Has anyone heard of the possible application of Bose's (that's right the stereo company) new suspension system in allowing FWD cars to use higher torque and hp more effectively? It just seems to me like this is a possible major breakthrough. Has anyone even heard of the new suspension system that Bose is developing? The one that makes use of electric components that can move the suspension system at a rate of 100 times a second, can make a lexus corner alomst completely flat at speeds which would have the stock suspension almost maxed out to one side, and even allow a lexus to jump over six inches in the air while in motion, with regenerative capabilities that result in a one to two horsepower loss to the drivetrain system while doing that jump? It seems to me (and I could be wrong about this) that the issue with wheel slippage from high power in FWDs comes from the fact that, like all cars, at launch the body of the car rocks backwards and, unlike with a rea drive car where the weight shifts TO the drive wheels, the weight of the car shifts off of the drive wheels. This infinitely adjustable, and presumably infinitely controlable, suspension system could probably be used to help counteract that weight shift at launch and acutally shift weight forward, thus increasing grip in FWDs. Of course then there is still the issue of torque steer (but there are already solutions to this problem, as there are FWDs which don't seem to suffer from torque steer). Any opinions?

Edited by buddhakwake (Sun Jan 2, 05   6:58 AM)

never heard of it. I have a suspension kit that will reduce some of the rocking of the frame ans shoudl help weight transfer a little bit. I was able to get a 1.75 60' w/o it so I am hoping for a 1.6 and 11.6-11.7 before I am done.

So that kind of reduction in weight transfer should help then. Cool. The Bose system has been written up in at least two car mags that I know of and one computer mag. Unfortunately it's not available to the public yet, and even worse it sounds like for the first few years of it's availability it will cost 5,000+. But what is your suspension kit, who makes it, what components are in it, etc.?

It is just a simple kit that bolts on the rear control arms and holds the frame up so it can't drop down adn shift the weight.

here is a pic:
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This is half of it the other parts include the two plates that lay on the control arms and 8 uring screws to lock them down. These pegs fit through a hole int he center of the plates and push against the frame of the car.

I saw an article about it in Esquire of all places, it seems like it will help some, seeing as how weight transfer is probably the biggest issue so rear shocks that would stiffen up almost immeadiatly under acceleration could be a big benifit. Or they could make more rwd and awd cars, as they should. Its kinda interesting, mountain bikes were using similar technology like 7-8 years ago, K2 bought Proflex, the company that was doing this stuff. These were just small coilovers controlled by a computer that adjusts dampening instantaneaously, although it wasn't changing the stiffness of the shocks themselves. I'm looking forward to this suspension in the future, whenever it becomes availible on a car I might be able to purchase, that is.