I believe most people's first answer to this question is yes. But if you're more familiar with the following car, you won't think so: the Chevrolet Corvette.

It is a super sports car in the pure sense. The latest generation of the normal version, the C7 Stingray, has a strong output of 450hp (336kw) and 609Nm, which can beat a large number of European rivals whose price is more than twice that of it, and rely on the cylinder to actively shut down. and other technologies, the daily fuel consumption is even comparable to that of ordinary family cars. But what many people don't know is that the elastic elements used in its rear suspension are leaf springs.

　　

C7 Stingray Rear Suspension Assembly

Dare to use leaf springs in a passenger car? This is also extremely rare in a sedan, let alone a performance-oriented sports car. In fact, it is officially called a "composite leaf spring". Although it is a leaf spring, it uses a single-piece horizontal composite material, which is completely different from the vertical multi-piece steel plate on the truck. It has various aspects in structure, material, function, principle, design appeal, etc. Essential difference. Because different fixing methods and their own settings will lead to completely different force conditions; at the same time, factors such as cost, space and unsprung mass of the two springs cannot be simply compared, because they are all related to materials and specific structures.

　　

The longitudinally arranged leaf springs of the truck are mainly for load bearing. There are many subtleties in the design of the Corvette: the machining process has become simpler, the freedom of layout has increased, the occupation of the cabin space has been reduced, the unsprung mass has been effectively reduced, the suspension responsiveness has been improved, and both anti-rolling properties have been achieved. A certain function of the rod, etc. Even through the different heat treatment of each part, variable section design, etc., it is easier to make variable stiffness characteristics than ordinary coil springs, which is very delicate.

However, due to the many changes in this design, it involves dynamic characteristics such as variable vertical stiffness and additional anti-roll characteristics, which requires very high design and adjustment by engineers; The requirements are very high. Moreover, this form has been handed down on the third-generation Corvette. It is a general "unique stunt". Other manufacturers do not have the corresponding design historical tradition and experience, so there are few suspensions of the same form. The reason why only the Corvette can do it this way.

Corvette rear suspension leaf springs

Ordinary vans steel plate rear suspension

Why are leaf springs rarely used in passenger cars?

It's so amazing, after all, it's also a supercar thing, why are leaf springs rarely used in passenger cars? In fact, in a Corvette-like form, ordinary passenger cars can also use such an arrangement to use leaf springs. The stiffness change characteristics of the leaf spring can be completely the same as that of the ordinary coil spring, and even the changes are more abundant and multi-stage. There are two reasons that really prevent the use of leaf springs in passenger cars:

On the one hand, since the Corvette is positioned as a supercar, it doesn't require much suspension travel, so this arrangement is sufficient for its wheel-bounce travel. , but ordinary passenger cars have more travel requirements. If they are arranged in the same way, the travel of the leaf springs is not enough; if two sets of springs are used for the left and right wheels and are arranged vertically, the ground clearance is not as good as For a family car the size of a truck, there is not enough space to support it;

The chassis clearance and rear suspension arrangement space of ordinary passenger cars and commercial vehicles are compared.

On the other hand, due to the cost control and development progress control of ordinary passenger cars The factors such as "grounding gas" are far more considered than special types of vehicles, so most of their suspensions will be purchased; chassis research and development will also use traditional forms to save time and procurement costs; choose mainstream suppliers provided by mature suppliers. The coil spring assembly is also granted. No one will spend a lot of money on an economical sedan to make revolutionary innovations.

Of course, in the face of the same cost, the leaf spring still has some limitations of its own. For example, when using multi-leaf springs, in addition to occupying a larger volume than coil springs, the friction between the plates also has a certain impact on NVH performance, and the use environment of passenger cars does not require the large load capacity of leaf springs. . However, this does not justify labelling the leaf spring as "technically backward".

Therefore, the leaf spring is not a "third-rate role" that can only be mixed on trucks, and it cannot simply be equated with a representative of backward technology. It is just a simple form of suspension, which can also have a high technical content. In the final analysis, it is not easy to draw conclusions about the quality of the vehicle itself just because of the use of leaf springs. The actual suspension response and driving experience are the final standards to measure the quality. In fact, this is not only the problem with the leaf springs, but also with the turbocharger and the torsion beam rear overhang. The most important point is: the mechanical specifications and forms do not directly determine the quality of the car itself, but only the advanced level of technology and the orientation of tuning.