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 | Illustrated: Typical Shock Absorbers (aka. Dampers) |
Shock Absorbers: The other main part of a car's suspension is the shock absorber. Contrary to its name, a shock absorber plays a minimal role in absorbing impacts taken by the Suspension. That's the Spring's job. A shock absorber dampens road impacts by converting the up and down oscillations of the spring into thermal energy.
People who live and breathe shock absorbers don't like the term shock absorbers; they prefer "dampers".
| Without a shock absorber, a spring that has absorbed energy will release it by oscillating at an uncontrolled rate. The spring's inertia causes it to bounce and overextend itself. Then it recompresses, but again travels too far. The spring continues to bounce at its natural frequency until all the energy originally put into the spring is used up by friction. This effect can be quite detrimental to the stability of a vehicle.
Confused? OK, here's an analogy. If you have a Slinky lying around -- and who doesn't these days? -- you can use it as an example. Hold up a compressed Slinky in the air with your hand. Now hold just one end and let the other drop. The Slinky will absorb the potential energy caused by gravity (just like how a car's spring absorbs road shock) and then bounce up and down, up and down (aka: oscillate), for a long time. This what an automotive spring does if it doesn't have a shock absorber attached to it.
Perhaps you've heard the word "strut," or, more formally, MacPherson strut. Struts are simply shock absorbers used as major structural members. For struts, the shock absorber is placed inside the coil spring. In addition to saving space, it often costs less. Many cars use a strut design.
Shocks and struts help control how fast the suspension is allowed to move, which is important for keeping the tires in contact with the road. Most shock absorber designs have more resistance during the extension (rebound) cycle than the compression cycle. This is because the extension cycle controls the motion of the vehicle's sprung weight (half of the suspension and everything else above the suspension). The compression cycle, on the other hand, controls the motion of unsprung weight (wheels, tires, brakes, and half of the suspension). Obviously, there is a lot more weight in the upper part of the car than unsprung weight in the lower part of the car. | | :: Recommended Reading / Videos :: | | | |
| :: Recommended material containing aditional info about Shock Absorbers :: |
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:: Copyright 2003 - 2012 CarEcstasy.com / All rights reserved :: |
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