Push vs.

Pull Rod Suspension The push rod operates in the following manner: when the wheel is in bump, the diagonal member in between the upper and lower control arms gets pushed in toward the chassis of the vehicle. This motion will pivot a bell crank (rocker) which operates about a fixed point, compressing the spring and damper. The push rod suspension configuration is illustrated in Figure X.1.

Figure X.1 Push Rod Suspension The pull rod configuration is very similar to the previous style but simply inverted. During bump, the wheel will pull on the diagonal member which will pivot the bell crank and operate the damper and spring. Figure X.2 shows a diagram of the pull rod suspension style.

Figure X.2 Pull Rod Suspension One of the main reasons teams have chosen to employ the push rod style suspension is the ease of access that comes with it. Since most of the parts are located close to the top of the chassis, adjustments as well as repairs are in easy reach as shown in Figure X.3.

Figure X.3 2012-2013 FSAE Car Front Push Rod Suspension However, with the ease of accessibility comes an increased center of gravity height due to the suspension components placed physically higher up on the chassis of the vehicle. The push rod will also tend to bow outwards during compression but this can be accounted for during the design phase. On the other hand, the pull rod suspension will offer a lower center of gravity as most of the parts are placed on the bottom of the chassis as shown in Figure X.2. But as Figure X.2 also shows, the components will be difficult to reach and will most likely require lifting the vehicle in the air should a need for repairs arise. Another difference between the two types of suspension configurations is in regards to the loads that are passed through the wishbones.

Figure X.4 Reaction Forces of Pull and Push Rod Suspension From Newtons third law, the rods (the diagonal members) must react to the force created by the springs. As Figure X. 4 shows, the forces along the wishbone and the push rod are in the opposite direction of each other meaning they offset each other. With the pull rod configuration, the forces are in the same direction and combine with each other. This difference indicates that the upper control arms of the pull rod suspension style will undergo heavier stresses than the push rod. The extra stress will mean thicker and thus, heavier upper control arms will be required (assuming left and right wishbones are the same material) to safely implement the pull rod style suspension. In order to guide the suspension team on which configuration to choose for the front and rear of the vehicle, a decision matrix was created. This particular decision matrix is based off the scoring rubric of the FSAE competition and is designed to clearly show the choice that would allow the maximum number of points to be awarded.

Figure X.5 Decision Matrix for Push or Pull Rod Suspension The above table shows that pull rod suspension has the most number of points for the front and rear. Certain categories such as resources, efficiency, endurance, acceleration and cost were zeroed out due to the category being irrelevant for the decision or the fact that the scores would be equal between push and pull rod configurations. In the design category, the push rod configuration for the front and rear was given a slightly higher score only due to the packaging issues that arise for the pull rod style. For example, with a push rod style in the front of the car, the shock/spring and bell crank can designed to be placed above all the front components of the car as Figure X.3 shows. However, with the pull rod configuration, the shock/spring and bell crank would be placed toward the bottom of the car where the suspension components need to fit with the pedal assembly and the drivers legs in the nose of the car. Another option is to have the shock/spring and bell crank be positioned under the body of the vehicle but the anti-roll bar and ground clearance issues need to be accounted for. The pull rod configuration was given a slightly higher score in the skid pad and autocross dynamics events. The winning factor for the pull rod style was the lowered center of gravity, which reduces the lateral weight transfer and allows the car to be more level more of the time.