| MadSci Network: Engineering |
Hello Vinit,
Leaf spring suspensions are designed to give a vehicle a lot of load carrying capability without 'bottoming out'. That is why they are used mainly on trucks and SUV's today. They tend to be less comfortable than coil springs for several reasons.
One reason that leaf springs give a less comfortable ride is that the car body (and passengers' bodies)are connected to the wheels with almost no 'give' in side-to-side or front to back directions. Leaf springs flex only in the vertical direction. This means that side loads and frontal accelerations due to road bumps are transmitted to the body (and you) much more than multi-link, coil type suspensions.
If high load carrying and heavy duty operation are not needed, then I would guess that the multi-point suspension could be substituted (at least in theory).
Take a look at the following links to give you more detailed information about suspensions and leaf springs, as well as dampening devices (shock absorbers) that I did not discuss.
Good Luck,
Jay Shapiro
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Engineering.