European buyers will soon be able to experience Delphi Corp.’s “revolutionary” MagneRide system for the first time on European brand cars, company officials said.
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Two as yet unnamed “premier European vehicle manufacturers” have selected the technology for future home market applications. The manufacturers will develop controllable dampers utilising MagneRide technology to further enhance vehicle ride and handling characteristics. Delphi’s collaboration with these two manufacturers on this technology is a first for the parts supplier in Europe.
MagneRide is a high-performance, semi-active suspension control system that responds in real time to road and driving conditions based on input from sensors that monitor body and wheel motions.
The system uses magneto-rheological (MR) fluids and valve-less dampers to provide a wide range of damping force control. The fluid consists of magnetically soft particles suspended in a synthetic fluid. When current is applied to an electromagnetic coil inside the damper’s piston, the resulting magnetic field changes the rheology (or resistance to flow) of the fluid, which produces a mechanically simple but very responsive and controllable damping action without any valves. An onboard controller continually adjusts the damping forces up to once every millisecond based on input from four suspension displacement sensors, a lateral accelerometer and a steering wheel angle sensor.
The system is said to provide fast, smooth, continuously variable damping in a cost effective and reliable package that reduces body motion and increases tyre road contact on all types of surfaces.
Delphi’s technical centres in Paris and Krakow, Poland, will be the key centres for European applications of MagneRide with core engineering work taking place at the Dayton, Ohio technical centre.
MagneRide has so far been available only in North America since its debut on the 2002 Cadillac Seville STS. The technology – marketed as Magnetic Selective Ride Control on the Corvette and Magnetic Ride Control on the Cadillac Seville, XLR and SRX – has been enthusiastically received by customers and is frequently cited as a key benefit in automotive reviews, Delphi claimed.
It’s European ride dynamics products include the controlled suspension technology, Active Stabiliser Bar System on the Land Rover Discovery.
