Sport Compact Car - November '98

Technobabble: Multilink and the

Beam
By Dave Coleman

[Put into HTML format by Mike Mager]

The new Infiniti G20 reviewed in this issue comes with a remarkable
suspension. It is, on the surface, a marriage of the utmost
sophistication up front, with ox cart crudeness in the rear. The G20's
combination of a multi-link front suspension with a multi-link beam
beam rear suspension seems like the Harvard-Phd-meets-prisonwork-release mismatch of the century, but is it really? If you look
beyond every enthusiast's natural aversion to the word beam, the
G20's suspension is actually as close to a perfect match as is
possible.
In Defense of the Beam
Lets try to break the predjusice against the beam first. Beam axle
rear suspensions have a deservedly bad reputation for a few
reasons. Those schooled in front engine, rear-wheel drive cars draw
a connection with solid-axle rear drivers. A solid axle on a rear-wheel
drive car must carry the differential and drive axles, so it is
exceptionally heavy and takes up a tremendous amount of space
between its size and the space it needs to go
through its full travel. A beam axle on a frontwheel drive car, though, only needs to connect
the wheels, so it can be much lighter, and can be
positioned lower, since there are no drive axles
that need to be positioned at the wheel centerline.
Those used to front-wheel drive cars are
accustomed to beam rear suspensions being
used on cheap cars where performance is hardly
even on the priority list. Minivans have beam rear
suspensons, after all. Beam axles are cheap,

The Infiniti G20's multilink beam rear

suspension (the same
suspension that resides
in the rear of the Sentra
and Maxima). Is it really
a good performance
suspension, or just a
clever bit of marketing to
pepper the agonizingly
dull beam with some of
the exotic aura of a
multi-link suspension?

basic, and they work well enough for the relatively unburdened rear
wheels of a front-wheel drive car.
Solid axles on either type of car do have one distict advantage,
though. They keep the wheels straight up and down no matter how
much the body rolls. Assuming everything else is designed properly,
this can be a distict advantage.
So what is this "multi-link beam" and what makes it so great? In
reality, every beam axle rear suspension must have some system of
links to allow the wheels to travel up and down without moving front
to back or side to side--the multi-link beam just does an exceptionally
good job of it. Nissan's multi-link beam falls under the general
category of a twist beam. Front-to-back location is accomplished with
a single trailing link on each side that pivots where it attaches to the
car, but is mounted solidly to the beam. This solid mounting of the
trailing link to the beam means that if the wheels do not move
together relative to the car--such as when the body rolls--the beam
itself must twist to accomodate the different angles of the two trailing
links. So in a twist beam, the beam itself acts as an anti-roll bar.
Side-to-side location on beam axles is most commonly done with a
Panhard rod--a long link that attaches to the car on one end and the
beam on the other. The most obvious problem with this arrangement
is that it is asymmetrical. Since the beam is located by a link that
swings through an arc, there is a slight side-to-side movement of the
beam as the suspension moves up and down. This is not at all good
for high-speed stability. Another side effect of the asymmetric
Panhard rod is different jacking force depending on which way you
are turning. Since conering forces are transmitted from the wheels to
the body through a not-quite-horizontal rod, a portion of that
cornering force will be translated into a vertical force jacking the back
of the car either up or down depending on what direction you are
turning.

The Scott-Russell
linkage used on the
multi-link beam has
none of the
dissadvantages of the
asymmetric Panhard
rod, and is simpler and
more compact than a
Watts linkage.

Both of these problems can be cured by using a

more complex Watts linkage, but those are
significantly more bulky, and would take up too
much trunk space for a luxury sedan like the G20.
Instead, the multi-link beam uses what is known
as a Scott-Russel approximate straight-line
mechanism. This clever arrangement uses two
rods to create a link that moves straight up and
down. This mechanism requires that one of the
attachment points be able to slide, but since this

sliding is over a very short distance, Nissan simply designed a

special bushing that is extremely soft in the direction the rod must
slide, but stiff in any other direction.
So if the G20's rear suspension is just a twist beam with a clever
lateral locator link, why the special name? There was a time when
every different kind of suspension layout had a name, but that was
when there were still relatively few commonly-used suspension
layouts, and each could be described with a few words. Then came a
new breed of suspension consisting of an assemblage of links, struts,
and rods so complex that the few-word description stretched into a
dissertation on mechanics. Thus the catch-all term "multi-link
suspension" was coined to describe suspensions so complex and
exotic that nobody could possibly understand how they work. The
multi-link beam name is really just a clever bit of marketing to pepper
the agonizingly dull beam with some of the exotic aura of a multi-link
suspension. You have to admit, "multi-link beam" does roll off the
tongue more easily than "twist beam with Scott-Russel lateral locator
link".
The Third Link
At the front of the G20, a decidedly more complex suspension is
needed to keep the front wheels perpinducular to the ground while
allowing for the often conflicting geometry needed for straight-line
stability, cornering grip, and compact dimensions. Nissan's front
multi-link suspension is closely related to a double wishbone
suspension. On a double wishbone suspension, the wheel is held by
a hub that is attached to the car with an upper link and a lower link
(these links are sometimes called wishbones because of their
shape), with the upper link being shorter than the
lower link. Assuming they start out parallel when
the car is at rest, compressing the suspension will
cause the short upper link to pull the top of the
wheel in toward the car as it swings through its
small-radius arc, while the longer lower link will
keep the bottom of the wheel more or less in the
same place. The result is increasing negative
camber as the suspension compresses, and
therefore the wheel staying close to perpindicular
to the ground as the body rolls.
Each of the two wishbones is attached to the hub
with a ball joint, and the position of the two ball
joints determines the steering axis. The steering
axis is critically important to achieving high-speed

