IRK confirms air wear
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• The top Transport and Road Research Laboratory scientist who is investigating the effects on road wear of different truck and trailer suspension systems (CM 22-28 June) has confirmed that in some circumstances air suspension causes more road wear than steel or rubber suspensions. However, in a letter to CM (see page 34), Lazio Gyenes maintains: "Overall and by a wide margin, air suspensions are kinder to the road than are conventional steel or rubber-spring suspensions."
Gyenes says that air suspension systems caused more road wear than steel or rubber suspensions only during tests in which vehicles were driven over a plank. "This type of surface irregularity might represent potholes or misaligned bridge expansion joints, but it is an infrequent occurrence on the road," he says.
The TRRL plans to undertake further tests to discover why the plank test produces these results. Gyenes reports that in the plank test, air suspension caused around 10% more damage to roads than conventional suspensions.
"Overall, the poorest air suspensions cause less road wear than the best conventional steel suspensions," he adds, but says it should be possible to improve the performance of steel suspensions.
0 This week Gyenes flies to Brussels to discuss suspension systems for the European 'road-friendly truck.