Shocks & Springs: Tech, Buyer Guide & Brand List

[DreadAngel]

Shocks & Springs: Initial Setup



Height Adjustment




Damper Adjustment - Street

There are many ways of setting up dampers but here is a general, easy way of doing it. The assumption is that you haven't done this before, but once you have a few times, you will roughly know how to offset the front and rear damper settings.

N.B. The lower your car is, generally the stiffer you need to run the dampers to ensure the coilovers can sufficiently keep the car sprung, otherwise the car will bottom out.

• General Idea - For a street car, the safest way to increase handling performance is to ensure the tires are always kept in contact with the road under all circumstances. This is achieved by not running the stiffest setting (although this depends on the coilovers).
  
  
• Before Starting - After installation is complete, go get the wheel aligned.
  
  
• Starting - Start off by having the dampers set halfway for both front and back. Go for a drive on a route you know well, ideally with a mixture of smooth and rough surfaces to feel how the car reacts and also the damper's behaviour at different speeds.
  
  
• Tuning Procedure - Go for a test run each time you adjust a few clicks left or right then adjust accordingly. A 'few' means proportionate to the maximum amount of clicks. For example, let's say 10 clicks is the maximum. You initially set [F] 5 | [R] 5 and drive on your test route. You find it was too soft at the front and just a fraction too stiff at the rear, so you'd then try [F] 7 | [R] 4 and repeat the same route while noting the differences on different surfaces and at different speeds.
  
  
  • Tuning #1A - Front - Ideally the front dampers should be stiff enough to allow you to feel the road better but not so stiff that the nose bobs up and down, which causes the tyres to lose contact with the road and loss of steering feel.
    
    
    • Too Soft - A damper setting can be too soft when either the steering feel is too 'loose/gentle', lost altogether/when the car floats around like a boat.
      
    • Too Stiff - You will know it's too stiff when the nose of the car is too sensitive to changes in road condition, i.e. over bumps or reacting too harshly and exerts excessive force on the driver. It is also too stiff if it feels like riding a horse in general.
    
    
  • Tuning #1B - Rear - Ideally the rear dampers should be stiff enough to allow you to feel the rear following the front, but not so stiff that it feels nervous; especially during hard braking.
    
    
    • Too Soft - A damper setting can be too soft when either the rear of the car is not communicating to you as the driver or if it's not tracking the front correctly. Same as front dampers, it will also float around like a boat when too soft.
      
    • Too Stiff - A rear that is too stiff can usually be felt during hard braking, especially over bad road surfaces. If the rear tires don't feel like they're in contact with the road (a sensation like the rear is skipping or bouncing), you know you have to soften the rear dampers. As with the front, the rear will feel like riding a horse and obviously this is bad for your rear passengers.
    
    
    
  • Re-tune - You keep repeating this process until you attain or have nearly attained a desirable result. It is almost impossible to get the perfect setup unless both your car and coilovers are that good. In most cases you'll need to compromise.

Damper Adjustment - Track

• General Idea - For a track car, it's all about getting the sharpest feel to allow the driver to hit those apexes. Although there is little compromise taken, there are still some key points that need to be addressed.
  
  
• Car Spec - This may seem awfully strange, but the spec of your car will determine a lot of your setup. Differences in tires (Street ---> Semi-Slicks), chassis rigidity, driver preference, etc. all result in different setups.
  
  N.B. While going from street tires to semi-slicks provides a lot more grip, it also can introduce understeer. To counteract this, dampers, swaybar and suspension geometry should be altered to take full advantage of the semi-slicks' potential.
  
  
• Research the Track - Contrary to general opinion, not all circuits are smooth, especially older circuits. Some have not been resurfaced and along with undulated/off camber surfaces, this can have an impact on the setup so be sure to know what you're running on.

Work in Progress