At the recent Digital Fluid Power Conference, LCM displayed a race car at the JKU Science Park featuring active hydraulic suspension.

Formula Student (FS) is an international engineering design competition where student teams from around the world compete in static and dynamic events.

LCM experts started by taking a race car from a previous season and drafting a new concept to create a switchable, hydraulic chassis. The system is created by an independent suspension with warp decoupling, active chassis position control and camber so it can be individually navigable using a sophisticated hydraulic drive and control concept. It is also so energy efficient that a 500W pump unit is sufficient enough to power the system despite the high dynamics.

The advantages of an active chassis are obvious: The suspension increases tire grip by permanently adapting the chassis to any driving situation, thus giving the driver a decisive advantage in a race where every second counts.