Wishbone Suspension

Wishbone suspension is an independent suspension system that uses two triangular-shaped control arms (called wishbones or A-arms) to connect each wheel to the car's chassis, allowing precise control over wheel movement and positioning.

The system gets its name from the wishbone-shaped control arms that look like the letter "A" when viewed from the front or rear of the vehicle. Each wheel has an upper and lower wishbone, with the narrow end of each arm connecting to the wheel hub through ball joints, while the wider end attaches to the chassis at two mounting points.

In motorsport, wishbone suspension is highly valued because it offers superior handling compared to simpler suspension designs. The system allows engineers to precisely control how the wheel behaves during cornering, braking, and acceleration. This means the tire maintains better contact with the track surface, providing more grip and faster lap times.

One key advantage of double wishbone suspension is its ability to manage camber angle - the inward or outward tilt of the wheel when viewed from the front. During hard cornering, the system can be designed to lean the wheel slightly inward, maximizing the tire's contact patch with the road for better grip.

The suspension also excels at handling the massive forces generated in racing. Formula 1 cars, sports cars, and many high-performance vehicles use this design because it can withstand extreme loads while maintaining precise control over wheel movement.

However, wishbone suspension systems are more complex and expensive than simpler designs like MacPherson struts. They require more components, including additional ball joints, bushings, and mounting points, which means higher manufacturing costs and more maintenance requirements.

Modern racing applications often use pushrod or pullrod systems with wishbone suspension, where the springs and shock absorbers are mounted inside the car body and connected to the suspension through linkages. This arrangement improves aerodynamics and allows better weight distribution.