Damper

Deep dive

Bentley explains in Ultimate Speed Secrets: "The purpose of a shock absorber is to slow down and control the oscillations of the spring as the suspension absorbs undulations in the roadway. Actually, a shock absorber is a damper — it damps the movement of the springs. Shocks work in both directions: compression is called bump; extension is called rebound. A shock absorber is rated by the rate of deflection at a given shaft speed." Halderman's Automotive Steering adds: "The major purpose of any shock or strut is to control ride and handling. Standard shock absorbers do not support the weight of a vehicle." Damper tuning is often more effective than spring changes for fine-tuning handling because it affects weight transfer timing (dynamics) without changing steady-state behavior (final roll angle).