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My car separates real bad because my afco shocks can't take the horsepower...... Eric, weren't you gonna call me back

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man c'mon! You have a 1300HP 9.0 car... i'd blame it on the shocks also

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I would like to know the difference in shocks, how they work, what makes one better than another, how effective the different types are etc

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same here what is so different about the valving used by Santhuff as opposed to most other brands. What are the negatives of using them other than the outrageous costs.

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On those notes... What about how to look a shock dyno sheet a little and what to choose for your application. Like when to choose progressive, digressive, or linear shocks. Or what you want your Force vs. Velocity and Force vs. Displacement graphs to look like.

It's like, OK that what the graphs represent but what should I shoot for? How do you apply that info?

Maybe sort of like this but more specific to the application: http://www.circletrack.com/techarticles/shock_absorber_shock_dyno/index.html

Even a little like this very good read and info: http://www.nttyres.com/downloads/guide_to_dyno_graphs.pdf

Anyone want to build their own shock dyno?: http://www.circletrack.com/howto/82884_buildling_shock_dyno/index.html

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My car separates real bad because my afco shocks can't take the horsepower...... Eric, weren't you gonna call me back

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man c'mon! You have a 1300HP 9.0 car... i'd blame it on the shocks also

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I can see this is going to get confusing,,,it's like everybody is talking at once. Maybe,,try to answer one question at a time, and other posters have patience and just read and try to see if the questions posted are similar to their problems and learn from them...I hope Eric is ready for LOTS of PM's ...

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No... no reason for that.... if Eric wants to answer
YOUR question all he needs to do is click on YOUR
post as a reply OR click on YOUR QUOTE and then
answer the question.... a LOT of guys just click
on the last post in line and in that case you wouldnt
know who your talking to.... by rights you would be
talking to the poster you clicked on.... so I WISH
the guys would catch on to post correctly
EDIT
I should say also that if he clicks on YOUR post as
REPLY it will have YOUR name on the top of the post
so look at the name on the post he is replying to
just to make sure you are reading the stuff that was
directed to YOU ...... hope that makes it clear to
ALL on the posting
Thanks..... also this has a sticky dont expect
the guy to JUMP when you ask a question... I'm sure
he has a JOB and a family.... its not going anywhere

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My car separates real bad because my afco shocks can't take the horsepower...... Eric, weren't you gonna call me back

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man c'mon! You have a 1300HP 9.0 car... i'd blame it on the shocks also

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I can't wait.....

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ive always been told you run compression tight and extension loose,,, when starting off would you run in the middle of your adjustments or bias it one way or the other? how about compression 1/4 way between, bias toward being hard,, and ext in the middle?? or???

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ive always been told you run compression tight and extension loose,,, when starting off would you run in the middle of your adjustments or bias it one way or the other? how about compression 1/4 way between, bias toward being hard,, and ext in the middle?? or???

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Many factors determine where to start. The lower HP applications should begin on the soft end of the range. Keeping in mind that we need to control the rear tire, I usually work the rebound first. Start out soft and keep feeding more rebound into the car watching to see when performance begins to drop off. Compression can be used to control down track "wander" or again to prevent the basketball effect just off the line. I haven't been one to simply say to start in the middle...It may take a few runs to determine how much is too much.

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Eric maybe you should clarify some of the terms
you will be using just for a base line so everyone
understands... I know I use terms like rebound and
compression but others use extension .... I also
use the term jounce and rebound but others dont seem
to use jounce(this is from when I worked in the
suspension lab at Chrysler
Thanks

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I have been having this issue for awhile now. Car initially hooks then spins bad....I have had my double adj shocks all over with the adjustments and nothing seems to work at all. Have had 3 diff rear springs on it as well 150, 130, and now currently. 110s. Made no change. I run ladder bars. Im thinking I need a stiff sidewall tire. I run a 29.5x11.5 mt. Car runs mid to upper 1.3 s and 9.60s and weighs 3100. Should be in the high 1.2s. I feel with my alky injection. Any suggestions? Thanks for your time.

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My car separates real bad because my afco shocks can't take the horsepower...... Eric, weren't you gonna call me back

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man c'mon! You have a 1300HP 9.0 car... i'd blame it on the shocks also

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I can't wait.....

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Could be the driver running out of talent?

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Just have to add to that one

Eric, I have a feeling your gonna fit right in here




I hope to learn a lot from this thread.

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Eric i dont know how intimate you are with Mopars specifically.
there are some factors that are different when diagnosing mopar type leaf sprung rear suspensions. the short front spring half is a factor. just to bring this to light not judge anyones knowledge..
i just want to put this out there..
If we are talking about mopar leaf sprung rear suspensions..
then proper rear shackle movement is a necessity to eleviate rear spring bind..in the extension of rear suspension travel..its a common problem for mopars...so is too short a shock itself..
these are both huge contributors to porpousing ..ie..hook unhook/unload..hook on a leafspring drag car..
as you can see i am passionate about this..
i am no expert...just someone who doesnt mind jumping in...ive helped fix this with a bunch of mopars...and some of it is ubiquitous in our world.
have at it..
cheapst..
and again Welcome...I am all ears..

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Well I have recently changed shocks from Pro-Comp truck shocks to the Rancho XL9000 series adjustable socks and have noticed a positive change.
My tires used to unload after the hit and wad up before they spun producing a very poor 1.7 60' time
Now since installing the Rancho shocks I have cut my 60' down to 1.41 on a marginal starting line.
The good shocks took the bounce out of the rear end and I am happy now and can see mid ten second ET's on the horizon
Gus

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ive always been told you run compression tight and extension loose,,, when starting off would you run in the middle of your adjustments or bias it one way or the other? how about compression 1/4 way between, bias toward being hard,, and ext in the middle?? or???

