Delphi's Leading Edge Damping Control Technologies Help To Smooth The Ride

From passive to semi-active, OEMs can count on Delphi for a full range of damping technology

Five new customers for MagneRide(TM) will be in production by 2007

TROY, Mich., Sept. 1 -- Delphi Corporation's high performance, semi-active suspension control system, MagneRide(TM), currently featured on six premium vehicles in the U.S., has been contracted for five new vehicle applications to be in production by 2007.

Two programs are for European marque vehicles as previously announced. Details of these programs must remain confidential at this time.

This industry-first, damping control system adjusts a vehicle's suspension up to one thousand times a second to help flatten corners, smooth the ride and significantly enhance vehicle refinement and body control. The effect is a remarkably smooth, supple and very well controlled ride.

"Delphi is very excited about working with two new European customers for MagneRide, which will help them differentiate their respective brands in the high performance market," said Volker Barth, president, Delphi Europe, Middle East and Africa. "We also continue to support the market with a full portfolio of damping control and air spring technologies in order to provide OEMs the opportunity to achieve their desired ride characteristics, which is a critical touchpoint for consumers, on varying classes of vehicles."

  Delphi's full range portfolio includes:

  Controlled Damping

MagneRide -- a high-performance, semi-active suspension control system that responds in real time to road and driving conditions based on input from sensors that monitor body and wheel motions. This production-proven system provides fast, smooth, continuously variable damping in a cost effective and reliable package that helps reduce body motion and increases tire contact with the road on all types of surfaces. Delphi MagneRide provides superior large motion control and progressive, agile damping that may quickly and powerfully affect transient handling as well as overall vehicle comfort and refinement.

Bi-State Real Time Damping -- designed for up-level sport-utility vehicles as well as passenger car platforms, Bi-State Real Time Damping is a semi- active, two position monotube damping control system that automatically responds in real time to road and driving conditions based upon sensors that monitor vehicle motion and driver input. The result is a smooth, refined ride with very little vehicle body heave, roll or pitch, regardless of the load. Over 650,000 Bi-State Real Time Damping systems are currently in service on five full size SUVs in North America, the largest single semi-active suspension application in the global automotive industry.

Manual Selectable Ride -- a selectable damping control system where the driver controls the ride characteristics (normal or trailering modes) by the flip of a switch. The very simple stand-alone system contains four two- position monotube shock absorbers with an internal solenoid valve designed with an eye towards improved reliability packaging ease and suspension tuneability. The system is intended for dual-purpose vehicles, which could benefit from two distinct damper performance levels. Delphi's Manual Selectable Ride system offers great value with outstanding damping performance.

Premium Passive Damping

Monotube Damper -- combines functionality of the cylinder and reservoir tubes of a twin-tube damper into one tube for reduced mass and increased damping performance. This premium passive system offers flexible valving, provides better heat dissipation properties, achieves high forces from light, compact components, and provides quick damping response.

Twin-Tube Damper -- Delphi's twin-tube damper family offers a wide range of tuning possibilities for superior handling and comfort. Other benefits of this system include independent compression and rebound tuning, flexible tuning over a broad range of damper piston velocities and fine-tuning capability. Delphi offers minimized dead length and low friction levels for the highest level of ride comfort.

Amplitude Selective Damping -- provides variable effort, position- independent damping through a clever modification of the damper piston rod. For low amplitude damper motions, damper fluid flows through a secondary hydraulic circuit to improve ride comfort and increase road isolation. For high amplitude damper motions, a floating piston closes the secondary hydraulic circuit and thereby provides increased damping for great vehicle body motion control. This system is available for both shock absorber and suspension strut applications.

Super Digressive Twin-Tube Valving -- incorporates a combination of blow- off and deflected disc valving in both the damper piston and base valves to generate damping forces that are effectively "flat" over a broad range of damper piston velocities. Additionally, a highly tunable orifice disc system allows for improved low speed damping control. The result is superior wheel and body control for significantly increased comfort levels without compromised ride and handling performance.

"As indicated by the announcement of five new customer programs, the global automotive market continues to embrace Delphi MagneRide semi-active suspension control system, which indicates a strong desire for superior safety and comfort," said Dan Warrell, business line executive, chassis systems. "We will continue to invest in our technology development, in advanced systems as well as in our traditional portfolio, to further help OEMs differentiate their vehicles and provide the highest level of performance and value to their consumers."

At Delphi, we help make cars safer, cleaner, more efficient, and fun to drive. For more information about Delphi, visit Delphi's media room at http://www.delphi.com/media .