2017 Ford Fusion skips over potholes

[JEDI]

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/18/autos/ford-fusion-pothole-protection/index.html

The new Fusion V6 Sport sedan will come equipped with a computer controlled shock absorber system that will automatically stiffen when sensors detect that a wheel is rolling into a pothole.

That allows the shock absorber to keep the wheel elevated as it rolls over the hole rather than dropping down into it.


I don't get it.
how the hell does the car defy gravity and keep the wheel from falling into the pot hole?!

 

[Kenmitch]

I don't get it.
how the hell does the car defy gravity and keep the wheel from falling into the pot hole?!

It won't. Speed your driving plays a huge roll I'm sure.

 

[zerocool84]

Says it right in the article:

The new Fusion V6 Sport sedan will come equipped with a computer controlled shock absorber system that will automatically stiffen when sensors detect that a wheel is rolling into a pothole.

That allows the shock absorber to keep the wheel elevated as it rolls over the hole rather than dropping down into it. The action of the front shock absorber also triggers a signal for the back wheel's shock absorber to respond similarly.

The wheel won't go into the pothole, it'll literally hover over it because the shock will stiffen up and not dropping the wheels into the pothole.

 

[Lean L]

Hope it uses sonar to detect potholes or something. Otherwise I see this as something that could detect false positives and seriously compromise handling since we just took the drive wheel off the road.

Also depends on the length of the pothole. This only works for small pot holes. If a large pothole, you want the wheel to drop while maintaining contact with the ground rather than hit the lower level ground after dipping.

Interested to see how this works out. (not being pessimistic, just curious as to how they addressed it from an engineering perspective.)

 

[dbcooper1]

I wonder what the shocks and controller cost relative to the tires and wheels.

 

[JEDI]

I wonder what the shocks and controller cost relative to the tires and wheels.

yeah, I'm thinking does it need special shocks?
How much does that cost?

I'm thinking most people view this new tech as comfort (not feel pot holes) vs saving on cost of new tires/rims.
thus, is it worth the $ to avoid the small # of potholes I encounter where I live?

 

[freeskier93]

I wonder what the shocks and controller cost relative to the tires and wheels.

Well, I have adjustable shocks on my Jeep Wrangler (Ranch RS9000XL) and they were about $100 per shock. Rancho does have a remote a adjustment controller for them but it's pretty overpriced.

For an OEM this is pretty cheap to implement, active suspension is hardly new or revolutionary. This pothole feature will be a secondary feature to a larger active suspension option.

 

[NutBucket]

This tech debuted a few years ago on a Lincoln. Reviews at the time said it was quite effective.

 

[LTC8K6]

If the wheel doesn't drop into the pothole to support that corner of the car, won't the whole corner of the car drop down?

 

[BUTCH1]

If the wheel doesn't drop into the pothole to support that corner of the car, won't the whole corner of the car drop down?

I think you have to be moving at speed so you won't notice it, if you were in a parking lot I can see that happening though.

 

[LTC8K6]

What if it's a big pothole? The car can't hover even if the wheel can.

Ford's description says the wheel won't fall "all the way" into the pothole.

That makes more sense.

The wheel does not hover at road height, it just doesn't fall as far as a conventional shock would.

 

[yh125d]

Is this really fundamentally different than relatively commonplace magnetorheological shocks? It detects the pothole somehow, and cranks up the rebound for a bit, to lessen the wheel travel. At highway speeds, in average sized potholes, I'd be surprised that the wheel really makes full contact with the bottom even with normal shocks, and this system would reduce the travel even more.


Imagine an average pothole. At creeping speeds you obviously go all the way down into the pothole with the full weight on the tire, then all the way back up. At 60, while your tire may hit the bottom of the pothole, it won't be there long enough for the car to compress back down and load the tire fully before coming back up the other side. at 120, your suspension would react even less. So this system can in effect, make it seem like you're passing over the pothole at a higher speed, with less wheel travel and less force brought into the chassis

It would seem simple enough for it to act in compression the same way for bumps, though it would be less effective. It'd also have to be tuned carefully, because if it reacted too much while going over a bump in a high speed turn it could upset the chassis

 

[KentState]

Probably the same magnetic shocks used on a ton of more expensive cars. They run about $800-1000 in GM applications.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagneRide

From the way back machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48m1_otpD9c

Maybe Ford is using some other technology, but they mention it being the first on a vehicle in the Fusion price range. I know the GT350 is using them so not new to Ford.

 

[JulesMaximus]

In short, our roads suck and we're too cheap/poor to fix them, so buy a more expensive car that will soak up the shit roads you have to drive on in our third world country. As long as we keep the corporations rich and fat it's all good.

How does it handle the EPIC POTHOLES of the future?

 

[Railgun]

How does it handle the EPIC POTHOLES of the future?

Parachutes