Quote:
Originally Posted by solidONE
@ M0nk3y
I do agree with your thought on spring and damping balance. Though I've found more damping pressure may feel great at higher loads and speeds, but on low load/high frequency stuff you will be compromising. Which obviously not a top priority for your uses. More of a consideration for traction than for comfort. I'm sure there are magical piston valving that can do it all. Like a Ohlins high frequency piston with digressive shimming, or a penske regressive if you have the means and time to dial something like that in, but that way to hardcore and costly. Fancy parts you need fancy money and a fancy amount of time to get right. For now I'm trying to make basic part perform fancy.
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Load and speed do not correllate when it comes to shock damping, at least not how I believe your using the terms... If you're referring to 'load' as in the suspension itself being loaded in a corner, then that translates to low speed damping on the shock. Hitting a pothole or expansion joint in the road would be more a function of high speed damping, as the suspension reacts immediately and in a far more aggressive manner. My personal feeling is that nearly all aftermarket damping rates tend to get too aggressive on BOTH rates, which results in a sporty feel on smooth tarmac (yay!), but terrible manners over the rough stuff (boo!). I believe the choice is generally made to err on the side of sportier feel, since that's what sells the product, and the market is already expecting the associated result. A three way adjustable shock will have adjustable low and high speed valving on the compression side, and adjustable low speed rebound. High and low speed valving adjustment has been around for 20 years in the street motorcycle world (and even longer offroad...), but for some reason requires a huge investment to purchase in the car world. It does take a little testing to get it dialed in, but once it's there, you generally don't need to touch it again. Even relatively inexpensive dampers work better when you get them dialed in to your specific environment. Silky, compliant action over trashy road surfaces, and firm, tight response over smoother ones. I've used Sachs, Ohlins, and Penske three-ways on my bikes and they were ALL a noticeable improvement, even the relatively inexpensive Sachs. A 4 way would be even nicer, allowing you to really dial in rebound, but it adds an absurd amount of money for the relative improvement.