Dampening Concerns & Questions!
 

Hey guys! I just installed my rsr coilovers,
I'm wondering what really is dampening? I get that it makes the ride either hard or smooth depending on the amounts of turns you give it,
mine has *36* adjustable levels of dampening.

My goal for having these coilovers is mostly for daily driving/ and occasional track-spirited driving.

I also don't want to rub my fenders, I set it too a height same as my springs I had before. Sorry for all these extra details, my main question is, if I max out my dampening to either HARD or all the way to SOFT. Will the suspension drop the car more if its hard? or when its soft? Is it BAD to ride full on HARD (sounds wrong LOL) or SOFT? Will it put any more stress on my suspension?

I'm just new to this, been searching up "best dampening for frs", nothing pops up for me that I really understand, maybe I'm just not looking in the right place. Thank you guys!

Dampening is the process of making something slightly wet, or damp.

Damping is what you're looking for. And here's a decent general explanation that's easy to understand.

Ahhh but how is the fitment of the dampener?

If i were you, I would start testing from full soft or full hard and click 3 times at a time until you got your most comfortable setting. Ofcause, there are different setting for DD, track, spirit.

You know, I saw a tri-fold flier from your side's suspension line and someone had mixed up the two words in there. I facepalmed pretty hard. ;)

Sure that wasn't the Sachs crowd? I can't imagine our guys would EVER screw that up! (sarcasm font in place)


LOL Yep there it is!
"From braking to handling, shock absorbers are exceptionally important for a large number of vehicle functions. Designed to absorb and dampen the impact of shock impulses, they convert kinetic energy into heat, which can then be safely dissipated away."


OH WAIT They are off the hook and apparently even "dampening" is correct.


damp·en
ˈdampən/
verb
verb: dampen; 3rd person present: dampens; past tense: dampened; past participle: dampened; gerund or present participle: dampening

1. 1.
   make slightly wet.
   "the fine rain dampened her face"
   synonyms:moisten, damp, wet, dew, water; literarybedew
   "the rain dampened her face"
   
   
   
   antonyms:dry
   
   
   
   
2. 2.
   make less strong or intense.
   "nothing could dampen her enthusiasm"
   synonyms:lessen, decrease, diminish, reduce, moderate, damp, put a damper on, throw cold water on, cool, discourage, disincentivize; More
   
   
   
   

I'm sure (read: dearly hope) that it was whatever marketing agency was being used. But even then it had to make it past probably 2 (more likely 3) other people before being OK'd for use. Just goes to show how few car people actually work in the auto industry. haha

Check my edit!

Pretty sure that's still not the proper use of the word within the context, but I suppose I'll let it slide. :bonk:

Ten minutes ago I would have agreed with you 100% but we would both have been wrong. It is one of those wonderful either or words that the English language has. No wonder people hate learning it.

True, I will completely agree that by definition it works and is an accurate description of the action that occurs. I'll concede defeat there.

But in the context of the automotive realm, I think it's still a faux pas to use the word. I would, as a rule of thumb, find a way to use "damping" and another combination of words to make that description work.

Actually in the context it is used in the brochure it is correct:


"From braking to handling, shock absorbers are exceptionally important for a large number of vehicle functions. Designed to absorb and dampen the impact of shock impulses, they convert kinetic energy into heat, which can then be safely dissipated away."


It dampens the impact by damping the oscillation of the shock.


damp·ing
ˈdampiNG/
noun
noun: damping; noun: damping off; plural noun: dampings off

1. 1.
   technical
   a decrease in the amplitude of an oscillation as a result of energy being drained from the system to overcome frictional or other resistive forces.
   
   
   • a mechanism or system for bringing about damping.
     
     
   • a method of bringing about a decrease in oscillatory peaks in an electric current or voltage using an energy-absorbing or resistance circuit.
     
     
   
   
   
   
2. 2.
   short for damping-off.
   
   
   
   
   

My dampener has a little suction cup platform on the side of the sink so it can dry between uses. It fits pretty well.

Hentai, very simply, dampers are there to moderate the springs' movement. The spring absorbs impact from the road, causing it to compress (spring, not road). But it's a big metal coil, which is great for storing energy. After it is compressed, it rebounds and overextends. Then it contracts from extension and overshoots into compression again. It oscillates like this for a while before all of the initial energy from the impact is expended.

The strut or shock is filled with a viscous fluid. One end is fixed to the body of the car; the other end to the wheel. When the spring oscillates, it drags that end of the shock along with it. The valving inside the shock is attached to that end, so it moves with the oscillation as well. Which means that the viscous fluid inside the shock is forced through the valves, creating drag on the whole system. That drag is what damps the spring's oscillation. When people talk about adjustable shocks, those valves are what they're adjusting. By opening the valves, they create less drag. By closing the valves, they create more drag. These adjustments change how the shock damps the spring's movement.

People smarter than me can go into more detail, but that's the gist of it.

Context was a poor word choice on my part. I just meant that I think people look in the automotive world look at it differently, even though it correctly applies, because of people saying dampening/dampeners instead of damping/dampers.