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The Honda Accord Euro
Lowered centr e of gravity and higher roll centre
Lowering the engines and fuel tank within the Accord Euro platform has helped to shave 18mm off the
car's centre of gravity, improving cornering stability. And greater roll stiffness results from the 75mm
wider front and rear tracks.
Furthermore, the suspension geometry has been set up to raise the new Accord Euro's roll centre axis (the
point about which it rolls during cornering).
Since the amount of body roll is related to the distance between the roll centre and the centre of gravity (if
they were at the same height, the car would not roll at all) the aim is to raise the roll centre relative to the
centre of gravity. Suspension design plays a key part in determining the location of the roll centre and by
optimising the hypothetical suspension arm length, the chassis team have achieved a higher roll centre axis,
while minimising suspension jack-up.
The result, in simple terms, means passengers can enjoy a stable, flat ride, minimal body roll, linear
cornering feel and a high level of controllability at all times.
Greater ride comfort
Contributing to a comfortable, smooth ride are an increased suspension rebound travel front and rear,
larger compliance bushes in the front suspension and a floating rear subframe capable of greater
absorption of bumps and road noise.
The Accord Euro features dampers utilising internal deflector plates, a first for a production Honda
vehicle. While most conventional dampers are tuned to provide a compromise between ride comfort and
sporty handling at different speeds, the new Super Progressive Valve is engineered to provide ideal
damping rates at both low and high speeds.
With a typical suspension unit, damping forces rise with the speed of damper compression, such as occurs
when the vehicle encounters road irregularities at high speed. This can cause significant ride harshness and
noise that reduces passenger comfort and enjoyment. However the new dampers are tuned to provide the
ideal damping rates for comfort and smoothness at low speeds, while also limiting the maximum damping
forces to reduce ride harshness at higher speeds.
In this way the Accord Euro provides a wider range of comfortable ride quality and exceptional road
holding under a wide variety of driving speeds and conditions.
Deflector plate technology
Honda's new dampers automatically adjust compression damping characteristics to suit the vehicle speed,
cornering forces and road surface. The dampers use an ingenious "deflector plate stack" that deflects
when the compression forces reach a certain level, such as when encountering a large bump or dip in the
road at high speeds. When these severe forces act on an ordinary damper, oil cannot move quickly enough
through the damping orifices and the effective damping rate climbs, resulting in an excessive shock
transmitted into the vehicle body.
With the new system, when severe conditions are encountered, the plate stack deflects, allowing oil to pass
through at a higher rate and in essence "capping" the damping rate at a preset level. This markedly reduces
the shock transmitted into the body while enhancing handling stability and road holding.
While the amount of oil passing through the damper orifices always remains consistent in different
situations, the Accord Euro's system allows an increased flow rate in extreme situations, thereby limiting
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