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TERRITORY REDEFINES THE HANDLING EQUATION

Car-like levels of ride and handling previously considered unattainable in similar vehicles will be a hallmark of the new Ford Territory.

An all-new front suspension and a specially tailored version of the award-winning Control Blade Independent Rear Suspension will provide Territory with excellent levels of steering, traction, comfort and handling.

"This is an exceptionally exciting program that redefines handling for a vehicle like this," said Vehicle Dynamics Manager Stephan Presser.

"We have set ourselves very aggressive targets in vehicle dynamics for the Territory program and we are on track to deliver.

"Our aim is to provide drivers with a "no compromise" vehicle offering great steering feel and control, combined with excellent levels of comfort and security."

Front suspension

The all-new Virtual Pivot Control Link front suspension is just one example of the depth of engineering in the Territory program.

The Virtual Pivot Control Link front suspension is a key component of Territory's handling system.

Engineered using premium European and Japanese products as benchmarks, the system introduces a front suspension set-up not previously available on an Australian engineered vehicle.

"This is a highly sophisticated four-link design typically seen on imported vehicles costing many thousands more dollars," said Presser.

The Virtual Pivot Control Link front suspension in Territory consists of a Short and Long Arm (SLA) with double lower balljoint, working in tandem with a forward-mounted steering rack.

"Traditionally, an SLA suspension consists of a one-piece lower-control arm with one balljoint connecting the arm and the knuckle to act as a real pivot. The new Territory axle introduces two separate links, which create a virtual pivot point at their imaginary intersection – hence the Virtual Pivot Control Link name.

"This allows us to place the lower pivot point as far outboard as necessary to achieve our vehicle dynamics targets, irrespective of the physical restrictions of brake rotors, calipers and wheels," said Presser.

Territory is the first locally engineered vehicle to employ a forward-mounted steering rack.

Employing a forward-mounted steering rack allowed for an optimal positioning of the half shafts driving the front wheels, and for dynamics engineers to achieve outstanding compliance characteristics.

The Chassis Engineering & Development team has also created an all-new solution for the front suspension stabiliser bar attachment.

"Precise and early body roll control is crucial, to achieve car-like handling on a vehicle with Territory's command seating position and consequent higher centre of gravity.

"By extending the stabiliser bar and attaching it to the knuckle with a stiff double balljoint link we achieved more efficiency from our stabiliser bar system.

"However by optimising the upper link position with respect to kingpin axis we also eliminated unwanted inputs into the steering system due to vehicle roll on undulating roads."

Presser said the Territory engineering team explored various options for the front suspension architecture, but the adoption of the Virtual Pivot Control Link set-up provided car-like suspension targets.

"It meant we could still maintain the Ford DNA of responsive handling and precise steering that we built into the BA Falcon.

"Extensive CAE modelling proved we were able to build on this strength – resulting in a no-compromise suspension set-up that gives the best of both worlds to the customer."

Handling advantages

Presser said the underlying factor behind every decision concerning Territory dynamics was to keep the vehicle true to the Ford brand promise of 'great to drive'.

"Agility, stability, precision and comfort are the key attributes of Ford DNA. The new Virtual Pivot Control Link front suspension delivers on all those goals and ensures car-like driving dynamics for Territory.

“We set ourselves very high targets for our scrub radius and kingpin offset. Moving the lower pivot point allowed us to achieve those targets to ensure real benefits for drivers.

“Our scrub radius target means excellent braking stability while the kingpin offset level means an absence of torque steer and steering wheel vibrations. That all adds up to ride and handling levels not seen in SUVs.

"We have been able to avoid unwanted steering effects – or torque steer – despite a powerful drive train feeding traction through the front wheels. The Virtual Pivot Control Link suspension was critical in achieving this goal."

Presser said the turning circle was evidence of Territory's excellent low-speed handling.

"Territory has a turning circle of just 11.4 metres, meaning the vehicle is perfectly suited to tight urban environments such as shopping centre car parks."

