What is a magnetic damper? The dampers on your car are probably made out of springs and gas struts, the most common type out there.

But there is another, more advanced type of damper: magnetorheological dampers.

Magnetorheological (MR) dampers, called MagneRide, first appeared in 2002 on the Cadillac Seville luxury car.

What is a magnetic damper?

These systems can vary the suspension to make for a stiffer or smoother ride and first generation was manufactured by automotive parts group Delphi Corporation and contained a single electromagnetic coil.

Since then, the system has been made available on a wide range of cars.

The MagneRide system was bought by Chinese automotive company BeijingWest Industries (BWI) and is now in its third generation.

What are magnetorheological dampers?

As you might be able to guess from the name, it involves a magnet – in this case an electromagnet – to alter the characteristics of the damper.

Adaptive dampers are a must-have on almost all modern luxury cars.

They allow the driver to change the character of the car from supple and luxurious one moment to firm and sporty the next.

Magnetorheological dampers respond in a split second, just by turning on or shutting off the electromagnet.

The latest generation of MagneRide, created by the BWI Group, now uses two electromagnetic coils inside each damper, which improves the system’s responsiveness.

Which cars have this system?

Plenty of General Motors models like the Cadillac Escalade, Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Corvette have these adaptive dampers as standard.

In addition, MR dampers can be found on models from Audi, Ford, Ferrari and Lamborghini and Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

Tesla MRC Suspension

Tesla has not developed the relevant suspension, but there is already a company on the market that has developed and patented it, and we are the only overseas distributor, for more information please click here