems, the bump primarily affects only the contacted wheel. This offers many advantages such as greater ride comfort, better traction, and safer, more stable vehicles on the road. In automobiles, a double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design using two (occasionally parallel) wishbone-shaped arms to locate

621-438: The side, this arm is roughly parallel to the ground, with the angle changing based on road irregularities. A twist-beam rear suspension is very similar except that the arms are connected by a beam, used to locate the wheels and which twists and has an anti-roll effect. Some aircraft also use trailing arms in their landing gear , with oleo struts for shock absorption. A trailing arm landing gear results in smoother landings and

648-799: The top position only by Opel . The F2 was not DKW’s only model during this period, but it was the company’s top seller by a big margin. The F2 Meisterklasse was mildly rebodied as the F4 Meisterklasse in 1934 while the F2 Reichsklasse continued to be offered for another year. In 1935 the DKW F5 replaced both the F2 and the F4. This entry incorporates information from the German Misplaced Pages DKW F2 article . Independent suspension Independent suspension

675-465: The wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckle. The shock absorber and coil spring mount to the wishbones to control vertical movement. Double wishbone designs allow the engineer to carefully control the motion of the wheel throughout suspension travel, controlling such parameters as camber angle , caster angle , toe pattern , roll center height, scrub radius , scuff and more. A multi-link suspension

702-469: Was a “cabrio-limousine”, a four seater two-door body with a soft top but fixed window frames at the side. A “full cabriolet” was also offered. The body was longer and more elegantly styled than that of the DKW F1 . In 1933 the engine was upgraded through the inclusion of Schnürle porting to the top portions of each of the cylinders. The system, designed by the two-stroke engine expert Adolf Schnürle , increased

729-608: Was renamed the DKW Reichsklasse. . At the same time as the DKW Meisterklasse (branded as the DKW Meisterklasse 601) had its 584cc engine upgraded and its name changed to DKW Reichsklasse, a larger engined version of the F2, also featuring Schnürle porting , was introduced, now taking the name DKW Meisterklasse 701. For the new 692cc engined version of the car maximum power output was stated as 15 kW (20 PS). About 17,000 F2s were built between 1932 and 1935 split between

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