Have you ever ridden in someone else’s vehicle and felt the difference in how it drives compared to your own? Did you feel the difference in how it handled the curves and went smoothly over bumps? Did their vehicle make a good first impression? That is all due to the vehicle suspension, which might make it the first or last of many times you will take a drive in their vehicle. A vehicle’s suspension is the combination of several parts and components which work together to give you the smoothest driving experience possible, while you maintain complete control of your vehicle. It balances force that comes from increased speed or acceleration, and working with the energy and force from bumps and absorption. Wise Geek online explains that energy as “when a vehicle accelerates down a road, bumps cause forward energy to be converted into vertical energy, which travels through the frame of the vehicle. Without coil and leaf springs to absorb this, the vertical energy would cause the vehicle to jump up off the road, reducing tire friction and control. The car would then come bounding back down with even greater force, making for a very uncomfortable and dangerous ride.” According to Newton’s laws of motion, all forces have both magnitude and direction. A bump in the road causes the wheel to move up and down perpendicular to the road surface. No road or highway is completely flat, and that is the primary need for a good suspension system.

The suspension components making up this critical part of driving include the chassis or frame, coil springs, leaf springs, dampeners including struts and shock absorbers, and anti-swing or torsion bars. A suspension system usually includes a combination of those aforementioned parts. Each has an important job within the system, and all work together in their respective roles to keep your vehicle on the road and at a manageable ride. Read the rest of this entry »