Does your car feel more like a bucking bronco these days than a sophisticated form of transportation? If so, you may be having issues with the suspension, and this will certainly need to be addressed from both a safety and practicality point of view. So, if you're struggling to hang on to the vehicle when you're driving around the corner, what could be the issue?
Understanding the Challenge
Most people think that a suspension system is just designed to cope with uneven roads or potholes. While this is part of the equation, the system is also required to balance the weight of the vehicle as it is being driven around a corner. After all, the suspension needs to keep the vehicle largely level while it encounters gravitational forces, and this is quite a challenge in and of itself.
Suspension Technology
There are many different components involved in a typical suspension system, and each of them has to work together in order to achieve the objective. Most modern cars have shock absorber struts filled with fluid that travel through internal chambers in order to counteract an opposing force. A coiled spring is also attached to the shock absorber, and this is intended to temper the movement of the shock absorber and keep it from moving back and forth too much. Both of these components have to be in good working order for the system to work as it should.
Wearing Out
Shock absorber/spring combinations are attached at one end to the body of the car and on the other to a corner of the axle. There needs to be a certain amount of give at each of these mounting points, and rubber bushes and bearings take care of this flexibility. These disposable parts will wear down as time goes by, and as they do, this will affect the efficiency of the system.
While the shock absorbers themselves are designed to last much longer, they will also wear out over time, and when this happens, the car will become very difficult to control.
Taking Action
It is possible to check whether the suspension system has seen its better days by pressing down sharply on the front wing of the vehicle and letting go. The car should then bounce back up and settle into its original position if all is well. If not, you will certainly need to take it to a local car servicing technician so that they can replace the offending parts.
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