The shock absorber is one of the parts of the suspension system. It contains many parts such as coil spring, strut, rubber bushings, mounting, etc. These parts make the whole assembly of the shock absorber.
As you feel comfort and smoothness in a car, it’s all credit goes to the suspension system and mostly to the shock absorber. Weight distribution on wheels and stability these two aspects are well handled by shock absorbers.
Many people are getting confused about the difference between shocks and struts. They think they are just alternative names for shock absorber but this is not true. If anyone who actually has seen the overhaul of shocks, he may know about that. So the following discussion is about the difference between shocks and struts.
What is a shock?
Shock is named as a shock absorber. Shock absorber absorbs the shock means any impact or bump is reduced by it. The shock absorber consists of the piston-valve arrangement which works through hydraulic fluid. when any of the bumps occur then piston goes downward and pressurizes the oil into small gaps within that assembly.
This makes coil spring to compress but any passenger in the car doesn’t feel that bump or shock. So in short words, you can notice that a part which reduces the bump or shock.
What is a strut?
Strut means the whole assembly. It is not any part of the shock absorber. At the top, It is joined with the vehicle body and at the bottom, it connects with the knuckle of the wheel.
It also takes up the bump impact because as it is the part between body and chassis, it sustains the whole bodyweight of the vehicle during driving conditions. Small loads or shocks are absorbed by it. Shocks do not even function in this condition.
Struts are very important as alignment aspect. Alignment Angles can be adjusted through its pivot points which are connected to the knuckle.