"We were able to meet our predetermined target of the compromise between steering precision and stability – at all speeds. Territory provides the driver with a reassuring feeling of contact with the road as well as excellent steering feel."

Rear-wheel drive Territory owners will enjoy the same benefits, with the new Virtual Pivot Control Link front suspension standard equipment on both variants.

"Our targets for RWD Territory from a steering and on-road handling perspective were equally high. We wanted to provide customers with exceptional levels of ride and handling.

"It was always our intention to use the new front suspension across the board. That strategy also ensures maximum efficiency from a manufacturing standpoint."

Front suspension geometry

The following data applies to Territory front suspension with the BA Falcon suspension as reference:

Front roll centre height at kerb 132 mm (BA Falcon 62 mm)
Front track width 1620 mm (1560 mm)
Spring rate 50 Newtons/millimetre (33 N/mm)
Anti-roll bar diameter 27 mm (24 mm)
Rebound travel from kerb height 93 mm (82 mm)
Wheelbase 2842 mm (2829 mm)
"It all adds up to a suspension system that provides exhilarating driving dynamics, while positively ensuring maximum traction levels and passenger comfort," said Presser.

Rear suspension

The rear suspension on Territory is a specially tailored version of the same Control Blade IRS that made its debut in the award-winning BA Falcon.

"This IRS was engineered with Territory in mind as well as BA, and provides an excellent ride and handling platform that we tested thoroughly during the BA program," said Presser.

"However, we have worked extensively on the Territory program to tune the Control Blade IRS to suit the new vehicle.

"Using sophisticated Computer Aided Engineering we were able to test many different levels of suspension tune in a virtual environment before we built our first prototype vehicle."

Presser said the different body structure, higher roll centres and higher centre of gravity in Territory meant a thorough revision of suspension settings:

Roll centre heights increased by 60 mm to correspond with the command seating position and higher centre of gravity
Rebound travel increased 20 mm for additional wheel articulation
Rear track increased 30 mm
Spring rates increased 30 per cent
Suspension bushes retuned for best balance between comfort, precision, agility and stability
“In essence the architecture is the same as in BA Falcon, with the Control Blade decoupling the ride and handling components. That means Territory provides excellent levels of control over toe and camber without sacrificing ride comfort.

"The great benefit of Control Blade IRS is that it's been designed to separate suspension functions, allowing an optimal tune for varying conditions.

“As a result, Territory's Control Blade IRS isolates harshness, while still ensuring excellent handling, superior stability and high levels of driver control."

Presser said the Control Blade IRS offered significant braking advantages.

"Drivers will immediately notice a reassuring 'anti-dive' under braking force, which means very flat body control and greatly enhanced stability."

How does it work?

The ‘Control Blade’ is the dominant feature of the IRS – a longitudinal trailing arm with a large, plush bush at one end. It provides high levels of ride comfort, while providing the freedom to let the lateral links define toe and camber under traction and cornering loads.

This feature effectively isolates the handling components of the suspension from the road noise and impact harshness components of the suspension.

The Control Blade IRS is mounted in a steel subframe, bolted directly to the underbody for increased stiffness.

The Control Blade IRS won the Silver Award at the 2002 Society of Automotive Engineers Australasia (SAE-A) Engineering Excellence Awards.

Brakes

Braking capacity on Territory has been designed to accommodate the different characteristics of the new vehicle to meet the high standards set by the BA Falcon.

This has been achieved by using bigger diameter rotors and incorporating vented rotors on the rear instead of solid discs.

Front rotors on Territory measure 322 mm x 28 mm (BA 298 x 28) and rear rotors 328 mm x 26 mm (BA 303 x 16), with twin piston calipers on the front and single piston calipers on the rear.

Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) is standard on all versions, providing optimum braking performance, maximum vehicle stability and shortest possible stopping distance in typical braking situations.

The anti-lock brake (ABS) system on Territory has been optimised using a unique gravel road logic designed by Ford and Bosch engineers specifically to cope with Australian road conditions.