17 Jun Bensam Car Care Information – Good Suspensions

Understanding the need for a good suspension on our vehicles.

If our roads were perfect there would not be the need for any form of suspension. However our roads are not perfect. In order to keep the shocks and bumps away from vehicle users, engineers have developed all kind of mechanism’s to keep the shocks and bumps away.

During driving as the wheels on our vehicles hit potholes on our streets and roads, our suspensions compresses. When our vehicles have gone into potholes, an energy or a force of the bump are generated which causes vibrations (i.e. going off on the ‘up and down movement’) of the suspensions.

When there are good shock absorbers on a car, the shocks absorbs the energy generated by the vehicle from hitting the bump and this also prevents the suspensions from stimulating the up and down movements. When a vehicle does not have good shocks the body mechanism of the vehicle attracts the bumps, resulting in the squeakiness of our vehicle.

What function does the suspension perform?

• It has to carry the car and its weight.
• It has to keep the wheels perpendicular to the road for maximum grip.
• It has to take the forces for accelerating or braking the car.
• It has to take the torque created from the driveline.
• It has to take the forces involved when cornering the car.