Understanding More About Off Road Shocks

Shock absorbers have been around for many decades, even though the low speeds of the early vehicles did not need much from the primitive shocks to control the suspensions. As the speed and performance of the modern vehicles increased, traveling became more demanding and the need for improved stability, ride quality, and handling increased.

All this has pushed the boundaries of shock absorbers, leading to high level of shock design and technology. Below are a few details on various types of off road shock absorbers, as provided by experts who deal with off road parts near Orange County.

Off Road Shock Absorbers
The basic shock absorbers have a body, and a can or tube that is filled with oil. A piston and rod move up and down through the tube. The piston and rod will have set of holes in valves and the valving is designed with the weight and use of vehicle in mind.

As the oils filled in the shock passes through these valves, it resists the piston and slows it down when moving inside the tube. The damping also controls the action between axle and frame-rail, which are pushing or pulling on the opposite ends of the shock.

Twin Tube Shock
Twin tube shock absorbers have two cylinders, a pressure tube, and a reservoir tube. The pressure tube houses rod, piston, fluid, and valving that control the compression and rebound of the shock absorber, whereas the reservoir tube is the tank for the extra oil. There is a stationary compression valve that separates both the tubes and control compression.

Mono Tube Shock
These shocks simplify the damping process much. In this case, the outer reservoir tube is eliminated. Instead, a piston with valving is connected to a rod, and this rod controls compression and rebound of the shock absorber. Even though the outer reservoir tube is not present, the mono tube shock can handle pressures same as the twin tube shock absorbers.

There is also the gas charged shock absorbers, which has improved the efficiency of shock absorbers drastically. Gas charged shock absorber is basically a twin tube shock absorber with pressurized nitrogen gas added to the reservoir tube. The nitrogen gas will minimize aeration of oil by keeping constant pressures inside the tube.

However, experts at off road gear Orange County stores say that the formation of air bubbles in the shock oil can make it less effective and gas filled shock absorbers eliminate the chance of aeration. Now that you understood everything about shock absorbers, you can buy the right shocks for your ride.