Understanding Your Car?s Suspension
Usually, when we think about what makes a car work, we turn our attention to the internal combustion engine. After all, the engine generates the power required to get the car moving. However, mechanics will tell you that your car’s suspension is, in many ways, just as important — without it, you would not be able to control your car while it moves.
Even the flattest roads have irregularities that interact with the wheels of your car on the surface. As the engine makes your car move backwards and forwards, bumps in the road cause the wheels to move up and down. If it wasn’t for suspension, all of that vertical energy would be transferred to your vehicle’s frame, resulting in the wheels losing contact with the road altogether. Gravity would then pull the car back down, slamming your car back down to earth — not good for the health of your vehicle. Your car’s suspension absorbs all of that vertical energy, enabling your car’s frame to remain undisturbed while the wheels bounce about on the road’s imperfections.
Car suspension parts
The car suspension parts are located on the chassis — the underpart of your vehicle which contains many important systems, including the steering system. The two essential parts of the suspension include:
- Springs: Most commonly coil springs, which compress and expand in order to absorb the vertical energy while you’re driving. However, while springs do a great job of absorbing energy, they’re not so effective at dissipating it. Without a dampening device, the energy from the bump would cause the springs to continue bouncing, making for a very bumpy ride indeed.
- Shock absorbers: These are necessary to control the vertical energy absorbed by the springs.? Shock absorbers reduce the magnitude of bumps by turning the suspension’s kinetic energy into heat which can be dissipated via hydraulic fluid.
Front and rear suspension
Because the front wheels and the back wheels of a car exist on two separate axles, cars usually have different suspensions for front and rear. The MacPherson strut is one of the most common suspension types for front wheels; it combines the coil spring and shock absorber into one unit, making for a lighter suspension system for smaller cars. Larger cars are more likely to use a double-wishbone suspension, which has two wishbone-shaped arms, each with its own coil spring and shock absorber. Generally, in modern cars, any suspension that can be used at the front of a car can also be used at the rear.
Problems with car suspension
When you get a car service, your mechanic will check to make sure that your car’s suspension is functioning correctly. Some of the problems that might arise with car suspension include:
- Worn shock absorbers, which may cause your car to ride poorly on rough roads, bouncing about a lot. When your car is parked, try pushing down on one of its corners; a vehicle with good shock absorbers will only bounce two or three times before stopping.
- Spring fatigue, which may cause your car to appear lower than usual and result in incorrect wheel alignment.
- Worn ball joints, which may be the problem if you’re noticing strange clunking sounds while driving. Ball joints can wear if they’re not lubricated properly, or simply because it’s been too long since they were last replaced.
