CSG Mike's observations on dampers/coilovers

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by iLuveKetchup

You see big sway bars because of classing rules. For example, B-Stock where you cannot change the spring rate. Therefore make up for it with a big front bar.

I've seen quite a bit of it carry over into STR/STX...

OT: Were you at nationals this weekend? Nick got a double win... imagine if he had decided to taken a seat with Nissan.

[ultra]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Do you consider our Tein SRCs a "National Championship level competition race shocks and pretty irrelevant to anything remotely 'street'"?

Short answer: No.

Disambiguation: I'm just trying to get my head around re-learning everything I've ever learned about suspension. I've always assumed that harder sprung cars would have more issues in terms of maintaining traction and control on less than ideal surfaces - 'skipping over' irregularities instead of swallowing them up.

A detailed grasp of the mechanics governing various types of damping vs. spring rates and unsprung mass is a bit of a black area to me though.

[iLuveKetchup]

^ there are other things in play, the most important tires.

[solidONE]

Originally Posted by ultra

Before anybody says it yes - I'm aware of Penskes, Motons, Nitrons, Proflex etc. All National Championship level competition race shocks and pretty irrelevant to anything remotely 'street', IMHO.

What's wrong with running high end dampers on the street? I run Penske 8987 3-way shock on my bike and it is fantastic for the street. The high speed damping really mutes potholes and expansion joints on freeway rides. I expect similar result on a a car.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by ultra

Short answer: No.

Disambiguation: I'm just trying to get my head around re-learning everything I've ever learned about suspension. I've always assumed that harder sprung cars would have more issues in terms of maintaining traction and control on less than ideal surfaces - 'skipping over' irregularities instead of swallowing them up.

A detailed grasp of the mechanics governing various types of damping vs. spring rates and unsprung mass is a bit of a black area to me though.

You have to remember that net spring rate is the static spring rate of the spring itself, and the dynamic spring rate of the damper. On a very simplistic level, having no suspension (like a kart) would result in tires that lift off the ground on bumps, and a suspension with springs only without dampers would absorb the bumps, but keep the chassis oscillating up and down. The damper's job is to eliminate that oscillation.

While higher spring rates take you closer to the infinite spring rate of having no suspension at all, the rates you're looking at for the high end dampers are nowhere near enough to cause wheel lift. These setups are designed to maximize traction, and their designed purpose would be defeated if you actually lifted a wheel and resulted in a loss of cornering grip (there ARE cases where lifting a wheel has no net effect on grip...).

[ericmpena]

Hopefully this is the right place to post this, but I'm looking for help on finding the correct damping setting on my coilovers. I currently have Speed By Designs kit, which I believe is 6k spring rate front and rear. 24 settings for damping.

Right now I'm sitting at 10 clicks from max hard. The ride feels comfortable but I just want to make sure I'm getting the most I can get out of these.
What should I be looking for when trying to find the ideal damping setting for daily driving?

I'd like to keep my car feeling fun to drive without sacrificing ride quality too much. I feel like I can go stiffer, but after reading the first post about people frequently mistaking "stiffer" for "better" I'm second guessing myself on going stiffer. The car definitely does feel more fun on the stiffer settings, but if that's not ideal for performance then I'd rather not adjust to that.

So again, what should I be looking for when trying to find the ideal damper setting?
@CSG Mike , you seem to be an expert on this!

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by ericmpena

Hopefully this is the right place to post this, but I'm looking for help on finding the correct damping setting on my coilovers. I currently have Speed By Designs kit, which I believe is 6k spring rate front and rear. 24 settings for damping.

Right now I'm sitting at 10 clicks from max hard. The ride feels comfortable but I just want to make sure I'm getting the most I can get out of these.
What should I be looking for when trying to find the ideal damping setting for daily driving?

I'd like to keep my car feeling fun to drive without sacrificing ride quality too much. I feel like I can go stiffer, but after reading the first post about people frequently mistaking "stiffer" for "better" I'm second guessing myself on going stiffer. The car definitely does feel more fun on the stiffer settings, but if that's not ideal for performance then I'd rather not adjust to that.

So again, what should I be looking for when trying to find the ideal damper setting?
@CSG Mike , you seem to be an expert on this!

Well, you only have one adjustment with those dampers, so keep increasing damping until it starts to get harsh. When it gets harsh is when you have too much damping. Back off 1-5 clicks from there; you'll find a "best balance" in that range.

[Grip Ronin]

mike what did you think of bc coils? they ride like crap to me, i switched to a 5k 6k swift setup on them and it rode a tad softer but felt so much more planted. ive now ordered the gen 5 fortune autos 500s hoping they are a better quality.. your thoughts on them?

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Grip Ronin

mike what did you think of bc coils? they ride like crap to me, i switched to a 5k 6k swift setup on them and it rode a tad softer but felt so much more planted. ive now ordered the gen 5 fortune autos 500s hoping they are a better quality.. your thoughts on them?

PM'd

[Kido1986]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

PM'd

Heh, Mike is too smart to post about the quality of BCs in public. Every time I do it anywhere, I get flamed hard. Especially locally, as I live 5 miles from BC North America.

[Tye300]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

PM'd

Could you pm me your insight on this too? I have BC's and went 7k/6k and felt the same. Car feels a lot planted now with the swifts compared to the BC springs which were too stiff and any adjustment I did still felt underdamped.

[fooddude]

Originally Posted by Grip Ronin

ive now ordered the gen 5 fortune autos 500s hoping they are a better quality.. your thoughts on them?

I'd also love to hear Mike's honest thoughts/experiences on them.

[CBR600RR]

@CSG Mike what's your opinion on the ST Suspension Coilovers for street use?

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by CBR600RR

@CSG Mike what's your opinion on the ST Suspension Coilovers for street use?

They're comparable to other coilovers at the price point.