Did you know the primary job of shocks and struts is not the quality of the ride!

Do you know what the primary job of shocks/struts on your vehicle is? It is in fact NOT the quality of the ride, but the main job is tire control! What does this mean? Shocks/Struts were designed to control your tires, and keep them in contact with the road as much as possible. When these components start to wear it allows the car to bounce which in turn is not effective at gripping the road, therefore NOT ONLY is the quality of the ride affected but so is steering and handling, which also effects braking.  Of course, everyone relates these components to how their vehicle rides, and how it rode when it was new.  So, yes of course when they are worn replacing them makes and incredible difference in how it feels not only when you drive your vehicle, but when you are riding in it. The everyday driver is the last person to notice a difference in the deterioration of shocks/struts because it is such a gradual change. These components cannot be checked due to everything being internal unlike brakes and tires, unfortunately. A first time passenger may bring the “ride quality” to your attention, when you may not have noticed the difference but regardless of how it may feel to you, worn struts and shocks will cause a change in tire wear and vehicle handling that should not go unaddressed. Replacing these components will not only restore the ride quality to how it was when it was new, but it will also control the handling to when it was new! Most importantly, remember Shocks and Struts should be replaced in pairs, better yet all four together. After all, all of them have the same number of miles, and have worked under the same conditions. Lastly, don’t forget when replacing shocks and struts you will want to do an alignment with it, this will protect your vehicles tires and assure maximum safety.

The shock on the right has blown out and is hitting the coil spring, causing it to put pressure
on the coil spring, which inturn caused the spring to brake! This customer did not come in
complaining about anything to do with the ride of the vehicle, this was found during the
Virginia State Inspection, as a safety issue!