semi trailing arm suspension is a special type of trailing-arm axle, which is fitted mainly in rear-wheel-and four-wheel-drive passenger cars, but which is also found on front-wheel-drive vehicles the control arm axis of rotation EG is diagonally positioned at an angle a ¼ 10–25, and from the rear an angle b 5 can still be achieved. When the wheels bump and rebound- travel they cause spatial movement, so the drive shafts need two joints per side with angular mobility and length compensation The horizontal and vertical angles determine the roll steer properties.
When the control arm is a certain length, the following kinematic characteristics can be positively affected by angles a and b:
height of the roll centre;
position of the radius-arm axis;
change of camber;
toe-in change;
Camber and toe-in changes increase the bigger the angles a and b: semi-trailing axles have an elastokinematic tendency to oversteering for semi trailing arm suspension .
Constant velocity sliding joints by GKN Automotive. In front-drive vehicles, considerable articulation angles of the drive axles occur, sometimes even during straight running, as a result of the installation situation, short propshafts and lifting movements of the body due to torque steer effects. These result in force and moment non-conformities and losses which lead to unwanted vibration. The full-load sliding ball joint
A form of multi-link suspension was first developed by Mercedes-Benz in 1982 for the 190 series. Driven and non-driven multi-link front and rear suspensions have since been used .
Up to five links are used to control wheel forces and torque depending on the geometry, kinematics, elastokinematics and force application of the axle. As the arrangement of links is almost a matter of choice depending on the amount of available space, there is extraordinarily a wide scope for design. In addition to the known benefits of independent wheel suspensions, with the relevant configuration the front and rear systems also offer the following advantages: