Shock
Absorbers affect the handling of a race car as much as any other
suspension component. However, shocks continue to be one of the
least understood and most overlooked aspects of chassis tuning.
Consequently, most racers have to depend on someone's
recommendations when choosing shocks for their race car. If the
prescribed shocks are incorrect, the racer ends up adjusting his
chassis around the wrong shocks while trying to correct the handling
problem. The result, typically, is mediocre performance.
However, if the chassis tuner understands how shocks work and how
they affect handling, he can use shocks to gain a performance edge
over the competition. The following information, gathered through
testing on both dirt and asphalt race tracks, as well as on the AFCO dyno and
through the use of AFCO's electronic data gathering equipment,
should help you better understand racing
shocks.
A shock is a valved hydraulic device that resists motion. When
its shaft, and the piston assembly attached to the shaft, are moved,
fluid inside the shock is forced through a series of small orifices.
Some of these orifices are always open (permitting fluid to pass
through during any shock movement) while others are covered and
permit fluid to pass through only when the fluid reaches a certain
pressure. Since there is a volume of fluid on both sides of the
piston, the shock is able to resist the movement caused by
suspension travel.
The size of the orifices and the pressure levels at which the
closed orifices become open determine the stiffness of the shock at
various piston speeds. Generally speaking, the greater the force put
onto the shock the faster its piston attempts to travel. This
increases the shock's resistance to movement and slows down the
movement of the suspension.
This staged valving is necessary because the shock resistance
required to control the suspension when a tire goes over a severe
bump (referred to as the high speed control of the shock) is much
greater than the resistance needed to control body sway or
suspension movement caused by small bumps (referred to as the low
and medium speed control). For the best handling to occur, the
resistance of the shocks at low, medium and high piston speeds must
be matched to the needs of the race car. On the AFCO Shock Dyno, a
shock's resistance is checked at a minimum of three different piston
speeds so that a more precise determination can be made of how the
shock will affect overall handling. Since it is important to
evaluate a shock's resistance and low, medium & high piston
speeds, you should know that whenever you stroke a shock by hand you
are forcing fluid only through the valving orifices that are
uncovered. Therefore, the resistance that you feel is not an
indication of how the shock will perform on a race car when the
shock moves much quicker.
Basically, shock control at low piston speeds affects how the
race car handles through the corners. Shock control at middle and
high piston speeds affects how the race car handles whenever it
encounters bumps and ruts. The speed of the piston, at which a shock
develops a given amount of control, should always be specified.
(i.e. 250# of resistance at 17" of shocktravel per second.)
Rebound control is a shock's resistance to extend. The amount of
rebound control developed by a shock will affect how quickly the
tire is unloaded during dynamic weight transfer and how quickly the
suspension "rebounds" or returns to its original position, after the
spring has been compressed.(more later)
Compression, or bump control, is a shock's resistance to
compressing and is specified at a given piston speed. Compression
control will determine generally, how quickly the tire is loaded
during dynamic weight transfer and how the suspension will react
whenever a bump is initially contacted.
Shocks that have equal rebound and compression controls are
referred to as 50/50 shocks since rebound represents 50 percent of
the total shock control as does compression. Shocks with unequal
rebound and compression controls are referred to as "split valve"
shocks. For example, a shock that has 90 percent of its total
stiffness in compression control and 10 percent of its total
stiffness in rebound control is referred to as a '90/10" shock.
Please note that the ratio number put on a shock does not
indicate its stiffness. However, to facilitate the shock selection
process, most shock manufacturers use a part numbering system that
does indicate the stiffness differences between rebound and
compression controls (see
the AFCO catalog or shock catalog for details on AFCO shock
numbering).
Like shock stiffness, the ratio between rebound control and
compression control greatly affects the handling of a race car
HANDLING OVER BUMPS AND
RUTS
We said earlier that the resistances delivered by a shock at
medium and high piston speeds affect handling over bumps and ruts.
When a fast moving race car contacts a large bump the suspension
must react smoothly and with as little change in the attitude of the
chassis as possible. This allows the tire to maintain compliance
with the track surface. However, if the middle and/or high speed
compression control of the shock is too great, or if the rate of the
spring is too stiff, the race car will rise and upset the chassis
set-up whenever a bump is encountered. If the suspension is
extremely stiff, the whole car can actually bounce and allow the
tire to lose contact with the track surface. Remember that in "bump"
the spring is actually working with the shock to resist suspension
deflection. In "rebound" the spring works against the shock by
trying to extend the shock and deflect the suspension. Consequently,
most shocks, including shocks that are referred to as 50/50 shocks,
will have more rebound control than compression control at middle
and high speeds.
When middle and high speed rebound controls are too stiff the
shock does not allow the spring (or suspension) to return to its
original position quickly enough after a bump is encountered.
Consequently the tire loses some of its compliance with the track
surface. The shock can literally hold the tire off the track surface
for a period of time. It will do the same if the tire runs through a
rut.
If the race car is shocked too stiffly the race car will tend to
skate up the race track whenever bumps and ruts are encountered.
