The shocks and/or struts in your car perform two functions. They dampen spring oscillation, and secondly, they aid in ride control. The springs in your car actually absorb road shocks (not the shock absorbers).  The shock absorber's function is to dampen the bouncing spring. If you did not have shock absorbers to dampen the spring oscillations from road shock, your car would continuously bounce every time you hit a bump in the road, making it very difficult to handle and dangerous.

The shock absorbers in your car aid in ride control by keeping the car manageable during regular driving. They do this by keeping the tires down on the road and not allowing them to bounce after hitting a bump. This allows for ease of cornering and handling.

Why replace shocks and struts?
Under normal conditions on a smooth road, shocks stroke on average 1,750 times for every mile traveled or 7.5 million stabilizing actions on average every 12,000 miles. As a result, shocks and struts do wear out and should be checked every 12,000 miles just to be safe.

New Shocks and Struts Help...

• Keep the tire in contact with the road by controlling spring and suspension movement.
• Control vehicle bounce, roll and sway, dive, acceleration squat

The Benefit of replacing Worn Shocks and Struts...

• Help reduce wear on other suspension components
• Help maintain dynamic wheel alignment
• Help prevent premature tire wear over a period of time
• Help provide consistent control for improved handling and braking performance
• Help prevent premature wear of suspension parts - ball joints, steering linkage, springs, C.V. joints
  

Don't "cut corners" when it comes to shocks and struts. Proper functioning of these parts is essential to the handling and cornering of your vehicle, making for safer driving conditions.

When should shocks and struts be replaced?

The symptoms of worn shocks and/or struts are:

• Vehicle rolls or sways on turns
• Front end dives when braking
• Rear end squats when accelerating
• Vehicle bounces or slides sideways on a winding, rough road
• Vehicle "bottoms out" (with a thump) on bumps

Things to look for in a visual inspection:

• Leaks on the housing
• Dents on the shock or strut body
• Worn rubber mounting bushings
• Pitted piston rods
• Crushed rubber bumpers from "bottoming out"
• Abnormal wear on tires (high and low spots)

Hogan Tire stocks Monroe Sensa-Trac shocks and struts.  Here's why...
Monroe Sensa-Trac now with the Safe-Tech System!

Conventional shocks and struts are limited by their valving. Their performance is generally a compromise between a comfortable ride and one that is more controlled. Monroe Sensa-Trac shocks and struts with the Safe-Tech system eliminate this compromise. The Sensa-Trac shock's precision tapered grooves allow the fluid to freely flow around and through the piston. The result is a smooth and comfortable ride. When the piston travels beyond the tapered grooves, fluid is directed totally through the piston, this results in extra vehicle control.

Monroe Sensa-Trac shocks and struts, featuring the new Safe-Tech System, maximize tire-to-road contact for a safe ride. In fact in a series of USAC certified tests, Sensa-Trac shocks with the Safe-Tech system, were shown to improve braking distance by an average of ten feet in a 60-0 mph braking test on a dry, bumpy road*.

Monroe compared the performance of a series of identical top-selling vehicles. In each pair, one vehicle was equipped with four new Sensa-Trac shocks with the Safe-Tech system, the other with three new and one 50% degraded shock absorber. The results were clear. Sensa-Trac shocks with the Safe-Tech system provided  better tire-to-road contract, facilitating significantly shorter stopping distances and better handling.

more on Monroe shocks & Struts at monroe.com