Understanding Car Suspension and Tire Alignment

The suspension has direct interaction with the steering system, which allows us to control the car. Suspension is essential for cars, because it can absorb energy from bumps and jolts when we drive on the road. This would make the car more comfortable to drive and easier to control. There are multiple springs, struts and other shock absorbing components in our suspension system. Continuous bumps will cause these components to weaken. It should be noted that even the tiniest vibration, jolts and bumps would have a direct effect on the longevity of our suspension system

Because suspension is essential for cushioning, cornering and road handling; we should check it properly. Although suspension isn’t as critical as the braking system, it is still considered as an essential component. It does play a critical part in maintaining our safety on the road. Broken or worn suspension system may cause severe accidents and cars could actually roll over even when the road condition is ideal. Because the suspension system is directly related to our comfort, symptoms of malfunction could become quite obvious, such as noise, vibration and uneven tire wear, especially when we are on bumpy road or while cornering.

Driving habits and overall operating conditions could also affect how suspension components could wear out. When these components have worn out to certain extent, then immediate replacement is needed. We should also consider the frequency of maintenance tasks, such as wheel alignment and chassis lubrication. Our priority should be focused on replacing any damaged component that could keep the car from operating properly. One of the maintenance job needed is to make sure that we have properly lubricated the chassis. Tire alignment is important to extend the life of our tires.

When tires are not properly aligned, excessive tire wear could occur and this could result in premature tires failure. In general, good quality tires could be as high as $600, so it’s important for us to make sure that they would last longer. In this case, we should be sure to do regular adjustment and alignment checks. These simple steps could potentially save us more than a few hundreds of dollars over the lifetime of our car. It should be easy to know whether our car isn’t properly aligned and this is indicated by the pulls to one side when we release the steering war.

Tires are essentially the contact points between the road and our car. It is important to keep them in good condition, because they can be quite expensive. The pressure of our tire should be within the recommended range and tires should also be considered as the safety components of our car, other than the braking system. Having tire pressure too low or too highs could affect braking and handling. In this case, we should keep our tires properly inflated at ideal level to ensure maximum tire life and reduced wear. According to researches, proper inflation can help us save fuel.