Continuously variable damper can yield diverse damping forces for a single damping velocity. It is widely used in the semi-active suspension system since, with right control logics, it can enhance ride comfort compared to the passive damper while not degrading driving safety. A key to the successful design of the continuously variable damper is the knowledge of its complex and nonlinear characteristics. In this paper, research has been done for analyzing characteristics of the continuously variable damper. Various damper components have been investigated and their effects upon the force-velocity characteristics of the damper have been examined. The effects of the damper characteristics change upon ride comfort and driving safety have also been investigated by numerical simulations.