The suspension also provides a comfort buffer between the rough road and the passenger cabin. There are many different types of suspensions. Each is a compromise between comfort, cost, and road holding. To meet these compromises for each vehicle, many types of suspensions have been developed. Each design shares two essential components-springs and shock absorbers.
Some vehicles have struts instead of shocks.
In reality, a strut is just a shock absorber built into a suspension link. The strut is generally replaceable as one unit. In this discussion, any reference to shock absorbers will also apply to struts. There are also some variations in the type of springs used on vehicles. There are coil springs, leaf springs, air springs, and torsion bars.