I was curious to know....why is it exaclty that the lower settings make a smoother ride on the highway than stiffer settings. Obviously if you're going over a bump on the high way with super soft settings then the shocks would contour the bump. But on the other hand what about dips at high speeds?? Since the shock isnt so stiff wouldnt it dip harder whereas if you rode of with a stiffer setting the shocks would allow a lesser bounce??? For a month i had been working with settings such as 2/4 2/5 and even 3/4 on the HW with this notion and all I'd still have a bouncy ride . The other day i tried 1/2 for the first time and everything seems so damn smooth now!! So I dont get it, what's going on?


[Modified by superduperman, 9:46 PM 2/16/2003]

 

The adjusting changes the rebound rate, so it's how fast fluid moves in the shock to absorb the bump. Higher rates make it a stiffer ride, since it doesn't absorb the bump as quickly. On the highway, it's mostly straight except for smaller bumps, so you want it to be much softer; hitting those small bumps at high speed don't let the shock absorb it quick enough, so a stiffer ride makes for a bouncy ride.