Reactive Suspension

Reactive suspension is a type of suspension system in racing cars that automatically adjusts to different forces acting on the vehicle, including braking, acceleration, and cornering, to keep the car stable and improve its performance on the track.

To understand reactive suspension, think about what happens when you brake hard in a regular car. The front dips down and the rear lifts up. When you accelerate quickly, the opposite happens. When you turn a corner, the car leans to one side. These movements are called pitch and roll, and they can hurt a race car's performance by changing how much downforce it generates and how well the tires grip the road.

Traditional suspension systems in cars are designed mainly to absorb bumps from the road surface, moving up and down as the wheels hit irregularities. While this works for everyday driving, race cars need something more sophisticated. Reactive suspension systems go further by responding not just to bumps, but also to the forces created when the driver brakes, accelerates, or turns.

The main goal of reactive suspension is to keep the car's body as level and stable as possible, no matter what the driver is doing. When a race car stays level and close to the ground, it can generate more downforce from its aerodynamic components like wings and diffusers. More downforce means the tires press harder into the track, which gives the driver more grip and allows faster cornering speeds.

Some reactive suspension systems work mechanically, using clever linkages that connect parts like brake calipers to hydraulic cylinders. For example, when the brakes are applied and the calipers clamp down on the discs, this rotation can be used to trigger adjustments in the suspension that counteract the car's natural tendency to pitch forward. Other systems use electronic sensors and computer-controlled valves that can change how stiff or soft the suspension is in just milliseconds.

One famous example was the Lotus reactive suspension system from 2012, which used the friction created during braking to mechanically adjust the car's ride height. Even more advanced was the Williams FW14B from 1992, which featured an active suspension system so effective it helped driver Nigel Mansell dominate that Formula 1 season. This system could actively push the wheels up or down to keep the car perfectly balanced.

The technology has become so effective that Formula 1 banned fully active suspension systems in 1994 because they gave teams with better technology too much of an advantage. However, teams continue to develop sophisticated passive reactive suspension systems that work within the regulations, and the technology has found its way into high-performance road cars as well.

Modern reactive suspension systems can make a race car faster by allowing engineers to run the car lower to the ground without worrying about it bottoming out or becoming unstable. They also help maintain consistent tire contact with the track surface, which is crucial for both grip and tire wear management during long races.