http://www.team-integra.net/sections...?ArticleID=525
DOUBLE WISHBONE
All right, now onto the Double Wishbone suspension type. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to explain all of the parts of this type of suspension and how it works, so I'm just going to do a quick overview so you understand basically what is going on. With this type of suspension, the upright supporting the wheel is attached to the frame of the car with a pair of links in the shape of a wishbone. These links are connected to the frame by bearings called suspension pivots (which are either metal or rubber, or now-a-days polyurethane). These links (arms) are not always parallel, and are usually of unequal lengths. The Double Wishbone suspension is a type of Double A-arm suspension. Double A-arm suspension systems have been around for about 50 years now. Early versions had equal length arms, but this caused the wheels of the car to lean outboard in turns (increased positive camber). When unequal length arms were developed the positive camber change problem was solved, and in fact was changed to a huge advantage because it made the wheels develop increased negative camber during vertical suspension movement. Double Wishbone suspension also use the "coil-over-oil" design, much like the MacPherson Strut, which often leads to people calling the shock absorbers on their cars "struts" even when their cars don't use a strut type suspension.
I've included pictures of each suspension type to try and make what I'm saying a little clearer. Especially with the Double Wishbone suspension, the pics can probably give you a better idea of how the suspension works than I can with words. Of course, the best way to figure it all out is to get under a car with a Double Wishbone suspension type and look at it to try and figure out how everything works. Don't feel bad if it doesn't make sense though, there are plenty of mechanics out there that don't understand how a Double Wishbone suspension works, it's a very complicated system. Today, engineers use computers to help them design the systems because there are too many variables to deal with to do it by hand without taking an extremely long time.
