A shock absorber is a device for damping and absorbing shock impulses caused by the contact between the car’s wheels and the road. This is achieved by converting the kinetic energy of the impact into heat. Shock absorbers are used mainly for safety reasons, but also provide comfort for the passengers.
Shock absorbers allow to keep the vehicle’s tires on the road most of the time, which is crucial for handling. Changing lanes at high speed would be extremely dangerous without them. They also help the car to maintain a stable position when accelerating or braking. When you suddenly accelerate, the majority of the weight of the car goes to the back wheels, thus reducing the adhesion of the front wheels to the roadway. The same thing happens with the back wheels when you brake. If there were no shock absorbers your car would probably flip over in either case.
There are three main types of shock absorbers differentiated by its filling: hydraulic (oil-filled), gas and mixed (combining the two substances). The hydraulic type provides better comfort for passengers, but it is not recommended for bad roads nor high speed riding, because there is a high risk of oil overheating in both cases.
The mixed shock absorber is rougher then the hydraulic one, but its upside is the impossibility of oil overheating, because it also has liquid nitrogen inside. It is the ideal shock absorber for roads that are not in the best condition. Although they are expensive, mixed shock absorbers’ lifetime is also longer. Gas shock absorbers are considered to be the roughest type; however, they also provide the biggest stability for the car on any road. Their downside is a bigger pressure endured by the car’s body.
The type of shock absorber is a personal preference and Monroe provides all three of them. The solid construction of Monroe shock absorbers, using the most recent technologies, ensures comfortable and safe riding on any type of roadway.