suspension is a very complicated, built up of many supporting components and varies in design between one manufacturer to another.
its not so easy to know the system within a short period, more difficult if without practical.
i hope these simple explanations will help you.
1. suspension is needed to absorb road irregularities. without suspension, the ride will be tiring even half hour trip. easist way to softened the ride is by use of springs (either leaf or coil, not to forget torsion bars)
2. Springs bounce too much for comfort, therefore it needed something to dampened. Shock absorbers are used for these purpose. Also known as Damper, they can be either oil or gas filled. Sophisticated suspension system use electronics to alter the rate, more advanced system is active hydraulic (like in Citroens) or air sprung (like Lexus Luxury Sedan LS400/LS430).
3. In order to obtain maximum control and road traction, u need to have assist links. They can be either an upper arm, a lower A or L arm and trailing arm. A Stabiliser bar (or anti roll bar) is used to minimise body roll. Strut towers have same purpose.
4. Basic suspension design for front is either MacPherson strut or Double Wishbone. the first is compact but tall in design. the latter is a bit complicated with higher unsprung weight but gives exceptional handling performance. Proton Perdana has sophisticated Multi Link type. Multi Link is has either 3 links or 5 links which gives better roadholding.
5. Rear suspension is more simple due to not having the sttering system attached to it and expecially if its a FWD vehicle.
For RWD cars, rear axle double its act as a stabiliser. Modern small cars nowadays employ a torsion beam axle with Panhard Rod to simillar effect.
More normal system is by the use of coil spring over an absorber and a trailing arm. Wira for example has additional Top Assist Link and a small upper arm to make the ride comfortable and predictable.
6. Suspension is always available for upgrade. Proggresive rate springs, or adjustable spring with absorbers are used normally for race/pace when the driver appreciate handling more than comfort.
pm me for more, i will assist you at my best.:D
