Is our suspension setup correctly by aftermarket strut MFR's? Is the bias correct?

[Nihil]

This is all very interesting to see. I emailed a couple of the typical coilover mfg's asking for dyno/spec sheets, I doubt I'll get any from them, general consensus is, they're all made in the same plant, including the Tein stuff.

[DocWalt]

Honestly, the Megan damping curves look no better than $350 Raceland coilovers. Ignore the forces, that damping is for much softer springs for a Miata. Raceland Dyno Test Results - Miata Turbo Forum - Turbo Kitten is watching you test compression.

Having ridden in a car with Raceland coilovers back to back with Bilstein shocks, the lack of rebound damping is incredibly noticeable. The car feels like it wants to leave the pavement a lot, which can't be good for grip.

[2fnloud]

^^^^^Ninja Edit^^^^^^

Saw the E-mail and was like:

[Erron Spalsbury]

^^^^^Ninja Edit^^^^^^

Saw the E-mail and was like:

Ya, the first inch everyone seems to forget about the weight of the car but since we're talking specifically shock dynos now I figured I'd keep the curve ball out of it.

[sergechronos]

Ya, the first inch everyone seems to forget about

Well it can be rather forgettable. Giggity.

Anyhow, looking forward to the charts for some of the other coil over options. Should see if Apexi has one for their Evo S1s since they're supposed to be fairly comfortable and better handling. Would be interesting to see how it measures up

[JasonY]

For quality shocks, it usually steps from OEM straight to something along the lines of Ohlins. The stuff in the middle is usually a downgrade from a healthy OEM setup.

Jason

[J. Fast]

For quality shocks, it usually steps from OEM straight to something along the lines of Ohlins. The stuff in the middle is usually a downgrade from a healthy OEM setup.

Jason

Only true if 65% critical dampening can not be achieved with valving and spring combinations. Take a look at some of the shock dyno plots and see if the rebound and compression are equal to each other in low speed ie. 3-5 in/sec range. When you take into account the critical dampening equation with spring rates and corner weights if the number falls between 62-68% then you've got yourself a good setup . Those Fortune Auto shocks actually look pretty good on the soft settings and the reason why the Bilstein's ride so nice... they are rebound and compression matched at 3 in/sec at 65% critical dampening for a full weight car on stock springs . The only way to know for sure though is to measure, disassemble, and weigh the suspension and wheels to get the sprung and un-sprung weights, geometry, and the motion ratios. When I calc'd the critical dampening for the Fortune Auto's I determined the spring rate I'd want on a 3/S with that valving is 485 front and 540 rear. Notice the rear spring rate is higher... there is a reason. With some new found knowledge IMO any coilover with a spring rate over 10K that doesn't valve a median at least 220pounds at 3 - 5 in/sec in rebound and compression on our corners isn't 65% critically dampened nor a performance improvement. The secret sauce to coilover setup is 65% critical dampening in both compression and rebound. For the most part only high end dampeners can achieve that because they have independent adjustment for both. However, if you can spec your dampeners to be 65% critically dampened for your specific spring rates then you have something special. Unfortunately, every time the weight distribution, geometry, and un-sprung mass is changed the dampeners need to be re-valved on one ways to maintain balanced critical dampening on the non adjustable side. If you select a dampener MFR with domestic USA support that can custom valve then midlevel coilovers aren't necessarily a downgrade.

[2faststealth4u]

Wow Jeremy good write up on this issue.. Never learned so much about a cars strut system an balance in my life O_o

[Nihil]

Ksport wrote me back, it costs $35 bucks to get a dyno sheet, they have to actually test it. They said their circuit pro series comes with a sheet upon purchase.

We can offer a shock dyno service for $35 per corner if you’re interested. Dyno sheets are not readily available for every application of our Kontrol Pro coilovers due to there being several hundred applications. Shock dyno sheets are included with purchase of our Circuit Pro coilovers.



Regards,
Chris M.

Here's a dyno sheet of the BC Racing stuff, not sure what for though. It seems most of the dyno sheets available online are a generic, unrelated to a specific shock platform, sheet.

Dyno.jpg

[fastfalcon94]

Has anyone looked into ISC coilovers? I don't know if many 3000gt people run them but they are quite popular on the subaru platform. I have them in my suby and I really love the way it handles. I'm not a serious track racer though, and I don't know a whole lot about shock dynos. I've just done a few autocrosses for fun. But ISC's are supposively made in MA so maybe they would be willing to work with someone on custom spring rates or dampening. They were able to get me sti coilovers with different top hats for my 98 impreza, and special rear adjustable camber plates.



Shock Dyno Results | ISC Suspension NA


ISC COILOVERS