MOBILE STEERING & SUSPENSION SERVICE

Your vehicle’s suspension system is effectively a complex series of components designed to work together to limit the vibrations and undulations from the road surface, providing a smooth, controlled and comfortable driving experience. Great brakes and tyres need to be in full contact with the road to work most effectively. In fact, at 60km, a worn shock absorbers can add up to 2 meters to your braking distance!

The principle suspension components include a coil spring and shock absorber or dampener as it is sometimes referred to. These components work together to dampen down and cushion the vehicle by absorbing the impact from potholes and other minor imperfections in the road. This keeps your vehicle stable and your tyres firmly in contact with the road surface for the maximum amount of time.

Maintaining a healthy vehicle suspension system is vital if you are to gain the optimum comfort, stability and handling characteristics from your vehicle.

It is not always obvious that a problem in your vehicle suspension system is present. This is generally due to a gradual loss of performance in the principle suspension parts and because this happens over time a motorist may not always feel the gradual decrease in suspension performance.

What is a Shock Absorber ?

Shock absorbers are attached to the tires and are used to absorb road shock, providing a smooth ride. Shock absorbers are basically cylindrical containers filled with gas or liquid. They are mounted from the suspension to the frame of the car.

When you drive over a bump, the piston inside the shocks move up and down against the liquid or gas. Shock absorbers take a beating day after day, especially on bumpy roads. The gas or liquid will eventually leak, resulting in an unstable or rugged ride. With bad shock absorbers, it is possible that the tyres could lose contact with the road and tyres can wear out prematurely.

When should you replace the Shock Absorbers?

• Verify that the shock absorbers are bad. Unstable ride (bouncy).
• Tyres losing contact with the road.
• Hard impact when you drive over a bump
• Fluid around the shocks.

Our recommendations

It is a good practice to replace the shock absorbers every 50,000km. You can easily find out if you need new shocks by doing a bounce test on your vehicle. Go to the rear corner of your car and push down on the rear of the car. If your car bounces up and down a few times, it is time to change the shock absorbers.