New Mercedes-Benz C-Class to employ Tenneco's CES Technology

Tenneco Inc. has announced recently that its CES short for continuously Controlled Electronic Suspension system is going to be featured on the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class which will be launched in Stuttgart this year.

The remarkable thing about the electronically controlled suspension system is the fact that it continuously adjusts to various road conditions and driver actions which boost stability and improved ride comfort. The system also allows Tenneco to modify vehicles for it to become accustomed to various driving factors like for instance braking, steering, accelerating, and vehicle load thus increases the handling capability and ride comfort of the vehicle.

DaimlerChrysler said that the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class makes use of up to date high-performance technologies that helps to deliver a new level of safety, agility, and comfort. The technical innovations pertained to by the world’s fifth largest automaker and producer of high quality Mercedes performance air filter --- is the company’s Agility Control System which is based on the Tenneco Continuously Controlled Electronic Suspension system.

Tennecos’s CES system continuously fine-tunes the damping levels according to road conditions and vehicle dynamics. At the core of the system is an ECU or electronic control unit that processes driver inputs and data from sensors placed at strategic locations on the vehicle.

The sensors is comprise of three accelerometers that are mounted on the body of the vehicle together with four suspension position sensors which gives information like steering wheel angle, brake pressure, vehicle speed, as well as other chassis control factors. The ECU makes use of control software that administer the all the information that the sensors gathered in real time and then gives off signal to adjust separately the damping level of each shock absorber valve. Electronic dampers enable a large array of maximum and minimum damping levels and then regulate it continuously to provide firm vehicle control and to ensure riding comfort.

The electronic shock absorbers that Tenneco used for this system are built at the company’s facility in Ermua, Spain. Tenneco is a manufacturing company with a present market value of $4.7 billion. Its headquarters is located in Lake Forest, Illinois and has approximately 19,000 employees worldwide. It is also one of the world’s largest designer, marketer, and manufacturer of emission control and ride control products as well as systems for the automotive original equipment market including the aftermarket.

The products of Tenneco are marketed under the following brands: Walker®, Monroe®, Gillet™ and Clevite®Elastomer. Some of the products of Tenneco include Rancho shock absorbers, Sensa-Trac and Monroe Reflex® shocks and struts, Walker Quiet-Flow® mufflers, Dynomax performance exhaust products, and Clevite®Elastomer noise, vibration and harshness control components.

Dwyane Thomas is a part time cook and full-time auto-enthusiast. This 31-year old Civil and Environmental graduate is a consultant at one of the engineering firms in Pennsylvania.