Back to all

Upgrade Shocks for Better Handling in Bloomington

February 19, 2018

Many Bloomington drivers probably don't think of their shock absorbers as an important safety system; but that's just what shocks and struts are. They're all about ride control – keeping your vehicle tires in contact with the road and managing body motion.

Every time you hit a bump or pothole on a Bloomington road, your tire wants to bounce up. The bigger the bump, the higher the bounce. Your shocks or struts push down on the tire to maintain the traction you need to start, stop and turn.

If you've ever ridden in a vehicle with bad shocks, you know how it wallows on corners. The front end dives when you hit the brakes and the rear end squats when you accelerate. It's not only uncomfortable, it is difficult to handle.

You may have heard vehicles described as having “flat cornering." That means that when you take a corner, the body doesn't roll very much. When shocks start to get worn, your vehicle will roll more on corners. The weight of your vehicle's body shifts and tosses your vehicle to the outside of the turn, making it harder to control.

With good shocks, you can turn corners with confidence. When the shocks are bad, the body rolls too much and you need to slow down to maintain the same level of control. When you have to combine brake dive with body roll, you can quickly end up with an unsafe handling situation.

Shocks can break or start to leak, but they usually just wear out. After all, your vehicle shocks will move up and down over 75 million times in 50,000 miles/80,000 km. If you replace shocks at Tuffy Bloomington in Bloomington, it will restore your vehicle's original ride control and quality. You can even upgrade shocks and struts if you want better handling or towing capacity on Illinois roads.

Shocks are an important safety system: don't wait until they are completely shot, perhaps risking your safety or damaging other suspension components. At Tuffy Bloomington we can help you with quality shocks and struts as advised in your owner's manual, usually at around 50,000 miles/80,000 km, for a comfortable, safe handling ride in Bloomington.

Give us a call.

Tuffy Bloomington
1505 East Vernon Avenue
Bloomington, Illinois 61701
309.662.0537

More articles from Tuffy Bloomington

Sounds Like a Hot Rod (Noisy Exhaust System)

April 14, 2024

Driving along, your exhaust system's rumbling so loud that people turn and stare at you pass by. You're wondering when the police are going to pull you over for illegal noise. Your mind immediately thinks, aha! A broken muffler. Well, your exhaust system is composed of many more parts than just... More

The Turn Signal Mystery (Turn Signal Problems)

April 7, 2024

Some problems are easy to diagnose on a vehicle; others aren't. Figuring out what's wrong with a malfunctioning turn signal sometimes fits into both categories. By the way, if your tempted to just leave your broken blinker broken, remember you can get a ticket for not using them, not to mention... More

Start Me Up (Ignition Systems)

March 31, 2024

When you start up your gasoline engine car, you may not know that it's using the same ignition principles as it has for decades. You have spark plugs that require enough power so a spark can jump across a gap at its tip. Years ago, a vehicle's 12-volt system had to produce 15,000-25,000 volts t... More