4.9/5 - (173 votes)

What is the control arm?

The control arm is part of the vehicle suspension. There are several different types of control arms used in the manufacture of vehicle suspensions.

Both front and rear control arms are used in four-wheel independent suspension designs.

Certain types of control arm pieces are used to turn the wheels in the steering, while others are used to control wheel hop and bounce.

The most easily identifiable control arm is probably located on the vehicle’s anti-roll bar.

The front suspension is the driving and steering mechanism of modern vehicles.

A vehicle’s suspension is a complex system of geometry and leverage.

Most vehicles manufactured have front suspensions Today, the car not only controls the direction but also drives the vehicle. Front-wheel drive designs rely on a control arm to counteract the torque of the engine.

By placing an engine torque limiter arm between the engine and chassis, the vehicle can easily steer while providing power to the engine.

Without this control arm, the vehicle would make it nearly impossible to steer when the driver applies power to the wheels. Modern suspensions use a shock strut system and an upper control arm.

By placing an arm at the bottom of the strut to control front-to-rear movement, the strut is able to work from the top of the suspension without help to control the movement of the wheels.

In early designs, both the top and bottom control arms used springs sandwiched between them.

This type of suspension greatly limited the amount of wheel travel of the suspension.

This created a rougher ride, and since the suspension was forced to lean against rigid crash stops rather than smoothly over bumps, placing suspension members on the subframe rather than requiring the entire frame allowed for the installation of safety-enhancing crash panels into the vehicle chassis.

These panels absorbed energy in the event of a crash and dissipated it throughout the chassis and away from the passenger compartment.

By using control arm suspensions, these crush panels can be used.

Many of the control components are made of cast or machined alloys.

The lightweight materials used to manufacture the suspension components reduce the unsprung weight of the suspension, thus reducing the impact of encountering bumps and rough roads.

Advanced technology in shock absorber design has shown that reducing the weight of suspension components, such as control arms, has a significant impact on the quality of the suspension for vehicle travel.

By using control arm technology, which utilizes the leverage of the arm, lighter and softer springs can also be used.

Structure of automotive control arm

1、Transverse stabilizer bar link

In the suspension installation, one end of the stabilizer bar link is linked to the transverse stabilizer bar through rubber bushings, and the other end is linked to the control arm or cartridge shock absorber through rubber bushings or ball hinges.

The transverse stabilizer bar link is used symmetrically in the selector, and its role is to improve operational stability.

2、Transverse tie rod

In the suspension installation, the rubber bushing at one end of the cross tie bar is connected with the frame or body, and the rubber bushing at the other section is connected with the wheel hub.

This kind of control arm is mostly used in the cross tie bar of multi-link suspension and steering system of the car, which mainly bears the lateral load and guides the wheel movement at the same time.

3、Longitudinal tie rod

Longitudinal tie rods are mostly used in towing suspensions to transmit traction and braking force.

4、Single control arm

These automotive control arms are mostly used for multi-link suspensions, and two single control arms are used in conjunction to transmit transverse and longitudinal loads from the wheels.

5、Fork (V)-shaped arm

This kind of automobile control arm is mostly used in the upper and lower arms of double-wishbone independent suspension live MacPherson suspension lower arm, the fork-shaped structure of the arm body mainly transmits the lateral load.

6、Triangular arm

This kind of car control arm is mostly used for the lower arm of the front suspension MacPherson suspension, used to transfer the transverse and longitudinal loads, and control the relative motion of the wheels and the body.