If you are not familiar with cars, a car suspension may be a mystery to you. However, good suspension is an important part of your car. You will experience more stability and even sometimes dramatic improvements when replacing worn suspension components in your vehicle.
How a car suspension works:
A car suspension system is part of the car’s chassis. If you want to understand how a car suspension works, it is important to understand how each of its parts interacts with one another.
- Frame – Supports other parts of the car chassis, like suspension components, the engine, transmission and body of the car.
- Suspension system – Allows for a comfortable ride by absorbing bumps and providing stability & balance while supporting the vehicle’s weight.
- Steering system – Turns the front corner suspension components for directional control.
- Wheel Bearings & Tires – Allow the vehicle to roll while providing friction contact with the road.
Functions of a vehicle suspension:
- It provides Stability for the frame and body of the vehicle such as Leaning or Rolling in Corners as well as Nose Diving while breaking.
- Cushions the vehicle and passengers from bumps, objects and the general terrain of the road.
- Dampens the extension of the Springs after absorbing the bumps to prevent the vehicle from continuing to bounce down the road after going over a bump.
- Allows the front wheels to turn to provided directional control.
- Maintains even downwards force on your Tires to provide proper traction/contact with the road surface.
Suspension Systems consists of many components and in multiple configurations. The most common components that wear from use are Shock Absorbers and Struts, along with Ball Joints, Control Arm Bushings and Stabilizer Bar Links. At DeRosa Automotive our Oil Change Services include a test drive and inspection of these components for your comfort, stability and safety on the road.
Modifications through Lifting or Lowering a vehicle;
For those who have Jeeps, Trucks and SUV’s that want better ground clearance or simply to look cooler a vehicle may be raise through the additions of adjustable Coil Over Struts or Shock, adding Spacer Blocks or adding an Air Bag System. Sometimes it can be a simple as re-aligning torsion bars for Larger Trucks however, wheel alignments can be affected depending on the design of your suspension so be aware of the potential need for an alignment and or Tire wear if things can’t be set perfect by design.
Lowering a vehicle helps with stability and increased downforce at speed and can look quite nice as well. This reduces ground clearance however the benefit is also an increases your vehicles cornering stability from a lower center of gravity. Typically this is achieved through a Coil Over Adjustable suspension replacement of Struts and Shocks and once again will likely required alignment and or may result in some uneven tire wear.