30 April 2001: Tenneco Automotive, the world leading manufacturer of ride control systems, has introduced a new range of shock absorbers for 4x4 vehicles - the Monroe Adventure.

The unit is of monotube design, which increases airflow across the shock absorber body and lowers operating temperatures, extending the life of the components.

Tenneco also says the new design, which uses higher quality oil and pressurised nitrogen gas, makes for a shock absorber which provides a more comfortable on-road performance as well as uncompromised off-road ability.

The company says this was needed because research shows that 4x4s are only driven off-road on average 10% of the time.

The Monroe Adventure totally eliminates foaming and emulsifying of the fluid components by means of a specially designed floating piston which totally separates the oil and gas. The company claims the uninterrupted damping for even the smallest wheel deflection which this allows is a performance which no other type of shock absorber can match.

The main piston rod is also larger in diameter than conventional models and is hard-chromed and the strongest in the industry. The tube wall is also a third thicker than in conventional shocks used in this segment. The monotube design also results in lighter weight, and therefore more rapid response because of reduced unsprung mass.

Tenneco, which has its European base in Brussels, supplies one in four of every exhaust and ride control components. Some $1.2 billion of its global $3.5 billion turnover comes from sales in Europe.

The company has Ford, Daimler-Chrysler, GM, VW, Toyota and the PSA group as its main customers. BB

		Above: The new Monroe Adventure shock absorbers were demonstrated to the European motoring press in Athens last weekend.