When a motor vehicle is cornering, considerable lateral forces are effectively at the wheel on the inside of the bend and on the outside, and these have to be absorbed by the rear wheel suspension or the components thereof. These lateral forces are absorbed by appropriate mounts or support bushings, and, on the one hand, these should be stiff enough to avoid over-steer. On the other hand, the mounts or support bushings should be flexible enough to enable appropriate ride comfort to be achieved.
A toe-out effect results from the compliance of the structural elements of the wheel suspension under the action of lateral forces during cornering. However, the compliance of the structural components and a toe-correcting movement of the axle lead to an unresponsive ride which is felt to be a disadvantage by the driver of the vehicle and the passengers in the vehicle. Hence, the individual components or structural elements of the rear wheel suspension should be designed to counter this compliance, i.e. to counter this yielding, that is to say their dimensions must be adapted. This entails an increase in weight, which has a disadvantageous effect on the weight of the vehicle, more specifically of the rear wheel suspension, if the thicknesses of material has to be adapted accordingly, for example. However, an increase in weight also means an increase in fuel consumption, for example.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds