Understanding Car Suspension: The Key To Smoother And Safer Rides

A car’s driving experience is not complete unless it has a balanced suspension system. Most car buyers keep the driving comfort in the back seat until they encounter broken roads or uneven terrain. A well-tuned suspension system smoothens all the bumps, potholes, and uneven surfaces and gives you a smooth ride. We explain to you how a suspension system works, what are its components, common issues, and maintenance tips.

What is a Car Suspension System?

A suspension system is a mechanical system that connects your car’s chassis to the wheels. The functions of a suspension system include:

• Support the weight of the vehicle
• Ensure the tyres are in contact with the ground
• Absorbs road shocks and bumps
• Maintain vehicle stability while driving

The car’s suspension system consists of several components, including springs, shock absorbers, struts, rods, linkages, bearings and bushings. Each of these components plays a vital role in ensuring your car can absorb road shocks, handle properly, and remain stable regardless of the terrain.

Types of Suspension Systems

There are various types of suspension systems used in cars. Here's a breakdown of the most common suspension systems:

Leaf Spring Suspension: Leaf springs consist of multiple layers of metal, or "leaves," bound together. This system acts as both a spring and a damper, making it suitable for vehicles carrying heavy loads, like trucks or SUVs.

Trailing Arm Suspension: In this system, the trailing arms are attached to the vehicle’s frame and allow for up and down movement of the wheels. It is typically used in rear suspensions of vehicles.

Double-Wishbone Suspension: Double-wishbone suspension uses two wishbone-shaped arms to connect the wheel to the car’s chassis. This setup allows for precise control over the wheel’s movement and improves handling, especially during sharp turns. It's commonly found in performance-oriented vehicles.

McPherson Strut: McPherson strut is a combination of a shock absorber and coil spring into a single assembly. It occupies less space and is lighter than other suspension systems. McPherson struts are widely used in front-wheel drive cars.

Air Suspension: Air suspension is a premium suspension system, usually equipped in luxury cars. It uses compressed air bellows that replace traditional coil springs. Most air suspension systems are known to offer adjustable ride height and greater comfort.

Multi-Link Suspension: Multi-link suspension uses multiple linking arms to precisely control the wheel’s movement. This setup is mostly used in performance cars as it offers excellent handling characteristics.

Non-Independent Suspension: In a non-independent suspension, the movement of one wheel on the axle affects the other. This setup is durable and typically used in older cars or heavy-duty vehicles like trucks.

Independent Suspension: Each wheel in an independent suspension system can move independently of the others. This provides superior comfort, handling and articulation, especially over uneven surfaces. This setup is most common in modern cars, particularly all-wheel-drive vehicles.

Parts of a Car's Suspension System And Their Functions

• Coil springs: Springs absorb road shocks and carry the weight of the vehicle
• Shock absorbers: Dampen the shocks caused by the springs, improving ride quality
• Struts: Struts are a compact assembly of a shock absorber and spring. It is present in the front wheels of most modern front-wheel drive cars
• Control arms: They connect the suspension to the car's chassis and allow the wheel movement
• Anti-roll bar: The main job of anti-roll bars is to reduce the body roll during cornering and help maintain the car’s stability
• Bushings: Bushings are made of rubber to provide cushioning to the joints in the suspension system and reduce vibration

How Suspension Affects Ride Comfort and Handling

The car suspension system can be tuned in many ways based on the car’s requirements. 

Soft tune: When it comes to vehicles that need to absorb larger potholes, undulations, shocks, and bumps over uneven terrain, they need a soft suspension setup. It comes with a trade-off as a softer suspension setup, has noticeable body roll-around turns, and is bouncy and unstable at high speeds.

Medium tune: A medium tune offers a balance of both comfort and stability. At lower speeds, it absorbs a fair amount of bumps and potholes and also provides good stability at high speeds. The body roll around the turns is much more controlled compared to the soft tune.

Firm tune: A firm suspension tune utilises a stiffer spring and damper combination. It provides a harsh and bumpy ride over broken roads and potholes. However, it has excellent high-speed stability and almost non-existent body roll around the corners. Stiffer suspension tunes are found in performance-oriented cars, sports cars, and supercars.

Signs of Suspension Problems

It is crucial to understand the early signs of suspension issues, which can save you from bigger repair bills:

• Uneven tyre wear: If your tyres are wearing out unevenly, it could mean your suspension system isn’t distributing the car’s weight equally
• Vehicle pulling to one side: Vehicle pulling to one side can indicate issues with alignment, which is caused by suspension wear or damage
• Excessive bouncing: If there is excessive bouncing after hitting a bump, your shock absorbers may need replacement
• Noisy suspension: Noises like unusual clunks or squeaks when driving over bumps often point to worn-out bushings or control arms

Maintenance Tips for Car Suspension System

Just like other parts of your car, your suspension system requires regular care to function optimally. Here are some tips to keep it in good shape:

• Regular inspection: A complete car suspension inspection during routine services can reveal hidden or minor issues before they become critical
• Check alignment: Misaligned wheels can cause premature wear on suspension components. Check and adjust your car’s alignment every 10,000 km
• Monitor tyre pressure: Keeping your tyres properly inflated can reduce stress on the suspension
• Avoid overloading: Overloading your vehicle beyond the manufacturers’ recommendations can speed up suspension wear
• Replace worn-out components: If a suspension component is worn out, replace it quickly to prevent damage to other parts of the system

FourDoor is your one-stop shop for complete suspension repair and replacement services to ensure your car is in expert hands. Our experienced mechanics are well-versed in all suspension problems and repairs. FourDoor’s complete suspension inspection package identifies any hidden issue in your suspension system with the latest tools and equipment at state-of-the-art facilities. Trust FourDoor for all professional car services and keep your vehicle performing at its best.

Conclusion

Your car’s suspension system plays a key role in both comfort and safety. It makes you enjoy a smooth ride while maintaining control on the road. Understanding the types, components, signs of wear and maintenance tips for suspension systems can help you maintain it better.

FAQs

Q. How to check your car’s suspension?

To check your car’s suspension, perform a bounce test by pressing down on the vehicle's front or rear and seeing how many times it bounces. One or two bounces indicate good suspension, while more suggest issues. Other signs of suspension problems are uneven tyre wear, leaking shock absorbers, or if the car pulls to one side while driving.

Q. How do I make my suspension ride smoother?

You can improve your suspension's smoothness by ensuring regular maintenance, keeping your tyres properly inflated, and replacing worn-out shocks or struts.

Q. What suspension gives the smoothest ride?

Air suspension systems typically offer the smoothest ride as they can be electronically adjusted to changing road conditions in real-time.

Q. Does softer suspension mean a smoother ride?

No, the softer suspension doesn’t mean a smoother ride. However, a balanced suspension tune offers a comfortable ride as it absorbs bumps at lower speeds and provides good stability and handling at higher speeds. The softer suspension can make the car bouncy even at low speeds, making it unstable.

Q. Can car suspension be repaired?

Yes, car suspension can be repaired. Damaged parts like springs, shock absorbers, and struts can be repaired or replaced depending on the damage.

Q. What parts of the suspension wear out the most?

Suspension components like shock absorbers, struts, coil springs, control arms, ball joints, and bushings can wear out over time.