Japan’s largest manufacturer of hydraulic solutions and one of the largest suppliers of original equipment shock absorbers for vehicle manufacturers, KYB, has introduced ActRide, a new retrofit suspension system. This system completely changes the way drivers interact with their vehicles and adjust driving settings. Unlike traditional systems that require mechanical work, ActRide allows users to adjust driving characteristics directly – from a smartphone.
Semi-active suspension
The system is connected to a mobile phone via Bluetooth, and management is performed via a mobile application that offers precise adjustment without the need for mechanical interventions, tools or lifting the vehicle. The heart of this semi-active suspension system consists of shock absorbers controlled by solenoid valves, which represents a significant step forward compared to the usual systems with step (stepper) engines.
ActRide uses sensors that monitor the car’s movement and acceleration in real time, while the control unit processes this data to ensure optimal stability. Thanks to solenoids and a new design, changes in settings are continuous and up to eight times faster than competing solutions.
Postavke na “klik”
The app’s user interface offers sliding scales from 0 to 100 for front and rear suspension, allowing for a fine balance between comfort and sporty performance. The key advantage of this technology is the ability to change settings on the fly, even while driving. In their promotional materials, they say that choosing suspension settings (sport, comfort, or any combination in between) is as easy as choosing a song with playlist. Precise tuning the suspension with this innovation therefore becomes available to a much wider circle of drivers.
Although the system was initially developed for the Toyota Hiace, KYB plans to expand the availability of ActRide to a wider range of vehicles if market demand is satisfactory. In addition to Japan, KYB also has three production plants in Europe, and their factories around the world produce over a million shock absorbers per week.