The G20's multi-link front

suspension is essentially
a modified version of a
double wishbone. The
changes that were
made--the addition of a
third link, and the angled
position of the upper
link--make ususally
contradictory geometry
goals possible.

stability, reducing torque steer, and providing strong cornering.

Designing a suspension with a steering axis that leans back severely
(one with a lot of caster) requires mounting the upper arm back so far
that it often interferes with other vital components, such as the brake
mastery cylinder. Angling the steering axis so that the imaginary line
between the two ball joints passes through the center of the contact
patch (which is important for reducing torque steer) also requires
pushing the upper arm in toward the middle of the car, often resulting
in either an arm that is too short, or interference between the
suspension and the engine.
To achieve the ideal steering axis without causing the associated
packaging problems, Nissan developed a third link called, of all
things the "third link". Instead of the steering axis being determined
by the upper and lower ball joints, it is determined by the lower ball
joint, and a shaft held solidly by the third link. The third link is then
attached to the car by the upper link, so the third link tilts with the hub
as camber changes.
With the third link in place, the upper link can then be positioned with
much more freedom. One of the freedoms taken with the mounting of
the upper link was angling it forward from the car to the third link, at
an angle of about 35 degrees. This minor change is an incredibly
clever way to make the suspension behave differently during
cornering than during straight line driving.
To keep the wheel straight up and down on a double wishbone (or in
this case a pseudo double wishbone) suspension, especially one with
a high degree of body roll such as a performance luxury car, you
have to have a relatively aggressive camber curve. When going over
bumps in a straight line, though, you don't want the camber changing
that much. The angled upper arm solves this problem. With the wheel
pointed straight ahead, the upper arm pulls in at an angle as the
suspension compresses. This still introduces some negative camber,
but some of the movement is translated in to a rearward tilt instead.
As the wheel is turned, it comes closer and closer to being at a right
angle to the upper link, at which point all of that tilt is camber change.
In other words, the camber curve increases the more the steering
wheel is turned. Very clever. And as you will agree, the "multi-link"
name sure beats "double wishbone with a forward-facing upper link
and a third link controlling steering axis and holding the spring and
damper".
Multi-link and the Beam...Together
The fact that a beam--even a multi-link beam--is so simple, cheap,

and beneficial for such mundane goals an increased trunk space and
low road noise, makes it seem just plain wrong to match it with
something as sophisticated and mysterious as a multi-link front
suspension. They are, in fact, a surprisingly good match. Both the
multi-link front and multi-link beam rear suspension layouts have
been paired with struts on other Nissans. The current Sentra and
Maxima both use MacPherson struts on the front, and the multi-link
beam at the rear, while the old G20 ('91 to '96) used the same multilink front suspension as the new car, but paired it with struts in the
rear. Neither combination is as effective as the multi-link/multi-link
beam combination on the current G20.
For the purpose of this discussion, the most important fact about a
simple strut suspension is the fact that as the body rolls, the wheel
and tire roll with it. On the Sentra or Maxima, that means that as the
body rolls, the front wheels roll over while the rears remain
perpendicular to the ground. This gives the rear wheels more grip,
accentuating the front driver's propensity to understeer. One of
Nissan's reasons for replacing the rear struts with the rear multi-link
beam on both these cars was that the increased grip in the rear
allowed them to increase roll stiffness in the rear (or reduce roll
stiffness in the front), which forces the rear wheels to take more of
the cornering forces. This takes advantage of the beam's extra grip,
and decreases the burden of the front wheels. Even with the change
in roll stiffness, the multi-link beam's grip is underutilized by being
paired with struts.
On the old G20, the rear wheels rolled with the body while the fronts
were held perpindicular to the ground. To prevent this from causing
oversteer, front roll stiffness had to be increased (or rear stiffness
reduced) to force more cornering work onto the front wheels. The
new G20 can share the cornering load more evenly between the front
and rear wheels. Drive the G20 hard and you can feel both the front
and rear tires being fully utilized in a corner. It's a relatively rare
feeling in any front-wheel drive car, but especially one designed to
have totally safe handling for even the most ham-fisted driver.
The Future of the G20
While the G20's suspension it its technological high point at the
moment, another year may bring even more innovations. The rumor
mill is strongly suggesting that the 190-hp SR20VE engine featuring
variable valve timing and lift may show up in the G20 next year
mated to a unique continuously variable transmission with a
sequential six-speed shifting option. These rumors are so strong, in
fact, that we would almost call them definite if it weren't for Nissan's

recent streak of anti-enthusiast product line changes. The current

G20 is a strong hint that things may change, so be ready for a wild
high-performance G20 next year.