VW's Pneumatic suspension undergoes testing trials in Lapland
Press Release
Trials: Volkswagen Phaeton - Final test drives in arctic temperatures in Sweden
Pneumatic suspension as standard guarantees comfort without compromising dynamism, separate temperature control, even in the rear, with 4-zone Climatronic
Sweden. Here in Lapland, close to the Polar Circle, over 2 000 kilometres by road from Wolfsburg, Volkswagen is testing its new luxury class saloon in winter conditions. Running gear and climate control are on the checklist compiled by the development team. More precisely: the fully pneumatic suspension on the front and rear axles and 4-zone Climatronic. Now, shortly before Christmas, the test grounds are veiled all day long by the endless polar night. Only the blanket of snow, averaging 25 cm thick, reflects a shimmering of light in the daytime darkness. The temperature is between ?8 and ?18 degrees, and can even drop as low as -45 degrees. Ideal conditions for the test vehicle, precisely because they are so hard.
The first test drives will start at about 17.30 hrs. Snow has been cleared from a frozen lake to form the course over which the crew will drive the saloons.
The new, fully pneumatic suspension
The icy surface appears to be perfect terrain for fine-tuning the running gear and for gathering information on the handling of the front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive luxury class saloons. But for Volkswagen, such work has long been completed. The developers are much more interested in checking the synchronisation and the stability of the systems one last time. And these systems are not trivial.
When the Volkswagen Phaeton is launched next Spring, it will be equipped as standard with a pneumatic suspension possessing excellent dynamics and comfort characteristics. "The objective", according to the internal definition of the responsible running gear development engineer, "was to produce a suspension system that meets the most exacting demands in terms of ride comfort and dynamic driving. Air spring systems with regulated damping are excellent for this as they offer numerous advantages over conventional steel spring systems."
Fundamentally, with regard to its overall characteristics, the air spring system must be viewed differentially and evaluated in its own right. The physical and thermodynamic properties of the air enclosed in the spring bellows must be examined in extreme detail. Add to this the integrated level control system, which maintains the vehicle at a specified height (or one set by the driver), regardless of load. In addition to this, the freely variable mapped damping system demands special attention.
Due to their physical properties, the air springs automatically adapt the damping rate to the current load. This means:
Ride comfort remains optimal regardless of load
Load-dependent variations in handling are reduced.
The level control feature of the pneumatic suspension
Allows a soft and comfort-orientated suspension
Allows the vehicle to be specially lowered at speed, both to improve aerodynamics and to lower the vehicle's centre of gravity, so improving driving stability even at high speeds
Increases ground clearance on poor surfaces by raising the vehicle
The freely variable, mapped damping system
Improves ride comfort and driving safety
Ensures superb handling even in extreme driving situations thanks to programmed damping control
The sum of all these advantages caused Volkswagen to decide to develop the Phaeton exclusively with an exceptionally sophisticated, high-quality pneumatic suspension. In winter 2001, one of the last test drives for this system will be made on the ice of a frozen lake in Northern Sweden. The basic layout of the running gear is a four link front axle and a newly developed trapezium link rear axle.
