Adaptive damping isn’t new, but active suspension, which Nio has developed for its flagship ET9, is a far rarer beast.
Called SkyRide and developed in conjunction with Clearmotion, it is described as “the world’s first fully integrated hydraulic fully active suspension”.
In road cars, adaptive damping has been widely adopted as a way of varying the damping force on the fly. This meant damping could adapt to different surfaces or driving styles and be adjusted through driving modes.
Conventional adjustable dampers, typically used for aftermarket tuning or in motorsport, can only be adjusted manually by the turn of a screw.
Active suspension is different. Computer-controlled hydraulics or mechanisms supplement springs to control the car’s body movements much more effectively.
So while dampers provide some resistance to the movement of springs and adaptive dampers do the same thing reactively, active suspension is just that: active – it can move the body on the chassis if needs be.
The advantage is improved comfort and superior handling through better control of body movements. The system also integrates with the steer-by-wire and braking systems to improve stability if there’s a tyre blowout.
Proof was a demonstration of SkyRide with front and rear tyres being deflated on the same side of the car at 100mph without mishap.
Some early Formula 1 systems did away with conventional springs altogether and the active suspension also fulfilled the basic task of keeping the car off the ground. But this requires energy-sapping power, so the Nio system retains soft air springs to do that job.
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