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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

Automotive Club


On May 5, 2009 the Automotive Club participated in “Tenneco Technology Tour 2009” held by Tenneco and Monroe Shocks and Struts. It was a ride and drive followed by a training seminar.

The event started out with the students test driving three types of vehicles: Xterra, BMW 325i and Caravan. Each vehicle had approximately 60,000 miles on the odometer. The ride and drive was designed to compare and contrast an aged suspension with a new suspension. The focus was to give the technician and counter person a physical experience. It had a test track that was designed to create conditions which would simulate actual driving road conditions. The track enabled these vehicle behaviors: rapid steering movements from left to right (body roll), rapid stopping (diving), and rough terrain (stability). The three of these conditions were meant to reinforce Tenneco’s Safety Triangle (<<
https://www.monroe.com/defaultEN.asp>>).

The training seminar was about one hour in length. It explained the reasoning behind the different ride characteristics between the two test vehicles. Instruction was given to the relationship between the suspension, brakes, tires, various weather conditions, and terrain conditions.

The students felt that the driving experience followed by the seminar enhanced their knowledge of suspension as well as the interconnection between steering, stopping, and stability. I would like to thank Tenneco and Monroe for giving the Automotive Club at Monroe Community College the opportunity to participate in this great event.



Douglas Rivers
Applied Technologies
05/22/2009