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r3dn3ck · 10-17-2006, 10:02 AM

Part 2:

Shock choice and why it's important.

Shocks and struts are not there to absorb impacts so much as they are there to dampen the spring response. If you've ever seen a car go over a bump and then bounce on the suspension several times you've seen what happens when a shock is not there (or really well worn out/blown). Shocks and struts dampen in 2 directions and they're valved to absorb a specific range of forces.

Stock dampers (what shocks are actually referred to as in technical terms) are not bad but they're made to handle the stock spring rates with unwavering reliability. They're not a performance damper by most measures. They're also designed (in SN95 cars) for a car that sits pretty high and has a long wheel travel for a sports coupe. That makes them less than perfect for using when you lower the car. You end up with the struts and shocks at the bottom half of their travel range and it wears on them. The increased spring rates associated with lowering also do their best to shred the innards of your dampers and soon they're just flat toasted.

Since shocks dampen spring response in two directions attention must be payed to proper selection or you'll get things like the bumpy road jitterbug where the car will dance over rough roads because the wheel is over or under dampened. You can also make the suspension less effective by over damping the spring which makes your whole car lift when you hit a bump instead of the suspension absorbing the hit and passing minimal signal back to the passengers. Both of these occurrances reduce traction and in the worst case can lead to you wrecking your ride because you didn't have the traction you thought you did when you needed it most.

When choosing a strut and shock package, don't go and buy the neatest name brand D-spec super heavy duty just because it's the hottest, get what you actually need based on your spring rates. You'll have a better handling car for your trouble.

For most cars with sport to super-sport level springs, the more popular dampers out right now will do just fine: A set of 03 cobra spec Bilstein struts is perfect for just about any street oriented spring (up to about 650lb/in) but the rear shocks are best left on an IRS. Tokico Illumina's in the rear are also a good unit for just about any street application on a solid axle. If you're a racer then you'll need to get more heavily into the research and ask people that know about race grade parts.

Also, a little tidbit. For you SN95 guys (94-04), when you lower your car, getting fox body struts will give you back about 1/2" of bump travel that you lose with the SN95 spec struts and will keep you off the bumpstops a little better. Bottoming a strut sucks (hurts da' butt). This is a standard practice at most hardcore suspension houses including MM.

Get the damper you need and you'll outhandle cars with much more expensive and less well chosen components.

10-17-2006, 10:02 AM	#2 (permalink)
r3dn3ck Wowbagger hates me too! Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Magrathea/California Posts: 6,693	Part 2: Shock choice and why it's important. Shocks and struts are not there to absorb impacts so much as they are there to dampen the spring response. If you've ever seen a car go over a bump and then bounce on the suspension several times you've seen what happens when a shock is not there (or really well worn out/blown). Shocks and struts dampen in 2 directions and they're valved to absorb a specific range of forces. Stock dampers (what shocks are actually referred to as in technical terms) are not bad but they're made to handle the stock spring rates with unwavering reliability. They're not a performance damper by most measures. They're also designed (in SN95 cars) for a car that sits pretty high and has a long wheel travel for a sports coupe. That makes them less than perfect for using when you lower the car. You end up with the struts and shocks at the bottom half of their travel range and it wears on them. The increased spring rates associated with lowering also do their best to shred the innards of your dampers and soon they're just flat toasted. Since shocks dampen spring response in two directions attention must be payed to proper selection or you'll get things like the bumpy road jitterbug where the car will dance over rough roads because the wheel is over or under dampened. You can also make the suspension less effective by over damping the spring which makes your whole car lift when you hit a bump instead of the suspension absorbing the hit and passing minimal signal back to the passengers. Both of these occurrances reduce traction and in the worst case can lead to you wrecking your ride because you didn't have the traction you thought you did when you needed it most. When choosing a strut and shock package, don't go and buy the neatest name brand D-spec super heavy duty just because it's the hottest, get what you actually need based on your spring rates. You'll have a better handling car for your trouble. For most cars with sport to super-sport level springs, the more popular dampers out right now will do just fine: A set of 03 cobra spec Bilstein struts is perfect for just about any street oriented spring (up to about 650lb/in) but the rear shocks are best left on an IRS. Tokico Illumina's in the rear are also a good unit for just about any street application on a solid axle. If you're a racer then you'll need to get more heavily into the research and ask people that know about race grade parts. Also, a little tidbit. For you SN95 guys (94-04), when you lower your car, getting fox body struts will give you back about 1/2" of bump travel that you lose with the SN95 spec struts and will keep you off the bumpstops a little better. Bottoming a strut sucks (hurts da' butt). This is a standard practice at most hardcore suspension houses including MM. Get the damper you need and you'll outhandle cars with much more expensive and less well chosen components.