Light Vehicle Products | Air Springs Switchable Three-Chamber Air Springs Resolve the conflicting objectives of comfort and good driving dynamics To resolve the conflicting objectives of comfort and excellent driving dynamics, Vibracoustic has developed switchable air springs with a three-chamber concept for light vehicles. By switching individual air chambers on and off using smart controls, the air springs can be set to four different stiffness levels, depending on the driving situation. This makes driving more comfortable or more dynamic, while improving safety. Air spring applications at the rear axle or on both axles are becoming increasingly popular for electric vehicles. Air springs enable to control the levelling of the car. This enables optimized aerodynamics at high speeds as well as airflow guidance beneath the car. The latter is especially important for electric vehicles, since it facilitates the efficient passive cooling of battery packs, which are predominantly positioned in the floor area Besides that the air springs support to keep a minimum ground clearance to secure the batteries in bad road conditions. Concept of the three-chamber air spring system: The larger the available air volume, the softer the springs; the smaller the air volume, the stiffer the springs. Vibracoustic switchable air springs allow the stiffness of springs to be doubled over four gradients – from very soft to extremely stiff. To enable this, Vibracoustic switch valves control the air flow rates and their openings need to be adequately sized for the correct amount of air to pass. The switching times also need to be short enough to enable stiffness switches to be made at speed. To ensure that switching noises are not perceptible by passengers, an optimized membrane is used. This feature is particularly important for electric vehicles, where there is no combustion noise or vibration from the motor to mask this type of noise. To build the new geometries of the air spring, including the straightforward creation of air volume chambers, Vibracoustic uses an innovative hot gas welding manufacturing process for the air spring top pot. This allows more efficient use of the limited packaging space in the suspension area by combining various plastic and aluminum parts. The result is a weight reduction of the top pot by up to 30%. Switchable dual-chamber air spring systems are also possible. They only offer two different stiffness levels, but still enable effective roll stabilization and are therefore a cost-efficient system to meet customer demands for improved comfort and driving dynamics in high- and medium-segment vehicles. About Air Springs Air springs keep the vehicle at a constant level, regardless of how heavy its load is. They allow to lower the car at high speeds in order to improve aerodynamics and thus increase range. Air springs can also optimize airflow under the car for passive battery cooling in electric vehicles and they protect the batteries in bad road conditions and secure always a minimum ground clearance. Furthermore, switchable air springs can provide different degrees of stiffness, allowing quick transition between a firm suspension for confident and safe driving behavior, and a more comfortable setup for long road trips. more Related Products Air Springs with Axial Sleeves Air Springs with Cross-Ply Bellows Air Springs with ZAX Bellows Downloads Code of Conduct Documents for Customers Documents for Suppliers Imprint Data Protection Legal Notice Follow us on Contact us Jobs & Career Products & Services Suppliers & Service Providers Vibracoustic Aftermarket Our Locations Media Compliance The website uses cookies to allow for the best possible user experience. These include cookies that are necessary for site functionality, cookies used for anonymous statistical purposes and those needed for the integration of external content. By clicking “accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent. You can read more about the use of cookies in our privacy policy. cookie settingsaccept