Taking Care of Your Car for a Smooth Drive with the Family

Some drivers are uncomfortable while others seem to make even the oldest vehicle purr along smoothly. An examination of the factors that cause a ride to be rough or smooth shows us that there are three basic vectors at play, and your uncomfortable ride could be caused by one or more of these. Let us take a look.

Suspension

Too hard or too soft a suspension is the most common cause of bumpy rides when a competent driver is behind the wheel. The parts of the suspension that have the most impact on the smoothness or roughness of the car’s performance are the shocks and the struts, designed respectively to absorb bumps and lurches caused by the road’s surface and to hold the car high off the ground, so the chassis does not scrape and grind along the ground. Adjusting your suspension is not the easiest task for a mechanic, but if the problem with your suspension is making your driving actively unpleasant, there is probably something wrong with it that will require a mechanic’s attention. Do not be afraid to insist they take a look if you are sure that the problem is not your driving!

Tyres

Your tyres too can have a big effect on your driving, with poor quality tyres making a lot of noise on the road as well as offering a bumpy uncomfortable ride. Avoid bigger tyres if you are looking for a smoother ride – smaller tyres pass along less impact from the road, much of which will then be absorbed by the suspension, while bigger tyres offer a bigger reaction to bumps and potholes, which translates to a ride that is rough, throwing the driver and passengers about. If your tyres are the problem, it is a simple matter to replace them – as well as getting your vehicle checked out, you can also buy tyres in Wakefield from Ossett Tyre House.

Driving Skills

A poor driver, whether because they have no feel for the vehicle or because they are new to driving can be hard on the car – and the passengers! They brake too heavily, ride their clutch and generally cause the vehicle to lurch down the road, jolting the passengers about awkwardly. A good driver, by comparison, anticipates braking time, eases into gear changes and ‘feels’ their way through the transmission, so the car can work at optimum levels at all speeds.