Ive looked around and googled quite a bit as well as searched here and there. I don't know but for some reason i still dont understand exactly what they do and how they work. I feel stupid for this, but i cant seem to find a good easy explanation? Anyone got a good way to explain them?

 

yay! i get to answer first!!

a shock absorber reduces and eventually eliminates oscillations from the springs, if not for them your car would bounce up and down alot longer after it hit bumps

as for how they work

when u push down on the rod of a shock you decrease the volume inside the chamber, the fluid inside is a hydraulic fluid which means it wont change its volume very much, so if you decrease the volume of the chamber, the fluid must be displaced, it has to go somewhere, and so there are a few valves then open in the shock absorber, and allow the fluid to flow, at a specified rate

i'm probably not explaining this well, if i could draw a diagram that would be awesome

anyway, i tried

 

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-suspension5.htm

 

 

i love howstuffworks.com!!
that website has practically everything