Description of the front suspension design (BMW X5 E53)

The front suspension of the car is light-alloy, beam, independent, on double levers, with shock absorber struts of the "MacPherson" type. The beam is connected to the car body through rubber-metal supports, through transverse levers and rods with pivot supports. The articulated plumage of the transverse levers ensures vibration damping even with unbalanced wheels. The shock absorber struts are made on steel springs or pneumatic, connected to the body and pivot arms with bolts and consist of gas-filled double-acting shock absorbers. The installation of an anti-roll bar ensures counteraction to body roll in turns and promotes better contact of the front wheels with the road.

The vehicle is equipped with a pneumatic electronic damping control (EDC) system, which almost immediately readjusts the damping force to the existing road conditions or driving style. All movements of the vehicle body, such as speed, vertical acceleration of the body, braking pressure, loads, steering angle of the steering wheels and movement of the gas pedal, are constantly monitored by sensors. Based on the information received from them, the ECU generates commands for the damper, the damping force of which is set to "hard", "medium" or "soft" using magnetic valves. The general layout of the front axle is shown in Figure 13.1.

Attention! The front and rear suspensions of the car are made of aluminum-based alloy, therefore the following operating conditions must be met:

• do not allow the suspension to come into contact with the battery electrolyte;
• to clean the suspension, use a brass or stainless steel brush;
• cover the suspension to prevent sparks from abrasive cutting tools and electric welding from getting on it;
• do not expose suspension components to temperatures above +80°C.

The design of the front suspension of the vehicle is shown in Figure 13.2.