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The modern vehicle suspensions are developed considering several structural and elastokinematics requirements. The elastokinematic behavior and how the suspension responds and transmits the forces and moments from the tires to the chassis have great influence on vehicle dynamics. In a torsion beam suspension, also known as twist beam suspension, parameters such as roll center height, roll stiffness, toe-in and camber variation can be optimized by altering the shape of the torsion beam. The development of a torsion beam that provides an optimal behavior specific to a particular vehicle is a challenge that demands a great amount of time and costs, being developed mainly by the trial and error method. To assist the development process of this study, DOE studies and optimization algorithms are applied. The combination of these methods allow to identify which are the torsion beam shape parameters that most influence the elastokinematic behavior.

Automotive manufacturers have intensified their efforts to increase the ride comfort in all light commercial vehicles segments. Experimental methods and numerical models have been developed in order to minimize the participation of human subjects in such studies. The ride comfort is directly related with the parameters concerning the engine suspension project. Parameters like elastic members positioning and their elastic properties have great influence in the vehicle comfort. This paper discusses the engine suspension participation in the ride comfort level of the light commercial vehicles, presenting vibration levels in the passenger compartment proceeding of engine and vehicle suspensions. The prediction of the phenomenon is discussed through multibody numerical procedures.