Ride quality is an essential part of your driving experience. At Harold's Used Auto Parts Inc in Philadelphia, we strive to keep your car, truck, or SUV as smooth and comfortable to drive as the day it came off the lot. Your shock absorbers play a huge role in ride quality; here’s what you should know.

Shock absorbers are hydraulic or gas filled cylinders, fitted at all four wheels on your car. The springs suspend the vehicle, and allow it to bounce over terrain as you drive down the road. However, springs alone are not enough. Think about a jack-in-the-box...when it pops, the weight on the spring continues to bounce up and down, under the weight of the load on the spring. A car with no shock absorbers does the same thing. Shock absorbers prevent the weight of the car from compressing the spring too much, keep the spring from decompressing too quickly, and ensure the car doesn’t continue bouncing up and down after encountering a change in terrain.

It’s possible you have one or more failed shock absorbers, and don’t realize it. They usually fail slowly, and over time you don’t notice how poor your ride quality has become. Hold on to something on the front of the car, and try to bounce it up and down...the car should resist nearly all of your attempt at bouncing it, and settle immediately when you stop. Try the same on the back of the car. Then, try an area near each individual wheel. If you feel a difference or notice excessive bounce, there’s at least one bad shock absorber.

This test doesn’t always work, so if you still think your car isn’t riding as well as it should, have it inspected next time you come in for an oil change. Our expert mechanics will have your car riding like new again in no time. For the best auto repair and maintenance shop, call or stop by Harold's Used Auto Parts Inc, for all your service needs.