Nowadays, cars have entered a diversified development era. A car product loved by the majority of consumers can have many labels, such as high appearance, technological intelligence, humanization, versatility, and so on. These labels can also change and elevate with the changes of the times and the development of cars. However, I believe that as a means of transportation, people’s pursuit of driving comfort will never change. Speaking of the driving comfort of cars, we have to mention one of the three major components that both gasoline and electric cars have, the “chassis suspension” system. In the chassis suspension system, the suspension system, as the only structure that connects the upper and lower body of the car, plays a crucial role in its design and calibration. In fact, in the global automotive brands, many well-known brands have conducted research and innovation on the suspension of cars, such as Mercedes’ Magic Body Control, Toyota’s KDSS, and Nissan’s HBMC. Their birth has greatly improved the stability and comfort of car driving. So, is there a brand or technology in China that can reach or even surpass them? I think the answer is yes, it is the industry’s first new energy-exclusive intelligent body control system – BYD’s Cloud Chariot.
What is the Yunnei? At the BYD Yunnei launch event, everyone must remember the “dancing” U9 sports car, which made its debut in that way, not only attracting the attention of the public, but also proving the strength of the Yunnei intelligent vehicle body control system to the global automotive market. Yunnei is a smart vehicle body control system independently developed by BYD Group at a cost of several billion yuan over a period of 5 years. It includes the Yunnei-C intelligent damping vehicle body control system, the Yunnei-A intelligent air vehicle body control system, and the Yunnei-P intelligent hydraulic vehicle body control system, covering various driving scenarios such as home, sports, executive, off-road, and entertainment. Yunnei is a key breakthrough for BYD in the vertical control field, achieving decoupled control of the upper and lower vehicle body, with advantages such as multi-dimensional perception, precise decision-making, intelligent control, and stable execution, which can comprehensively improve the user’s driving experience and empower future high-quality intelligent driving for the whole vehicle. This time, we also experienced the actual use feeling brought by different systems through various operating conditions.
Yunche-C Intelligent Body Damping Control System If we were to classify the Yunche intelligent body control system, then Yunche-C should be considered a more popular and widely used type, as it is installed in models such as the BYD Tang, BYD Han, Tengshi N8, and the recently launched BYD Song L. Yunche-C’s continuously variable damping adjustment function can solve the discomfort of passengers in the car when driving on high-speed, undulating roads or on bumpy roads, increasing the comfort of the vehicle. During undulating roads, the system will increase low-frequency damping through cloud-based algorithms to stabilize the vehicle’s body posture when it is thrown up and down, in simple terms, it can avoid the swaying motion like being on a boat, reducing passengers’ dizziness.
When driving on cobblestone roads or gravel roads, the system automatically adjusts the damping of the suspension to a lower level, increasing the compression and extension speed of the vehicle’s suspension, allowing for quick response and resolution to continuous high-frequency impacts, resulting in a more comfortable commuting experience in urban areas. During this test drive, I had the opportunity to experience the Tengshi N8 model equipped with the Yunche C intelligent body damping control system for an extended period of time. From high-speed driving to country roads and various other road conditions, the overall comfort performance of this model with the body damping control system was better than other models in the same class without the system. In addition to handling impacts from uneven roads and bumps, the vehicle also provides strong lateral support when navigating ramps or taking sharp turns, demonstrating good stability for both the vehicle’s posture and the comfort of passengers. With the added comfort parking function, this system is completely suitable for everyday use.
Yunche-A Intelligent Air Body Control System If the Yunche-C intelligent body damping control system is only playing the role of popularizer, then the Yunche-A intelligent air body control system can be seen as a more advanced version, or a luxury benchmark for vehicle dynamic control. It uses Yunche’s precise sensing technology, Yunche’s intelligent computing center for rapid decision-making, outputting precise control strategies, controlling the air spring exhaust and intake, stiffness conversion valve, shock absorber electromagnetic valve and other adjustments to height, stiffness, and damping, achieving dynamic adjustment of body control, making the entire vehicle extremely comfortable, stable, supportive, and capable of passing through obstacles. In other words, the addition of air springs makes vehicles equipped with the Yunche-A intelligent air body control system a necessary condition for a higher-level and more enjoyable driving experience.
The Yunche-A intelligent air body control system can be adapted to different vehicle types, with an adjustable suspension stroke of up to 150mm. Vehicles equipped with the Yunche-A system can provide users with a variety of modes, including driving mode-linked suspension, welcome mode, convenient item retrieval mode, and height safety lock mode. The Yunche-A intelligent air body control system also provides electronic shock absorbers, which can achieve continuous adaptive damping adjustment. In addition to autonomously adjusting the appropriate body damping for different road conditions to ensure vehicle stability, it can also mitigate the situation of the vehicle nodding during start-up and braking, avoiding dizziness caused by riding in an electric car. The vehicle’s side tilt angle speed can also be reduced by 23%, meaning that the vehicle has more lateral support force when taking high-speed turns.
The Tengshi N7 we test drove this time is equipped with the Yunche-A intelligent air suspension system. When passing over speed bumps and potholes, the overall suspension feels resilient, and the wheels do not have any unnecessary bouncing. When encountering small potholes, the bumpiness is basically not transmitted to the car interior, and it is obvious that the overall performance of the vehicle chassis and shock absorption is very good when passing through.
