In 1986, Bose (primarily an audio equipment company) started developing an electromagnetic car suspension system that was so steady, it felt like riding on a magic carpet. Purely by accident, it also gave cars the ability to leap over obstacles. It was a technical success, but a commerical failure.
by nuttybudd
18 Comments
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KPYIaks1UY
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/boses-amazing-car-suspension/
Well. I want that suspension. Everyday like an 80s San Francisco cop movie.
I imagine that giving normal drivers jumping cars is a recipe for disaster.
Looks really very comfortable. But most often, when such technologies appear, something else is sacrificed. For example, a very strong car body was almost shockproof, but it was very difficult to survive an accident in such a car. This happened due to a strong push, which could not be muffled. That’s why many of today’s cars aren’t as rigid.
I believe this type of tech is used in military applications. Don’t know if it’s electromagnets completely but they do use a Non-Newtonian fluid that activates differently depending on the magnetic force within the shock
So why can’t we bring this back?
Just add it to the list of things that are better but prevented by capitalism…I still want my East German unbreakable mugs.
It was to heavy & expensive. Extra Weight increased the fuel consumption as well. Corpo profit numbers did not add up, it was not adopted.
Pretty sure we won’t see this in new cars anytime soon, because people have to slow down for speed bumps.
Reminds me of the 1983 Lotus Esprit with active suspension. They used an active computer controlled hydraulic suspension to keep the car level in all driving situations:
[Esprit Suspension Top Gear 1983 series11 episode 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPQ66fW9RAM&t=312s)
Remember that Street Fighter II bonus stage?
I imagine being in the middle of a corner is NOT when you want your front tires to pop a foot off the ground..
I remember them saying it used 1/3 of the engine power in electricity.
That sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie! Imagine gliding over bumps like a magic carpet
Mercedes-Benz did this in the not too distant past saying they were the first to do it. I commented on the post saying about the Bose system years before. They actually deleted my comment and blocked me. Set of Scheißkopfs.
“Kitt…..Turbo Boost!”
I remember seeing this years ago. I remember someone in the comments saying that the car was extremely heavy, which made the system non-feasible. Supposedly BMW bought the technology.
Seems like this would also allow extremely tight cornering by lowering the suspension on the inside of the turn and raising it on the outside