Many drivers mistakingly describe this ill-handling as a "push"
instead of a "skate." Consequently, the wrong areas of the chassis
receive adjustments.
If the so-called "push" only occurs over bumps and ruts, then the
problem is a "skate" and softer shocks are usually the fix (assuming
the springs are not too stiff).
However, when shocks are too soft and bumps are encountered, a
cycle referred to as wheel hop or tire flutter can occur.
During wheel hop, the tire actually bounces on & off the
track. The wheel hop cycle begins when a bump causes the suspension
to move upward violently. This upward movement of the tire and
suspension causes the spring to compress excessively and store a
large amount of energy. If the rebound control of the shock is too
soft to control the energy stored by the spring, the tire is
violently slammed onto the surface of the race track. The tire
bounces off the track and the spring stores a slightly smaller (but
still uncontrollable) amount of energy. The cycle continues until
the shock can control the energy level of the spring. Wheel hop can
be caused by any major deformity in the racing surface or by violent
rear axle wrap during acceleration or deceleration.
Wheel hop can easily be felt by the driver and, if extreme, can
be seen by those watching the race car. During wheel hop, the tire
bounces up and down uncontrollably and causes the handling to be
very unstable. The fix, of course, is to install stiffer shocks.
Keep in mind that wheel hop to any degree, whether felt by the
driver or not, reduces traction.
DYNAMIC WEIGHT TRANSFER
When discussing chassis tuning in depth, a basic understanding of
dynamic weight transfer and its effect on tire loadings is
necessary.
Dynamic weight transfer is the transferring of weight from side
to side during cornering, from rear to front during deceleration and
from front to rear during acceleration. The distribution of weight
that transfers is affected by the rates of the springs used in the
chassis. Basically, if one of a pair of springs receiving weight is
stiffer than the other, the stiff spring receives proportionately
more weight than the soft spring.
The rate at which a tire is loaded or unloaded during dynamic
weight transfer is affected by the low piston speed control of the
associated shock. In rebound, a stiff shock slows down and a soft
shock speeds up the unloading process (unless rebound control is
extremely stiff). In compression, a stiff shock slows down and a
soft shock speeds up the loading process(unless compression control
is extremely stiff). However, excessively soft or stiff shocks can
produce effects opposite to those started. Consequently, by changing
the stiffness of the shocks used on a race car, we are adjusting the
loadings on the tires at different points on the race track. If done
correctly, good handling will result.
HANDLING THROUGH THE
CORNERS
The traction capability of a tire determines that tires influence
on the race car. Traction capability is greatly affected by the load
put onto the tire.
The balance of traction between the left side and right side
tires determines to a great extent how the car will handle while
decelerating through the corner. For example, a race car will tend
to push (not turn) whenever the left side tires do not have enough
influence in stopping the car (the right side tires are slowing the
vehicle more than the left so the vehicle tends to go to the right).
By using stiffer shocks (especially a stiffer extension control on
the left rear, and to a lesser degree, a stiffer extension control
on the left front), the unloading process of the inside tires (due
to dynamic weight transfer) to the outside tires slows.
Consequently, the left side tires remain loaded further into the
corner which helps to turn the chassis.
When making this adjustment, consider using the appropriate AFCO
split valve shocks so as to not increase the compression control of
the left side shocks. This change should allow the chassis to roll
back onto the left side tires more easily during corner exit.
Also, the opposite of the above example holds true. Softening the
extension of the left side shocks, especially the left rear will
cause the left side tires to unload sooner during cornering. The
balance of traction between the left and right side tires moves
toward the right tires more quickly and the chassis becomes tighter
on corner entry.
During acceleration, the balance of traction between the rear
tires can be adjusted with shocks also. A softer left rear shock
(especially compression) will quicken the weight transfer effect to
the left rear tire during acceleration. The result is a left rear
tire that has added influence initially in accelerating the race car
off the corner. A race car will tend to be tight off the corner
whenever the balance of traction between the rear tires favors the
left.
Forward traction can be enhanced by softening the extension
control of the front shocks. This enhances the front to rear weight
transfer process and helps to load the rear tires for improved
forward traction. The appropriate split valve shocks can be found in
the AFCO
Racing Shocks Catalog. Keep in mind that a softer left front
shock (rebound) may tighten corner entry handling also!
Remember, shocks are a compromise like any other suspension
component. Be careful when using split valve shocks with soft
rebound controls so that handling over bumps and ruts does not
suffer. Generally, side bite (cornering ability) can be improved by
softening the shocks (and/or springs). This adjustment can stop the
race car from skating up the corners on slick, smooth tracks.
We hope you have figured out that the heading to this information
is a bit misleading. There really is no mystery to shock function
and tuning. However, there are complexities and qualities that need
to be considered when choosing shocks for a specific application. By
keeping this basic information in mind when troubleshooting handling
problems, you should be able to install the correct shocks for each
situation. This should also enable you to have the confidence to
make shock changes with fairly good expectations for the
results.
Above all, remember that chassis tuning is a compromise and
shocks, though a very important part of the set-up, are still only a
part. |