Anti Dive

Anti Dive

Anti Dive describes the amount the front of the vehicle Dives under breaking. As the brakes are applied, weight is transferred to the front and that forces the front to dive. Anti Dive is dependant on the vehicles center of gravity, the percentage of braking force developed at the front tires vs the rear, and the design of the front suspension.   (For the rare case where brakes are not mounted on on the suspended wheel, like "inboard brakes", this definition does not apply.)

For the very common double A Arm suspension, anti-dive is designed into the suspension based on the angle of the A Arm mounting points when viewed from the side.  These are shown as the dotted lines in the picture below.  If the intersection point of the extension lines for the mounting points is located above the neutral line, there is more than 100% anti-dive.  The picture shows about 130% anti-dive which is EXTREMELY high.  Because high anti-dive values can "feel" strange, require more complex suspension designs, and cause "rattling" type noises, typical values are in the range on 0-50%. 

Definition of Anti-Dive (from Suspension Analyzer users manual)

Programs that work with Anti Dive

We have 5 programs that work with Anti Dive when conducting Suspension Simulation. Roll Center Calculator v3.6, Roll Center Calculator Plus v3.6 and Circle Track Analyzer v3.6 all work with and can calculate Anti Dive changes of the front end of vehicles.  

Our Suspension Analyzer v2.4 program is our top of the line Suspension Program and works with Anti Dive with more precise 3D (X, Y and Z coordinates) inputs so you can design your suspension to perform the way you want.

And Circle Track Log Book v1.1 allows you to document your vehicles setup for a given track or track conditions. You can record the Anti Dive of the front suspension for future analysis.