4WD SUSPENSION

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Words by Glenn Wright

The wishbone’s connected to the knu-ckle. The knu-ckle’s connected to the thingummyjig’ Your 4WD’s suspension is made up of many different parts working together to absorb bumps in the road and to keep your tyres in contact with the ground to provide traction.

Some suspension types maximise off-road performance, while a growing number of others offer better blacktop handling characteristics. A wishbone is not just a part of a chicken’s anatomy, and what are leaf springs, coils, torsion bars and struts? Let’s take a stroll through the automotive jargon to check out the different suspension types and examine the pluses and minuses of each.

Quick links to: Leaf Springs Coil Springs Double-wishbone Coil-over shocks Torsion Bars Macpherson Struts

Manufacturers are aware of the benefits of each type of suspension discussed in this story. This is illustrated in their choice of 4WD suspensions.

	When Nissan released the first GQ Patrol with coil springs in 1988, the improvement it offered over leaf springs, both on- and off-road, prompted Toyota to get a move on and quickly adopt coil springs all round in the 80 Series ‘Cruiser.
	Although this shift to coil springs was successful in passenger 4WDs, Toyota still utilises leaf springs on the rear of their workhorse cab-chassis utes, enabling them to carry heavy weights occasionally, which coil springs can’t do as easily.
	Nissan offers a coil-sprung-rear Patrol Ute that rides well and excels off-road, but it still offers a leaf-sprung version for its ability to carry a variety of payloads.
	Toyota introduced IFS with coil-over shocks in the 100 Series LandCruiser, which improved its on-road handling and created sharper turn-in response. Unfortunately, this was at the expense of off-road ability. In order to cater for those buyers wishing to use the LandCruiser more off-road than on, the 100 Series was also available with live front axle.

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