---

Many factors determine where to start. The lower HP applications should begin on the soft end of the range. Keeping in mind that we need to control the rear tire, I usually work the rebound first. Start out soft and keep feeding more rebound into the car watching to see when performance begins to drop off. Compression can be used to control down track "wander" or again to prevent the basketball effect just off the line. I haven't been one to simply say to start in the middle...It may take a few runs to determine how much is too much.

---

Eric maybe you should clarify some of the terms
you will be using just for a base line so everyone
understands... I know I use terms like rebound and
compression but others use extension .... I also
use the term jounce and rebound but others dont seem
to use jounce(this is from when I worked in the
suspension lab at Chrysler
Thanks

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I have been having this issue for awhile now. Car initially hooks then spins bad....I have had my double adj shocks all over with the adjustments and nothing seems to work at all. Have had 3 diff rear springs on it as well 150, 130, and now currently. 110s. Made no change. I run ladder bars. Im thinking I need a stiff sidewall tire. I run a 29.5x11.5 mt. Car runs mid to upper 1.3 s and 9.60s and weighs 3100. Should be in the high 1.2s. I feel with my alky injection. Any suggestions? Thanks for your time.

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We want to spring the car as softly as possible without causing the spring to bow. The softer choice should provide the most consistent performance given multiple track conditions... If your car weights 3100 and is something like 55% front, 45% rear or so, The 110#'s should be ok, again as long as they aren't hitting the springs..

Ladder bar cars usually respond well to a fair amount of pinion angle. I have seen cars go from not trying to work with 2-3 degrees to hanging the front end with 5 degrees. Again, the front end has to work too. If it is dead, we may not get maximum performance out of the car. Also, we have to make sure we are bind free...

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Looking at a Road Race application on a 1968 Barracuda.…

Spring package:

350 lbs/in calculated at the ball joint wheel rate front springs (1.14” t-bars). 1.25” hollow sway bar

140 lbs/in rear leaf springs (sort of guessing at that). 3/4 “ sway bar that is adjustable

Computer wheel weight scale sheet as follows:

LF..987 RF..924
LR..731 RR..770

56% front weight bias

108 wheel base

**************************************************

Should I be looking at progressive, digressive, or linear shocks?

What kind of shock rates should I be looking at to control those springs in this application?

Do I need to get more info to make a better choice? If so what?

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Looking at a Road Race application on a 1968 Barracuda.…

Spring package:

350 lbs/in calculated at the ball joint wheel rate front springs (1.14” t-bars). 1.25” hollow sway bar

140 lbs/in rear leaf springs (sort of guessing at that). 3/4 “ sway bar that is adjustable

Computer wheel weight scale sheet as follows:

LF..987 RF..924
LR..731 RR..770

56% front weight bias

108 wheel base

**************************************************

Should I be looking at progressive, digressive, or linear shocks?

What kind of shock rates should I be looking at to control those springs in this application?

Do I need to get more info to make a better choice? If so what?

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We have seen positive results in applying linear valving in autocross applications. The harder you charge the corners, the sticker the tires and the heavier the car, the more you will find the linear stuff to your liking...

As far as shock rates go, the variables are vast. Shock rates go up as shock speed increases. (On the shock dyno, if you run the shock at 6 inches per second, record the dampening rate, then spin that shock at 10 IPS, the shock will be stiffer given the same valving or setting). The shock rate does work to control the springs but also helps to control body roll...The higher the center of gravity, the harder you drive, tigher the corners etc, the stiffer the shocks need to be...

In your case, adjustable shocks would be a wise investment. One idea is to tune the shocks to your liking-performance is maximized and then getting the shocks dynoed. From there, you will have a baseline. Two things come from this exercise. One, you now have a file of each shock in case of damage and need for repair. Two, you can map where you are, see how much a click change makes in pounds of force (in the shock)and get an idea of how much the shock change will help you dial in the chassis. Gotta know how much to change something. Also, this could reduce the risk of tuning past the sweet spot when making a guess without hard data to support the tuning choice.

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I have been having this issue for awhile now. Car initially hooks then spins bad....I have had my double adj shocks all over with the adjustments and nothing seems to work at all. Have had 3 diff rear springs on it as well 150, 130, and now currently. 110s. Made no change. I run ladder bars. Im thinking I need a stiff sidewall tire. I run a 29.5x11.5 mt. Car runs mid to upper 1.3 s and 9.60s and weighs 3100. Should be in the high 1.2s. I feel with my alky injection. Any suggestions? Thanks for your time.

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We want to spring the car as softly as possible without causing the spring to bow. The softer choice should provide the most consistent performance given multiple track conditions... If your car weights 3100 and is something like 55% front, 45% rear or so, The 110#'s should be ok, again as long as they aren't hitting the springs..

Ladder bar cars usually respond well to a fair amount of pinion angle. I have seen cars go from not trying to work with 2-3 degrees to hanging the front end with 5 degrees. Again, the front end has to work too. If it is dead, we may not get maximum performance out of the car. Also, we have to make sure we are bind free...

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can you explain how pinion angle has an effect on how a suspension acts?

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lolz here we go

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My car separates real bad because my afco shocks can't take the horsepower...... Eric, weren't you gonna call me back

---

man c'mon! You have a 1300HP 9.0 car... i'd blame it on the shocks also

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I can't wait.....

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Could be the driver running out of talent?

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I bought a pair of the AFCO DA's and have yet to try them out! I saw how much they made a difference on my buddies camaro with NO other changes... he used the intital setting used in the directions and went from 4-6" wheeelie to about a 12" wheelie carrying it out 10ft or so! I cant wait to try mine out either!