euro vs american suspension

  • Thread starter Sinan
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These new Focuses (in US) are said have European Suspension, so I was wondering what the exact difference is. I know our (EU) suspension is more hard and that the US is softer, but appart from that I have no clue. And surely there must be more to it than just the examples I wrote...
 
If suspension tuning differs, in most cases European versions of the same car will get a 'stiffer' and slightly lower setup vs. the American version. That means slightly higher spring and shock rates and slightly reduced ride height.

Sometimes this is because market research shows an American preference for softer riding cars --even sports oriented ones. The Mk V GTI is a good recent example of this, but there are many other cases.

Sometimes it is done to met bumper height regulations. The Porsche 996 GT3 is an example of this.


M
 
When I think of European suspensions, I generally think of something that is a bit more tight, and better suited to spirited driving when necessary. Not to say that American suspensions arent designed to do the same thing, but in general, most American cars are designed for smooth crusing in town and down the highway. Not everyone gets to deal with roundabouts and alpine roads, but we take our things in a different way.

When I think of an American car: 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle, meant to cruise and go fast in a straight line.

When I think of European: 2004 BMW M5, meant to go fast in any situation, just as comforatble to blast down the autobahn as any American car.
 
Europe and America have two very different landscapes so I'd hope their suspension wouldn't be the same.
 
Yeah, YSSMAN put it best.

My 1960 Chevrolet Biscayne sure rode a heck of a lot nicer than my mom's '03 Saab 9-3. In America, we want to go a long. long way with a smooth ride. If we hit a small animal on I-70, we'd rather not feel the bump. Europeans, however, need tight suspensions to negotiate single lane alleyways and spaces that are a result of a population building to the limits of population density well before the car was even invented.
 
YSSMAN
Not everyone gets to deal with roundabouts and alpine roads, but we take our things in a different way.

I drive through two roundabouts every time I go to work, and we do have two major mountain ranges that run through our country.... ;)

Good summaries, though -- YSSMAN picked up on the social aspects of it, and ///M-Spec picked up on the manufacturers' side of it. :)
 
Now what about Japanese suspensions? Tight, stiff and poor of travel, because most Japanese drivers never see a bump or pothole in their lives? :lol:
 
Wolfe2x7
I drive through two roundabouts every time I go to work, and we do have two major mountain ranges that run through our country.... ;)

Good summaries, though -- YSSMAN picked up on the social aspects of it, and ///M-Spec picked up on the manufacturers' side of it. :)

LOL - You still have to admit roundabouts are an uncommon sight in the US, I don't believe you guys get anything like this

The Magic Roundbout

I get that every day on my trip to work, its great fun and helps keep the traffic flowing.

You right about the summaries, social and manufacturers, see kids GTP is a learning zone.

Regards

Scaff
 
niky
Now what about Japanese suspensions? Tight, stiff and poor of travel, because most Japanese drivers never see a bump or pothole in their lives? :lol:

The Rx-8 is none of those but still handles great. It has a pretty big suspension travel.
 
Scaff
LOL - You still have to admit roundabouts are an uncommon sight in the US, I don't believe you guys get anything like this

The Magic Roundbout

I get that every day on my trip to work, its great fun and helps keep the traffic flowing.

You right about the summaries, social and manufacturers, see kids GTP is a learning zone.

Regards

Scaff


Oh, of course, I know very well that they're uncommon. :) And that Magic one you posted is a doozy. :lol:

zOMG!1! American Roundabouts!!

I like them, and they should make going through those intersections really easy, because they're just simple, two-lane roundabouts...

...but NO ONE here knows how to use them properly. :rolleyes: If I'm not stuck behind one of the two people who are both waiting and giving each other the right-of-way, or behind the illiterate person who thinks that "YIELD" means "STOP," even when there's no other cars around, I'm almost running into the person who decides to stop in the middle of the roundabout and let someone else in, or almost getting hit by the guy in the pickup-truck who doesn't know that in a roundabout, the person on the left has the right-of-way. :ouch:
 
Australia has a lot of roundabouts aswell, I like them, a lot of young drivers damage their suspension nicely trying to burn though them (and not making it) as fast as possible like its a chicane :).
 
Wolfe2x7
Oh, of course, I know very well that they're uncommon. :) And that Magic one you posted is a doozy. :lol:

zOMG!1! American Roundabouts!!

I like them, and they should make going through those intersections really easy, because they're just simple, two-lane roundabouts...

...but NO ONE here knows how to use them properly. :rolleyes: If I'm not stuck behind one of the two people who are both waiting and giving each other the right-of-way, or behind the illiterate person who thinks that "YIELD" means "STOP," even when there's no other cars around, I'm almost running into the person who decides to stop in the middle of the roundabout and let someone else in, or almost getting hit by the guy in the pickup-truck who doesn't know that in a roundabout, the person on the left has the right-of-way. :ouch:

Roundabouts are great things and as long as you learn to drive with them in place they certainly do make life a lot easier.

Still you get people everywere that don't know how to use them, although the best ones I can think of is in France.

On early roundabouts in France the person joining the roundabout had priority (don't ask me why), then ones built later the person on the roundabout had priority.

Now you would think that when the later roundabout were introduced they would have applied the same priority to all roundabouts. It would have been nice but its not the case, a roundabout in France can be either priority depending on when it was built (and to a degree local opinion), they are supposed to be signed to indicate the priority, but its not always the case.

It certainly makes driving in France interesting at times.

Regards

Scaff


BTW - Large quite roundabouts on industrial or business parks are also an ideal environment for practicing getting a RWD car sideways - not that I have ever done this :sly:
 
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