Industry experts have found that worn suspension parts are often the most overlooked components of vehicles and yet are among the most crucial for safety, ride control, and comfort, said Aaron M. Shaffer, marketing manager for KYB America. In fact, research conducted by KYB America shows that around 86 percent of all vehicles are sent to the scrap yard still equipped with their OE dampers, Shaffer said.
“It’s a little known fact that many cars and trucks that end up in junkyards have never had any major steering or suspension parts replaced,” he said. “They still have the original equipment shocks and struts, springs, ball joints, tie rod ends and steering racks.
“Most of these parts are worn out and should have been replaced long ago,” he said. “In fact, many of these vehicles might still be on the road today if their owners had taken better care of them.”
Shaffer said that unlike brakes that squeal when they need replacing or tires on which wear is visible, suspension and ride-control components degrade slowly over time and often go unnoticed.
“That’s why we offer our customers business tools to help shops better understand shocks and struts, which include extensive ride-control product sales training,” Shaffer said. “Ride-control products are so critical for safety that shop technicians have to educate customers on the importance of replacing these components at proper intervals.”
“Shocks and struts play a critical role in a vehicle's steering, stopping and stability characteristics, but they are not readily visible to the consumer,” said Carri Irby, brand manager for Monroe Shocks and Struts.
“To help consumers protect their driving safety, we strongly support the replacement of worn shocks and struts at 50,000 miles, a recommendation endorsed by the Motorist Assurance Program (MAP), to help ensure adequate steering, handling, and braking response under certain driving conditions and situations,” Irby said.
“Of course, actual replacement mileage may vary, depending on driver ability, vehicle type, and the type of driving and road conditions,” she said.
Survey after survey finds the same results, that motorists do not maintain their vehicles as well as they should, especially in tough economic times, Shaffer said. “Worn steering and suspension parts are often overlooked or ignored because they don’t seem to have an immediate impact on driving safety.” That’s where KYB’s “Repair Outcome” selling strategy comes in, Shaffer said. “We teach counter people and service providers not to mention price but rather talk about how the vehicle will perform with a specific product,” he said.
“Too often, when asked about shocks, counter people will answer, ‘We have two different shocks, a $20 shock and a $30 shock.’ Obviously, when that is how it is presented, the lower price will prevail.
“The counter people we work with answer, ‘Would you like to restore your vehicle’s handling and control, or would you like additional handling control?’ “This is the only way you can be sure to match the product to the customer’s desired repair outcome and expectations,” Shaffer said.
“The Car Care Council estimates that motorists should be spending $60 billion a year more than they are spending now on auto parts, maintenance, and repairs,” Irby said. “That’s a lot of underperformed maintenance and repairs.”
Even if there are no catastrophic failures, worn steering and suspension parts cause other parts to wear faster, including the tires. “A worn tie rod end will cause undesirable changes in wheel alignment that can wear out a set of tires in 10,000 to 20,000 miles or less,” said Bill Bainbridge, director of brand communications for Hankook Tire America Corp.
“That’s why motorists should never ignore symptoms that indicate their vehicle may have worn steering or suspension parts,” Bainbridge said.
Tires play an important role as an automobile component, he added. “Many parts make up a car, but usually one part is limited to one function. Despite its simple appearance, a tire differs from other parts in that it has numerous functions. “Thus, a tire supports the weight of the car, reduces the impact from the road, and, at the same time, transmits the power to propel, brake, and steer on the road,” Bainbridge said. “It also functions to maintain a car’s movement.”
In the current economy, Bainbridge said Hankook has definitely seen that consumers are demanding more for their dollars.
“In the past, customers had a tendency to purchase direct OE replacement tires with little concern for cost; now they’re shopping around to get the best value for their money,” he said.
“This has certainly been an opportunity for Hankook dealers to communicate about our high-quality product offered at a competitive price and backed by an industry-leading warranty, and we’ve won sales as a result.”
Bainbridge points to the results of a recent tire comparison test by Car and Driver magazine in which the Ventus V12 evo was ranked second out of nine ultra-high-performance tires on the market today.
“The Ventus was noted as ‘deceptively quick’ and performed exceptionally well in wet conditions, taking home top marks in braking and placing second in the skid pad run, missing the top spot by only one point,” he said.
According to data commissioned by SEMA from market research firm TechnoMetrica, performance suspension, tires, and wheels are still on the top of enthusiasts’ lists, creating up-selling possibilities.
The data was gathered using a national sample of about 1,000 consumers representative of approximately 100 million U.S. households.
