So we're here in the shop today we are talking about
shock absorbers compression rebound and understanding what they do on your car.
The compression and rebound are very important as far as controlling the motions of the car. So as
the shocks going to compress you can imagine a wheel and tire hitting a speed bump this shock
absorbs it. As the wheel and tire comes back down over the speed bump the shock extends
with the rebound returning the wheel and tire to the original position.
Now the the way that this is done is through the oil in the shock and how the adjustment
controls how quickly or firmly that oil is able to circulate which translates to the softness or
firmness of the shock. Right so where you might have a fixed valve shock that has one valving
right it might be different on compression different on rebound there's various types.
These shocks here they have an just the adjuster so basically you have multiple shocks in one.
Yes. Yeah you can soften or firm things our single adjustable here it will soften or firm
both directions of the shock and you'll feel it in the car just by adding a couple clicks so.
And that and that's key is is what you feel in the car right? So whether your goal is ride quality
whether your goal is performance you can tune for a variety of different scenarios and these shocks
allow you to do that. So let's talk about someone who's building maybe a hot rod a muscle car
you know classic truck whatever it may be for street driving. What are you doing shock valving
wise or what do you look for for ride quality? In a street rod or a cruising application you
probably want a little bit softer side of of the shock valving you do want enough valving to dampen
the spring so that as you're hitting bumps and imperfections in the road the car is not
bouncing. It absorbs impact and so it doesn't rock you around in the cockpit a whole lot. Absolutely
yeah. Where now on rebound if ride quality is your goal you can get away with a little
bit stiffer rebound so with that softer compression it absorbs that initial hit
but that rebound then slows the travel of how the chassis returns back to its static height. You
know of course you can go too stiff on rebound and that will start to have a negative effect
but oftentimes you run a softer compression a little bit firmer rebound. Yeah. Yeah you'll
have the softer compression and the wheel and tire will absorb the bump or imperfection in the road
and then it will slowly or more slowly turn return back to its original position usually ends up in
a really nice comfortable ride. So now let's talk about drag racing right? So you see a lot of cars
they're going to leave the line carry the wheels you want a lighter rebound right? Absolutely
yeah the rebound or extension of this shock is going to be what's allowing the front end of
that car to come up which the reason we do that is to transfer the weight to the back tires so we do
want a softer rebound we want some spring energy in there and help get everything coming up right.
And on the compression side so that it doesn't fall flat on its face and you take out the oil pan
and the headers stiffer compression? Definitely with a car that goes airborne especially we want
to have a stiffer compression so that it absorbs that car as it comes back down doesn't compress
the spring so much that the oil pan is now part of the track. Right and so now let's just say
okay so you got your straight line coverage you got your your your ride quality coverage there
but what if handling is what you're after? On handling autocross road racing will usually
want a firmer of compression as well as rebound. Just to keep the car flat going around turns
you don't want a whole lot of sway in the car so that's usually where we'll run a firmer valving.
Yeah where you see a lot of people they'll update the sway bars and there's good gains to be made
there the shocks will have a huge huge role in how the car handles and you can tune for different
scenarios as well with an adjustable shock whether it be you know cruising on the back roads you want
something that handles or at your auto cross you hit on the weekend. Well ultimately at the end
of the day the shock valving is what's going to control the motions of the car so whatever
type of driving you do the shock is going to help you achieve that if you have the ability
to adjust it. So if you're intimidated by the idea of adjustable shocks don't be because the knob's
there for a reason you can turn that shock and have it super soft super stiff or anywhere in the
middle. Yeah I mean one of the fun things about having adjustable shocks is playing with them and
feeling the difference in the ride. That's right and you can find the ride that's right for you and
basically tailor it for whatever your needs are. So if you're building a car or looking to upgrade
the suspension that's on your car check out QA1.net. We do have different resources articles
videos that help you tune for drag racing for autocross just trying to get your car to ride and
handle better we have all the different resources to help you there. And you can definitely call the
tech line too. You might talk to Steve. You might. Thanks guys appreciate it. #goDRIVEit