“Our customers have a lot riding on the struts they chose to for their customer’s vehicles. The strut module assembly is a structural sub-system in the suspension/steering system of the vehicle so it requires the highest level of quality and performance to ensure vehicle safety and control,” said Lisa Bahash president and CEO, Gabriel. “We go to extensive lengths to test our designs so customers can be confident that the assembled strut they put on a vehicle has been well designed, uses high quality components and lives up to real-world performance demands.”
Gabriel engineers, located in the Detroit area, precision engineer each new ReadyMount application to strict tolerances based on their unique knowledge and clear understanding of the original equipment part, the vehicle design, and the performance requirements of the assembly. Only components that meet Gabriel’s high standards are specified and used in the assembly.
Gabriel starts with a MacPherson strut or coil-over shock design, validated to 1,000,000 cycles, with a super-finished chromed piston rod for superior corrosion resistance. Gabriel conducts a structural rigidity test is on the strut to ensure that it meets Gabriel requirements for cornering and braking.
“There’s more that goes into a fully assembled strut design than the strut,” continues Bahash. “All the other components that make up a ReadyMount assembly also need to be of equally high quality, durable and specified properly so they work together to meet the specifications of the vehicle.”
Gabriel then adds a premium strut mount, bearing, jounce bumper, dust boot, coil spring, and spring isolator(s) before extensively testing each ReadyMount design and its individual components on a quarter car testing rig to simulate the realworld articulation of the assembly:
- The assembly is tested to full travel to make sure it lives up to the extreme
demands of North American roads and weather
- Side load compensation is also tested to ensure that friction on the strut is
minimized
- Steering is simulated to ensure durability of the bearings
- Coil springs, which are a key component to the desired ride, are tested to full
travel for performance and durability
- A durometer test checks the rubber isolators load resistance and durability
- Limit load tests, on the rebound springs (or rebound bumper) and on the jounce bumper, are conducted to extreme loads to simulate deep potholes and high curb strikes
Once all quarter car rig testing is assessed, engineers do a complete teardown analysis of the design and all of the components are examined to certify there is no excessive wear.
“It’s another way that Gabriel goes the extra mile. We do all this to ensure the components in the final assembly are integrated for fit, form and function, to work as a complete suspension system,” said Bahash.
Then Gabriel takes it a step further by Fit-testing each ReadyMount design on the very vehicle application for which it was designed, verifying first-hand that the design fits properly and can be easily installed. Finally, Gabriel Answerman™ technicians Ride-test the ReadyMount design on this same vehicle on U.S. roads to make sure it meets real world performance and Gabriel’s standards.
Undertaking all these steps ensures that each ReadyMount design is free from noise, fit and ride issues right out of the box and ensures faster, smoother installations. But if there is a question, the same Gabriel technicians who Fit- and Ride-test the ReadyMount applications are the Answermen that installers and customers speak to when they call the Gabriel Tech Line.
“Not all manufacturers Fit- and Ride-test their module assemblies, and not all manufacturers engineer, design and test their products to the tight tolerances and precision specifications that Gabriel does for its ReadyMount fully assembled struts. But it’s the right thing to do and the right way to do it,” continues Bahash. “Gabriel has a lot of history riding on our products and we think it’s what customers should expect, especially from the company that designed the first automotive shock absorber in 1907.”
For more information visit www.gabriel.com.
