June 18, 2023
If you've ever ridden down a rough road on your bicycle, you know how hard a ride it can be. Yet drive down the same road in your car, truck or SUV and it miraculously will smooth out the ride. That's because it is equipped with shock absorbers. They are built to dampen impacts from road irregularities. But after taking hundreds of hits from potholes, railroad tracks and curbs, your shock absorbers can wear out. Besides the rough ride that can cause, there are other ways your vehicle's performance can be affected.
When it comes to braking for example, you may take a longer distance to stop. That's because shocks help keep your tires in contact with the surface of the road. If the shocks aren't working properly, the tires won't make contact like they should. So when you slam on the brakes, your vehicle will take longer to stop.
Consider what worn out shocks are doing to your tires. Since the bumps aren't being dampened as much, your tires can bounce up and down more. That can produce a problem of uneven wear called cupping.
And when you start out from a stop, your vehicle may not have the traction it should since the shocks aren't keeping them down on the road as you accelerate. If you have front wheel drive, you may lose some steering control on acceleration. Obviously, many of these things involve safety concerns.
Pay attention to any deterioration in your vehicle's ride quality. If your vehicle is starting to bounce up and down and its ride feels bumpier than before, head on over to your vehicle service facility and get your suspension checked out. Do the same if steering response isn't as good as it used to be. Notice that your vehicle nose dives when you brake? Are your tires wearing in an unusual manner? All are signs that your shocks may be on their last legs.
If the last time you replaced your shocks was 50,000 miles/80,000 kilometers ago, a technician should evaluate them. Don't be "shocked" if it's time for new ones.
Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Lincoln
1525 Pine Lake Rd
Lincoln, Nebraska 68512
402-421-1900
http://www.tuffylincoln.com

March 29, 2026
Your vehicle gets its power from burning fuel, usually gasoline, and it counts on something called fuel injectors to send gas to the engine in a spray that is easy to ignite. Its a precise operation, and when its working well, you have plenty of power and an efficient engine. But after time, con... More

March 22, 2026
If your vehicles power goes to the rear wheels, then you have something called U-joints in the drivetrain. U-joints are connectors that allow the rotating power from your vehicles engine to deliver its power through a driveshaft to make the rear wheels rotate. You need U-joints because the surfa... More

March 15, 2026
If your vehicle has an internal combustion engine, it depends on two things to make propulsion power for you to be able to motor on down the road: fuel and air. The engine mixes the two in just the right proportion so that they can be ignited, creating a series of tiny explosions that are coordi... More