Introduction:
Earle S. MacPherson designed the McPherson strut assembly in 1949, which remains the most commonly used front suspension today. The first car to feature the McPherson suspension was the Ford Vadette.
Features of the McPherson Suspension:
The main advantage of the McPherson suspension is that the spring and shock absorber are combined. This saves a lot of space and is easy to design during vehicle development. As a result, production costs are also low.
The McPherson suspension is an evolution of the suspension with two transverse control arms (also known as a double wishbone design). The upper control arm is replaced by the shock absorber rod, which now also absorbs lateral forces. Therefore, in the event of a collision with the wheel (by another vehicle or when hitting a curba0isa0hit), the shock absorber rod usually gets damaged immediately. It bends very quickly and becomes crooked. The entire shock absorber then needs to be replaced.
The McPherson suspension is always applied at the front of the car. Struts are sometimes used at the rear axle, but they are not of the McPherson type. Rear suspensions often have separate coil springs and shock absorbers.
The operation of a coil spring does not rely on bending, as you might initially think, but on torsion (twisting). When the spring is compressed, the coil-shaped bar is twisted.
On top of the strut is the top mount. The top mount enables steering movements. The strut is often attached to the chassis under the hood with bolt connections. This is a fixed point. The top mount located below allows the complete strut to rotate smoothly relative to the upper fixed point. This load-bearing function system with a pivot point and a top mount is called the McPherson system.
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