On the winding mountain road, the vehicle leans slightly, and with the driving mode associated with the suspension and steering, the Tengshi N7 has good sporty attributes in sport mode, with good directional stability in corners and smooth cornering. The intelligent air body control system of the Yunche-A introduces the intelligent seat side wing function, which can quickly control the intelligent side wing seat according to the changes in body posture and steering signals, providing support to the body during cornering. This function can be used not only in sporty driving, but also has a good effect in low-speed off-road driving.
Yunche-P Intelligent Hydraulic Body Control System If Yunche-C and Yunche-A focus more on comfortable driving on the road, then the Yunche-P intelligent hydraulic body control system enhances off-road performance while also balancing road comfort. Through Yunche’s precise sensing technology and rapid decision-making by the Yunche Smart Computing Center, output control strategies are used to dynamically adjust the body control by controlling the shock absorber oil volume, damping adjustment valve, and stiffness adjustment valve. Yunche-P integrates three core technologies of mechanical, hydraulic, and electronic control into one, making it the world’s first intelligent hydraulic body control system. Currently, it is equipped on the popular Yunmo U8 and Formula Leopard Leopard 5 models.
In the suspension part, the Yunwei-P intelligent hydraulic vehicle body control system suspension adjustment stroke can reach 200mm, which can achieve both four-wheel synchronous lifting ability and single-wheel independent lifting. The system lifting force is up to 5 tons, meeting the continuous lifting demand for high-intensity off-road. At the same time, it provides multiple height adjustments, realizing various functions such as speed adjustment, convenient fetching, and intelligent welcoming.
Cross-axle conditions are one of the most common conditions in off-road driving. In order to pass smoothly, not only do you need a powerful locking function, but also having more tire grip is an essential condition for getting out of trouble. The Yunche-P intelligent hydraulic body control system provides “four-wheel drive” function. When the vehicle is in a semi-unbalanced state with a single wheel or diagonally suspended, the four-wheel drive function can deliver oil to the suspended wheel damper, lengthen the suspension stroke, improve wheel grip and overall balance of the vehicle, and ensure effective output of four-wheel drive. The four-wheel drive function of Yunche-P can allow the vehicle to have a maximum wheel difference of 620mm, and the official data shows that the vehicle’s traction index RTI value can reach over 600, which is already at the upper level among non-modified production off-road vehicle models.
Camping is a popular outdoor activity these days. If the parking spot is complex and uneven, the vehicle’s tilting will affect the rest and entertainment needs inside the vehicle. At this time, users can open the camping leveling mode. At this time, the vehicle will calculate the tilt angle through the posture control module and adjust the vehicle to a level position multiple times. The adjustment range is about 100mm up and down. If it exceeds this adjustment range, the system can only try to ensure the balance of the vehicle as much as possible.
Camping leveling function not enabled
Camping leveling function enabled Do you often encounter the situation of the tall SUV body being blocked by a 2-meter height limit bar when entering the underground garage, causing the inability to park in the garage, or encountering a lower bridge on the off-road journey, affecting the entire trip. In response to these working conditions and user pain points, the Yunche-P intelligent hydraulic body control system provides a “super low mode”. As long as the brake pedal is pressed, in the lowest mode of the body height, press and hold the height adjustment button continuously for 7 seconds, the system will automatically enter the super low mode. At this time, the system will lower the body height to 1.9 meters, and can smoothly pass through height-restricted roads or enclosed spaces.
Cloud Chariot-P ultra-low mode Since there is an ultra-low mode, there must be an ultra-high mode. In contrast to the ultra-low mode, the ultra-high mode lifts the vehicle chassis by stretching the suspension, making it easier to navigate through higher and unavoidable obstacles.
Cloud Chariot-P Ultra High Mode Future-oriented Cloud Chariot Pre-scanning System In this experience field, we also saw an EHang U8 equipped with the Cloud Chariot Pre-scanning System. The Cloud Chariot Pre-scanning System can quickly react by identifying structured road surfaces and obstacles ahead through the roof-mounted laser radar + binocular camera, and adjusting damping in linkage. It can output road surface features and elevation curves within 5-150m in front of the vehicle, with a recognition accuracy of ±3mm and a recognition accuracy of over 99% within 15m. Of course, this technology is currently in the debugging stage, and may be pushed to users for upgrades through OTA in the future. Currently, only BYD is involved in this technology.
Now the staff also demonstrated the actual application of the Cloud Carriage Pre-sighting System to us. As the U8 moves forward and identifies obstacles in its path, the vehicle will adaptively lift and increase the chassis clearance to pass through, and then gradually return to its original height after passing through the obstacle.
Summary: This time we have fully experienced the BYD Yuan and Yuan-C, as well as the Yuan-P, three applications of the Yuan intelligent vehicle body control technology in different fields and vehicle models. I personally believe that this technology is at a leading level in terms of technology, market, and user aspects in China. After all, there are not many independent car companies currently involved in vehicle chassis shock control, and BYD is at the forefront of the market. In terms of the actual driving experience of these three sets of Yuan technology, it does have better driving quality and more outstanding sporty performance compared to vehicles in the same class. Most importantly, BYD has brought down technologies such as continuous variable damping and air spring, which were originally only installed in higher-priced models, allowing more domestic users to experience high-level driving performance at a lower price. For this reason, we should give praise to BYD.