In this article we are going to examine a problem that may prove to be dangerous. If you detect any handling or grip problems on your Dodge Nitro , it is necessary that you drive cautiously and manage it fairly quickly. Our team has created this guideline to help you solve them. First, we’ll fairly quickly look at the essential components that assure good road handling, then we’ll look at why your Dodge Nitro doesn’t hold the road any more, and finally we’ll look at how to solve your grip problems.

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What are the main elements that assure good road holding and handling on a Dodge Nitro?

We commence this content page by fairly quickly telling you the most important components that will guarantee good road holding for your Dodge Nitro. It’s necessary to know that a vehicle’s grip is a science in itself. It will therefore rely upon many elements, we will explain below the most important ones that can be affected:

  • Shock absorbers: The most important components of your road handling, they permanently guarantee the contact between the wheels and the road. They absorb all shocks and holes on the road.
  • Tyres: They are the ones that will guarantee the grip of your Dodge Nitro on the road, the softer they are, the more grip you have, but the faster they get broken, the harder they are, the less grip you have, but the more resistant they are. Temperature affects their wear. Their size will also play on grip, the wider they are the more contact with the ground will be significant.
  • The center of gravity: The higher your car is going to be, the more it will lean in the corners and therefore lose handling, that’s why low profile sports cars grip better than very high 4×4’s
  • Wheel Alignment: This adjustment enables you to manage the vertical angle of your car’s wheels, it is therefore important for the grip of your car and the wear of your tires. This adjustment is very precise and must be conducted by specialists.

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There are many other components to take into consideration such as wheelbase, ground clearance, chassis rigidity, weight and aerodynamics…

Why is my Dodge Nitro having problems with my car’s handling or grip?

We will now proceed to the component that interests you the most, why my Dodge Nitro has handling problems? As we described above, there are a lot of elements to take into consideration for your car to have a good grip, nevertheless there are few that can evolve with time, most of them are intrinsic to the construction of the automobile, we will see right away those that can bother your handling and road, and, why:

  • As we outlined above, the rubber of the tyres has a primordial role in the good road holding of your car, if your tyres are dead, you may have problems of road holding on wet road at first and when you reach the “cord” even on dry road.
  • Dead shock absorbers: If your shock absorbers are dead, your car will no longer be able to absorb the irregularities of the road properly and it will tend to “float”, which will result in a bad distribution of the masses on the vehicle and shift the centre of gravity of the vehicle. You risk slipping in the bends.
  • The risk with a misalignment is that your ground contact area is reduced because of a too open or too closed wheel angle, you will have grip problems.
  • A steering problem: Last but not least, the last important component for good road handling is that all the elements of your steering must be in good condition. The most traditional case is that your stabilizer bar or the silent blocks of your steering triangles are dead. The outcome will be a delay in your changes of way.

How do you solve the handling problems?

We now proceed to the different solutions to resolve your road holding problems on your Dodge Nitro .

  • Tyres: Nothing could be less complicated, just replace your tyres, remember to verify them cautiously and replace them when you get to the visual indicator in the grooves of your tyres. It is generally required to count between 100 and 200 euros for a pair of tires.
  • Shock absorbers: Ditto, dead shock absorbers have to be changed, if you want to know when to change the shock absorbers of a Dodge Nitro, please have a look at our content page on this subject. The price can vary a lot, but you will have to count at least 400€
  • Wheel alignment: You will have to go to your mechanic to have it corrected, it will cost you less than 100€?
  • Steering: If you have problems with the handling on Dodge Nitro because of your steering, there may be several elements involved, in such a case you will have to produce a whole check-up of these elements, the best is to call a specialist.

If you have any further questions about the Dodge Nitro, do not hesitate to consult our Dodge Nitro category.