The weight of your vehicle is entirely supported on four coil springs, which requires each of them to be incredibly strong. The factory design of each spring has a specific spring rate that gives the maximum performance for the vehicle on which they are fitted, and also increases comfort.
The reaction of your vehicle to bumps will depend on two main components, springs and shocks. Some of the shock absorbers are positioned inside coil springs. This sort of suspension set-up is known as coil-over shock absorbers, or in short, referred to as “Coilover”.
A large number of vehicles will come to you from a factory with a Coilover suspension, but if you go to the market, you will find a number of options that will allow the lowering of ride height or even change spring rates so that your cornering performance is bettered.
A top hat, as is it known in Coilover suspensions, is where the upper part of the coil spring is fixed and it is just below the spring perch, while the fixing of the spring’s bottom part takes its place on the lower control arm. This lower arm, as is well known, helps to keep the wheels in position and to ensure that they are securely held there.
The spring is above this lower control arm, it assists in absorbing all the shocks that come from below. That is why people inside a vehicle cabin will remain comfortable even when they are driving over any obstacles on the road. See Apex Suspension to see some high-quality products.
3 Main Symptoms of Bad Coils
If any coil spring in your vehicle goes bad, it is likely that there will be some symptoms that you are bound to experience and notice. Once you are able to recognize them for what they mean, you must take care to take immediate action.
A faulty coil spring will give you definite signs and here are some of them:
1) Sagging Corner
The corner of a vehicle that has a bad coil spring will appear to be lower and sag compared to the others. This can be noticed by just looking at your vehicle from outside.
This sagging can also result in lesser stability when you drive the vehicle. There will be excessive tire wear and tear besides worsening of other symptoms.
2) Bounciness
The shaking and bouncing when a vehicle goes down a road are meant to be kept in check by coil springs. But if any of your coil springs are bad, this bounciness cannot be prevented.
As a result, you will find that your vehicle is shaking and bouncing as you drive, all the more if your travel is over rough terrain or a heavily pot-holed road. It then becomes difficult to control the vehicle.
A bad shock can also display the same symptoms. Bad shocks will not be able to absorb the spring rebounding, and then when you go over a big bump, you will feel you are on a trampoline.
3) Uneven Tire Wear
Coil springs are also required to ensure that the tires and wheels of your vehicle are always in contact with the road or surface it is travelling on. This constant road contact will ensure that every tire has the same wear and tear when the vehicle is moving.
Bad coil springs allow tires to lose contact with the road at times under normal driving conditions. Once this starts to happen, tire treads will wear unevenly and prematurely, and lead to issues of drivability on roads. Tires also will need to be replaced quicker, even if you are rotating the tires.