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5 Installation and Operating Instructions
5.2 Air suspension
BPW Air Suspension
A running gear system is only ever good as its suspension. BPW
air suspension systems are individually designed to cope with
where and for what they‘re going to be used, and what load
they‘re going to carry. Only in this way it is possible to ensure the
optimum driving safety at the same time as reducing the stress
on the driver, the cargo and the body. This reduces wear on the
tyres and cuts down the stress on the vehicle body and the cargo
- as well as reducing your expenses. The modular construction
means that it‘s easy to exchange individual components in the
event of a repair.
The vehicle suspension has the task of ensuring that jolts
occurring during a journey due to uneven driving surfaces are
not transferred with full force to the body of the vehicle, but
to a reduced degree. Air suspension can easily fulfi ll this task.
All types of construction of air suspensions are deployed as
supporting springs for the load of the body.
Dual-circuit air suspension installation
BPW air suspension systems possess high roll stability
characteristics providing minimum body roll when cornering,
leading to optimum road safety. This high roll stability
characteristic is achieved because the body is supported when
cornering not only by the air bags but also by the stabilising
effect of the axle beam to trailing arm connection.
The specifi cation of the air suspension installation also has a
signifi cant infl uence on the roll stability characteristics:
Dual-circuit version with transverse fl ow restrictor:
The air bags on the left and right sides of the vehicle are
pneumatically separated and only connected together by a
transverse fl ow restrictor in the air suspension levelling valve
(see illustration). During cornering, the air can only equalise
itself slowly between the two sides of the vehicle. As a result,
the air bags additionally assist in supporting the rolling motion
of the vehicle body.
Abb. ????
Fig. 113
Fig. 114
The use of single-circuit air suspension installations can lead
to damage to the vehicle as a result of the higher loads. For
this reason, BPW cannot offer any warranty for chassis and
suspension damage resulting from this effect.
To achieve optimum function and the greatest possible
road safety, in particular in critical situations, we expressly
recommend using dual-circuit air suspension installations with
a fl ow restrictor.
Lifting axles are the only exception to this recommendation. In
this case, it is permitted for at most one lifting axle in a three or
four-axle unit to be installed single circuited.
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