Quantifying the Change in Ride Height Due to Braking: Brake Dive Test Data

The concept of brake dive is not new and most drivers are aware of this phenomenon. However, no known data is available to quantify the amount of change in vehicle height during braking. Often investigators involved in under-ride/over-ride collisions or relatively low speed collisions are faced with questions such as, “How much does the front bumper dip during braking?” or, “Is it likely that the relative bumper height mismatch is due to pre-impact braking?” This paper will provide the results of field testing aimed at providing answers to these and associated questions. The study will also review the factors that affect brake dive and the parameters under which these factors can be determined or be reasonably estimated. We consider how these factors can be used to predict the amount of change in bumper height.