Vehicle Suspension Information

What Does A Suspension System Do?

The suspension is a major system found in your vehicle. It plays a vital role in stopping, steering and stability. All of the components of the suspension system absorbs all the impact and helps you maintain control when you hit bumps, obstacles or potholes, ensuring the safety and comfort of passengers. It supports the weight of the vehicle and contents, helps maintain consistent tire contact with the road, and transfers the weight of the vehicle as you round corners and turn.

The whole idea of a suspension system is to allow the vehicle body to travel over irregular surfaces undisturbed. Surely today’s vehicle suspensions enable a much more comfortable ride compared to that of the original automobiles. This is due mostly to the enhanced technology and maintenance knowledge we have today.

Suspension System Components

There are many parts to a suspension system, the important ones to the function of your vehicle being joints and pivot points. These allow a vehicle’s wheels to move up and over obstacles and to turn as you steer. As you cross over a bump or dip into a pothole, the suspension system moves in many places to accommodate these changes, resulting in a much smoother ride.

Suspension components wear out over time with prolonged use. Simply put, when they become worn out, the suspension elements don’t fit together as well as they should. This results in poor handling of the vehicle and the driver may even hear some odd noises coming from the suspension underneath the car. All of the components of your suspension system work together, so one part affects the function and quality of all the others. Having a loose joint , for example, can cause other suspension parts to wear out faster than they normally would.

Maintain Your Vehicle's Suspension

One of the suspension’s main functions is to maximize friction between the tires and the road surface. This contact between the road and tires is what affects a car’s ability to steer, brake and accelerate. A result of worn out suspension parts is uneven wear on the tires. The contact surface of new tires can actually be totally worn off in a couple of months due to poor suspension maintenance or unnoticed/neglected damage.

A trusted mechanic will be your best asset to ensure the function and safety of your suspension system. They will easily identify signs of damage or wear. Repairs can restore the correct handling to your vehicle and ensure your safety, as well.

It’s important to address small problems as quickly as possible, to avoid what could become a major and costly repair later. Remember, each component of the suspension’s structure makes up a much bigger and important system that is vital to your vehicle’s handling and safety. Keeping up with routine maintenance on your vehicle’s suspension system will help keep it driving as it should.