Goals and challenges of future chassis developments – solving a multidimensional optimization problem

Abstract

Designing a good chassis is never a trivial task. The problems already start with the fundamental question: What makes a good chassis in first place? In fact, the engineering goals keep changing as more and more influencing factors come in and have to be considered. In the early years the main focus was on the primary function of a chassis, which is to offer the best possible ride and handling performance. The reason for this narrow view was that neither ride nor handling scored very high and therefore a good chassis meant a significant advantage in the marketplace. For upper market vehicles or for performance cars the chassis is still a differentiator, but in general the technical progress has led to performance levels that exceed the expectations of many customers.