Fiat Group Automobiles is to benefit from a significant advancement in suspension technology developed by Magneti Marelli which is scheduled to be progressively introduced across models starting with Lancia's Delta and Alfa's Mi.To.

Fiat Group Automobiles is set to benefit from a significant advancement in suspension technology, which is scheduled to be progressively introduced across many of the group’s models. Having been developed over a considerable length of time, the technology promises a real step forward in improving body control, handling and ride, and will initially be applied to two of the group’s most important new models, the Lancia Delta and Alfa Romeo MiTo.

Synaptic Damping Control (SDC) is a brand-new Mechatronic development by Magneti Marelli’s suspension division. It aims to improve a car’s body control, allowing the suspension to work more effectively and thus improving roadholding and handling. The net result is a real improvement in the vehicle’s dynamic performance, by reducing the compromise between comfort and sport-oriented setups.

Fiat Auto has previously employed adjustable dampers, notably on models such as the Lancia Dedra Turbo and Alfa Romeo 155 Q4, both of which ran a two-mode damping system. However, SDC takes the concept a step further. Like previous efforts, it is based around the premise of an electronically-adjustable damper system; but new developments have allowed each damper to be fitted with an electro-valve that adapts to the passage of damping fluid in real time. This allows the response to be adjusted continuously in accordance with various parameters, including those from the relevant sensors.

The system consists of four adjustable dampers, an electronic control unit (ECU), embedded software control strategies, five acceleration sensors, a CAN node connection, and a Sport/Comfort configuration switch. The proportional electro-valves in the dampers are able to continuously vary their characteristics from a minimum to a maximum curve, with a switching time between 10 and 20 milliseconds. When the current is varied between 0.29 and 1.6 ampere, the electro-valves adjust the shock absorber internal flows between the maximum and the minimum force-speed curve, with the system keeping an intermediate fail-safe position at 0 ampere.

The ECU is based on a 32-bit microprocessor with high computational performance and high-speed clock (80 MHz). With up to nine sensors, six proportional valves and four on-off valves, alternative system configurations are possible; customer proprietary software packages can also be ‘plugged-in’ to the ECU’s high-level software layer.

Magneti Marelli says that the system is able to identify the driving conditions, including the condition of the road itself, and automatically adjust the damping accordingly. The effects are significant. In addition to improved ride comfort, there is a marked reduction in body roll; braking distances are also reduced by up to five per cent as a result of improved individual wheel control, all of which allows both a safer and more comfortable drive.

According to Marelli, the modular control architecture includes modal Sky-hook, Lateral Dynamics, Longitudinal Dynamics, Hole passing and Road Severity Identification. The software architecture is also structured to encourage easy integration of an OEM’s IP software modules and a high degree of hardware platform independence, depending on customer experience.

Synaptic Damping Control is set to debut as an option on the Lancia Delta, dubbed ‘Reactive Suspension System’. When the driver selects the ‘Sport’ setting, the dampers reset to a stiffer setting to reduce body roll and increase precision; the steering also becomes heavier and more communicative. In addition, on models equipped with SDC and the 150bhp 1.4 TurboJet engine, selecting ‘Sport’ sharpens throttle response and unleashes an additional 24Nm of torque. Finally, if the car is a 1.8 TurboJet model fitted with the AT6 six-speed automatic gearbox, the shifting pattern is altered to a sports program, with a corresponding decrease in shifting time.

The Reactive Suspension System will work in concert with the Delta’s Absolute Handling System, which Lancia describes as a ‘new generation’ of ESP. It consists of a number of elements, including TTC (Torque Transfer Control), an electronic device which simulates the presence of a mechanical self-locking differential which, says Lancia, “improves traction (in corners), noticeably diminishing understeer and ensuring more dynamicity in the drive”. In co-ordination with other aids such as LTF (Linearization Torque Feedback) and OCF (Oversteer Control Function), these features aim to improve control and driving pleasure.