In this article we are going to look at a problem that may prove to be threatening. If you detect any handling or grip problems on your Vauxkhall Astra , it is essential that you drive attentively and manage it quickly. Our team has created this article content to help you resolve them. First, we’ll quickly check out the main parts that assure good road handling, then we’ll check out why your Vauxkhall Astra doesn’t hold the road any more, and at last we’ll check out how to resolve your grip problems.

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What are the main elements that assure good road holding and handling on a Vauxkhall Astra?

We commence this content by quickly explaining the main parts that will guarantee good road holding for your Vauxkhall Astra. It’s essential to know that a vehicle’s grip is a science in itself. It will therefore depend on many factors, we will show you below the main ones that can be influenced:

  • Shock absorbers: The main parts of your road handling, they perpetually 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 Vauxkhall Astra 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 important.
  • 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 control the vertical angle of your car’s wheels, it is therefore fundamental for the grip of your motor vehicle and the wear of your tires. This adjustment is very precise and must be carried out by professionals.

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

Why is my Vauxkhall Astra having problems with my car’s handling or grip?

We will now proceed to the component that interests you the most, why my Vauxkhall Astra has handling problems? As we mentioned earlier, there are quite a lot of elements to take into account for your car to have a good grip, however there are few that can evolve with time, most of them are intrinsic to the construction of the automobile, we will discover right away those that can affect your handling and road, and, why:

  • As we revealed earlier, the rubber of the tyres has a primordial purpose in the good road holding of your motor vehicle, 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 motor vehicle will no longer have the ability to absorb the irregularities of the road effectively and it will often “float”, which will end 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 due to a too open or too closed wheel angle, you will have grip problems.
  • A steering problem: Last but not least, the last fundamental component for good road handling is that all the elements of your steering must be in good condition. The most classic circumstance is that your stabilizer bar or the silent blocks of your steering triangles are dead. The consequence will be a delay in your changes of way.

How do you resolve the handling problems?

We now proceed to the different solutions to solve your road holding problems on your Vauxkhall Astra .

  • Tyres: Nothing could be less complicated, just change your tyres, make sure to check them attentively and change them when you get to the visual indicator in the grooves of your tyres. It is generally necessary 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 Vauxkhall Astra, please have a check out our content on this theme. The price can vary quite 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 Vauxkhall Astra due to your steering, there may be some elements concerned, in such a case you will have to make a whole check-up of these elements, the best is to call a professional.

If you need more tutorials on the Vauxkhall Astra, go to our Vauxkhall Astra category.