How Does Clearmotion’s Active Suspension Actually Work?
If you’ve ever wished your car could glide over potholes and rough roads like they weren’t even there, you’re not alone. That’s exactly the dream Clearmotion, a US-based tech start-up, is chasing with its fully active suspension system. But what sets this system apart from the adaptive or air suspensions we’ve seen before?
Traditional suspension setups—whether passive, adaptive, or air-based—are reactive by nature. They wait for the road to throw a bump or dip at you, then do their best to smooth things out. Clearmotion’s system flips that script. Using a rotary electric motor and a hydraulic pump at each wheel, it actively manages both the upward and downward movement of the suspension. The result? The car can literally pull a wheel up over a bump or push it down into a dip, keeping the body level and the ride eerily smooth.
What’s especially clever is the system’s compactness. Instead of a maze of pipes and a central pump, each corner of the car gets its own self-contained unit. This makes it far easier to retrofit into existing vehicles—no need to design a car around the suspension. And while it runs on 48V for efficiency, a simple converter means even cars with standard 12V systems can use it.
Why Is This a Big Deal for Everyday Drivers?
Active suspension isn’t a new concept. High-end brands like Mercedes and Ferrari have played with it for years, but the tech has always been reserved for ultra-luxury or performance cars. The reasons are simple: it’s expensive, power-hungry, and often complicated to integrate.
Clearmotion’s approach is different. By simplifying the hardware and making it adaptable to a wide range of vehicles, they’re aiming to bring this next-level comfort to mainstream cars. CEO Christian Steinmann is on record saying the goal is to see this tech in mid-size vehicles within the decade—potentially as soon as 2027 in China.
The implications go beyond comfort. Because the system can individually control the load on each tire, it also improves handling and road grip. Think of it as a win-win: a smoother ride and a car that feels more planted, especially in tricky conditions.
How Does Clearmotion’s System Compare to Porsche’s Active Ride?
Porsche’s Active Ride system is widely regarded as the gold standard for active suspension in production vehicles. But it comes with a catch: it’s expensive and needs a high-voltage electrical system, which limits it to plug-in hybrids and EVs.
Clearmotion’s setup, as seen on the Nio ET9 flagship, is more accessible. It’s not quite as power-hungry and can be adapted to a broader range of vehicles. During a recent demonstration at the Horiba MIRA test track in the UK, reviewers found the system almost spooky in its effectiveness. With the system on, the usual pitch and head toss from bumpy roads simply vanished. Add in Clearmotion’s Roadmotion software—which uses cloud-based data from thousands of cars to predict and preempt road conditions—and the ride gets even smoother.
Is it as flawless as Porsche’s? Not quite. While it excels at erasing big bumps, it still lets through some of the finer road textures. That’s partly because, when the primary ride is so good, you start noticing the little things more. The system doesn’t yet have the bandwidth to filter out every high-frequency vibration, but that’s a challenge engineers are actively working on.
What’s the Role of Data and Predictive Technology in Clearmotion’s Suspension?
Here’s where things get really interesting. Clearmotion isn’t just about hardware. Their Roadmotion platform collects real-world road data from any car equipped with adaptive suspension—anything built in the last decade is fair game. This data is uploaded to the cloud, creating a detailed map of road surfaces.
Why does this matter? Because it allows the suspension to anticipate what’s coming. If your car knows there’s a pothole or a rough patch ahead, it can prepare the suspension in advance, making the ride even smoother. This predictive element is a game-changer, especially as we move toward autonomous vehicles that need to keep passengers comfortable without a human driver to swerve around hazards.
The data side of Clearmotion’s business could end up being even more valuable than the suspension hardware itself. Imagine fleets of autonomous taxis that never jostle their passengers, or navigation systems that warn you about road hazards in real time.
What Are the Real-World Benefits and Limitations?
Let’s get practical. For drivers, the immediate benefit is comfort. Long commutes, rough city streets, and even spirited drives on twisty roads all become less taxing. There’s also a safety angle—better tire contact with the road means more predictable handling and shorter stopping distances.
But there are still hurdles. The system isn’t perfect at filtering out every tiny vibration, and there’s a balance to strike between comfort and responsiveness. Softer suspension bushings could help, but they introduce a delay as the actuators work through the extra movement. It’s a classic engineering trade-off.
Cost is another factor. While Clearmotion aims to bring prices down through scale, active suspension is still more expensive than traditional setups. That said, as more automakers show interest and production ramps up, prices are expected to fall—much like we’ve seen with other advanced automotive tech.
Which Cars Will Get Clearmotion’s Suspension First?
The Nio ET9, a flagship electric vehicle from China, is the first production car to feature Clearmotion’s system as standard. Porsche is also on board, with plans to integrate the technology into future models. And according to Clearmotion’s leadership, several other major automakers are in talks.
As the technology matures and costs come down, expect to see it trickle into more mainstream vehicles. By the end of the decade, it’s not unrealistic to imagine active suspension being a common feature on mid-size sedans and crossovers.
What’s the Big Picture for Drivers and the Auto Industry?
Active suspension has long been the stuff of automotive dreams—a luxury reserved for the few. Clearmotion’s technology could finally change that, making magic-carpet rides accessible to everyday drivers. The combination of smart hardware and predictive data has the potential to redefine what we expect from our cars.
Sure, there are still kinks to iron out. But the direction is clear: smoother, safer, and smarter rides are on the horizon. And for anyone who’s ever grimaced at a pothole or dreaded a long, bumpy commute, that’s news worth getting excited about.