en:Car Terms:C:Car Chassis COM/EN

SEAT Glossary

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C

Chassis

The chassis decisively determines the driving safety and comfort of a car. Its central components are the suspension springs and dampers.

The chassis ensures that the wheels maintain constant contact with the road. A wheel can only be controlled if it’s in direct contact with the roadway, i.e. generate propulsion, deceleration or a change of direction. Even the tiniest bump in the road can cause a wheel to “take off”, just like when the load is taken off the outside wheels in the camber of a bend. Since wheel and suspension have a certain mass, inertia prevents the wheel from immediately falling back onto the road surface. The springs ensure that contact with the road surface is restored as quickly as possible. And dampers reduce the vibration of the wheel so that the wheel does not continue to oscillate.