How to tune shocks?
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I shoot brides
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From: Catalina Island
How to tune shocks?
Whether it be Koni, Mugen (showa), or any other type of adjustable shocks. I'm sure it comes down to preference, but what is the best way to find the correct dampening for a given damper?
y
shi - whose tempted to go the Bilstein/GC route to K.I.S.S
y
shi - whose tempted to go the Bilstein/GC route to K.I.S.S
. all that adjustabilty is just too much info for me right now.
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From: Snowwhitepillowformybigfathead
Re: How to tune shocks? (yoshi234)
Yoshi,
It's hard to beat buying something that somebody else has used successfully. And by successfully I mean somebody who goes fast - really fast - in the same car.
Don't be too put off by adjustable shocks in general. Buying any decent single adjustable makes good sense when you haven't gone all the way with rates and you want simple but effective adjustability.
The most basic damper adjustment instructions are Koni's as quoted by Carroll Smith - they are widely available and simple to follow.
Scott, who thinks that if you keep it simple and do it well you can go faster than guys who make it complicated and do it poorly....
It's hard to beat buying something that somebody else has used successfully. And by successfully I mean somebody who goes fast - really fast - in the same car.
Don't be too put off by adjustable shocks in general. Buying any decent single adjustable makes good sense when you haven't gone all the way with rates and you want simple but effective adjustability.
The most basic damper adjustment instructions are Koni's as quoted by Carroll Smith - they are widely available and simple to follow.
Scott, who thinks that if you keep it simple and do it well you can go faster than guys who make it complicated and do it poorly....
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From: Snowwhitepillowformybigfathead
Re: How to tune shocks? (Tyson)
that book was made over 20 years ago...
Scott, who reminds you that Yoshi want's to keep it simple....
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From: Haymarket, VA, USA
Re: How to tune shocks? (yoshi234)
while I am definitely an expert, or a racer for that matter, here is what I did to adjust my Konis for the _street_ (a setup that proved adequate for HPDEs)
After installing the shocks and springs, I took a SWAG as to where I thought the settings should be. This swag was made as follows:
the Konis should be good until about 600lb (depending on who you ask, blah blah - it was my starting point) and I was using about 400lb springs for the front so I set the fronts above 2/3 stiff. Similarly I set the rear a bit over 1/2 stiff (using 350 lb springs). The idea was to slightly over-damp the suspension.
Took out the car, went over a few bumps at moderate speeds and noticed that indeed the suspension was a little slow rebounding. So I lightened up the setttings and repeated the cycle until the suspension started bouncing when hitting bumps (moving in small increments - around 1/8 turn each time). At that point, I went back to the previous setting and called it critically damped.
That's what I use for the street, and I am happy with it.
If I knew more about suspensions, I might want to change my settings, but at least I know where the neutral point is for each end. Now, I will know how to make the suspension over or under damped, at will - again, if I ever think that i need to do so, and understand why.
I hope this was simple enough, even though I may not have explained it in the most succinct way.
After installing the shocks and springs, I took a SWAG as to where I thought the settings should be. This swag was made as follows:
the Konis should be good until about 600lb (depending on who you ask, blah blah - it was my starting point) and I was using about 400lb springs for the front so I set the fronts above 2/3 stiff. Similarly I set the rear a bit over 1/2 stiff (using 350 lb springs). The idea was to slightly over-damp the suspension.
Took out the car, went over a few bumps at moderate speeds and noticed that indeed the suspension was a little slow rebounding. So I lightened up the setttings and repeated the cycle until the suspension started bouncing when hitting bumps (moving in small increments - around 1/8 turn each time). At that point, I went back to the previous setting and called it critically damped.
That's what I use for the street, and I am happy with it.
If I knew more about suspensions, I might want to change my settings, but at least I know where the neutral point is for each end. Now, I will know how to make the suspension over or under damped, at will - again, if I ever think that i need to do so, and understand why.
I hope this was simple enough, even though I may not have explained it in the most succinct way.
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From: I am Tyson
Re: How to tune shocks? (RR98ITR)
oh, youre talking about the adjustment procedure. thought you were referring to carrol smiths adament advice on going with koni. because while koni does make quality products, the advice is antiquitated, and fairly irrelevent to street and sedan products as they make em different for formula suspensions.
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Joined: Feb 2001
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From: Evanston, IL, USA
Re: How to tune shocks? (SJR)
while I am definitely an expert, or a racer for that matter, here is what I did to adjust my Konis for the _street_ (a setup that proved adequate for HPDEs)
After installing the shocks and springs, I took a SWAG as to where I thought the settings should be. This swag was made as follows:
the Konis should be good until about 600lb (depending on who you ask, blah blah - it was my starting point) and I was using about 400lb springs for the front so I set the fronts above 2/3 stiff. Similarly I set the rear a bit over 1/2 stiff (using 350 lb springs). The idea was to slightly over-damp the suspension.
Took out the car, went over a few bumps at moderate speeds and noticed that indeed the suspension was a little slow rebounding. So I lightened up the setttings and repeated the cycle until the suspension started bouncing when hitting bumps (moving in small increments - around 1/8 turn each time). At that point, I went back to the previous setting and called it critically damped.
That's what I use for the street, and I am happy with it.
If I knew more about suspensions, I might want to change my settings, but at least I know where the neutral point is for each end. Now, I will know how to make the suspension over or under damped, at will - again, if I ever think that i need to do so, and understand why.
I hope this was simple enough, even though I may not have explained it in the most succinct way.
After installing the shocks and springs, I took a SWAG as to where I thought the settings should be. This swag was made as follows:
the Konis should be good until about 600lb (depending on who you ask, blah blah - it was my starting point) and I was using about 400lb springs for the front so I set the fronts above 2/3 stiff. Similarly I set the rear a bit over 1/2 stiff (using 350 lb springs). The idea was to slightly over-damp the suspension.
Took out the car, went over a few bumps at moderate speeds and noticed that indeed the suspension was a little slow rebounding. So I lightened up the setttings and repeated the cycle until the suspension started bouncing when hitting bumps (moving in small increments - around 1/8 turn each time). At that point, I went back to the previous setting and called it critically damped.
That's what I use for the street, and I am happy with it.
If I knew more about suspensions, I might want to change my settings, but at least I know where the neutral point is for each end. Now, I will know how to make the suspension over or under damped, at will - again, if I ever think that i need to do so, and understand why.
I hope this was simple enough, even though I may not have explained it in the most succinct way.
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