When you have dampers or shock absorbers that have adjustment features, this usually means that the units are high- or medium-end units at the very least. If you are on the market for shock absorbers and are looking at adjusting dampers to fine tune your car's handling, bear in mind the primary use of the vehicle that it will be used on. It is illogical to fit shocks with 10-point adjustments for compression and rebound if all the car will see is fast road use. In cases like these, it actually makes better sense to purchase high-end non-adjustable shocks than mid-end adjustable shocks. Adjusting dampers is a trial-and-error affair and finding the perfect settings takes more than one or two test runs.
If you do need to tailor your suspension settings to a fine degree, then adjustable shocks will go a long way towards finding the handling characteristics that suit your driving style. There are plenty of brands and types of adjustable dampers and your choice will depend on the kind of track the vehicle will be used on. Off-road dampers have significantly different characteristics compared to autocross or drag racing dampers.
Assuming that your units are adjustable for both compression and rebound, adjusting dampers takes a few basic principles into account. Compression damping controls the upward vertical movement of the wheels, axles, control rods and (usually) the brakes that make up the unsprung weight of the vehicle. Compression damping regulates upward movement of the suspension when it hits a bump or a rise in the road surface. It should not be used to control dips, body roll or bottoming of the suspension. The ideal bump setting can be at any point within the adjustment range. In adjusting dampers for compression control, you are looking for minimal side-hop in a bumpy turn. When the setting isn't optimized, a pronounced side-hopping condition will be evident and ride quality will be harsher.
Rebound damping is about controlling the roll (lean) of the car when it enters a turn. Adjusting dampers in the rebound does not limit the total amount of roll; it limits how fast this total roll angle takes place. Roll angles are affected by spring rate, sway bars, roll centre heights and other factors. Too much rebound damping on either end of the vehicle will cause an initial loss of cornering ability at that end. This causes excessive vehicle oversteer or understeer when entering a turn. Too much rebound control does not allow the spring to return to a neutral position before the next bump is encountered. This condition can repeat with closely spaced bumps and can cause the car to lower onto the bump stops. When this happens, there is a dramatic increase in roll stiffness. When this happens on the front, the car will understeer; if it takes place at the rear, the car will oversteer. In adjusting dampers for rebound control, one should increase rebound damping incrementally until the car enters the turns smoothly with no drastic attitude changes and without leaning excessively.
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