Real life dampening settings......

  • Thread starter Thread starter Prophecy99
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Prophecy99

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Let me start off on saying I have adjustable gas shocks on my car. To be exact they are Tokico Illuminas. They have setting ranging from 1-5. 1 being the softest and 5 being the stiffest. FYI I ride 4F / 5R in the summer and 2F/3R in the winter( i see snow and ice). Also I have a FWD and very heavy front end.
Now I know the basics but wanted to be positive on what certain dampening settings front to back do.

Simply put am I correct in saying
"if the rear is set stiffer than the front" that would create more understeer? and vise versa
"if the rear is set softer than the front" that would create more oversteer?

Personally I dont Auto X or anything so I probably would be able to tell if I was able to push things to the maximum limits, but not going crazy on the streets I really havent been able to tell a whole lot, also I never actually set my rear settings softer than the front, maybe i should try that next season....
Thanks for any input...
 
Well, considering you didn't divulge much information on the chassis itself... it'd be quite difficult to even give a proper diagnosis. Plus, in order to really tell the dampening force on those dampers per setting, you'd have to take them to a shock dyno. Then after doing some number crunching, you could balance the car properly or weight it heavier to oversteer/understeer, depending on your preferred choice of driving. Ideally, it would be wise to match your car with some properly balanced springs first (grab a calculator, measurement equipment, and a formula for motion ratio). Then, you can match your dampers to the spring rates.
 
This wouldn't happen to be a Protege, would it? That's the exact same set-up I have on my car.

You'll have to check a car-specific forum to find the proper springs to match to your Illuminas... I'm currently suffering by having aftermarket springs that are too damn stiff... even on the "5" setting, there is still some harshness over bumps.

Don't know that much about damper tuning... but I think you've got it right (as far as dampers go... for springs, it's the other way around). I generally just set the rear to a rate that feels good when the rear end is both laden and unladen (I don't know where it is now... I think it's around "4") and adjust the fronts for the handling I want. Typically cycles between "3" and "5".

If shocks are your only mod, I don't think you have to worry about mad oversteer just yet. It'll take some anti-roll-bar tuning and alignment adjustments before you reach that point. Besides... shocks will only affect initial oversteer and understeer... and not as much as tire pressure and spring rates do (spring rates are much more important!)... aftermarket shocks are usually just there to ensure your car doesn't bounce up and down like a pogo stick and go all squirrely over every bump on the track.
 
thanks guys, I do have a few other chassis stiffening mods and.. suspension mods like.. lowering springs... though I wish I knew the exact spring rates which would be good to match..I dont know them right now.. If I find the H&R spring rates then I will post it up here.

FYI I have FSTB (front strut tower bar), LTB (lower tower bar) Stage II, 20" Rear spacers(creating equal stance front to back) and H&R lowering springs abtou 1.4".
and nope sorry not a protege...its a maxima...:)
 
Prophecy99
Simply put am I correct in saying
"if the rear is set stiffer than the front" that would create more understeer? and vise versa
"if the rear is set softer than the front" that would create more oversteer?.
Click to expand...
Speaking of spring rates, no, that's generally backwards. If you have a car that is perfectly balanced, a stiff rear end would cause more oversteer, and a stiff front end would cause more understeer. That works in all cars to a degree.

On my Civic I did notice that having my rear dampers all the way stiff made a noticeable reduction in understeer on track when I needed it, but it also made the difference when I didn't need it. The car wasn't stable when it should have been, and on top of that my street ride suffered because the damper settings were poorly matched to the spring rates. Right now they feel matched as best they can, the car rides surprisingly well over slow or fast bumps, it handles predictably if with more understeer than I'd like. But that's what rear sway bars are for.
 
H&R? That's what I have on mine, and I feel they're too stiff for the Tokicos... but on a heavier car like the Max, it might even out.

The rears on the H&R have a lower ride height? Weird.
 
Keef
Speaking of spring rates, no, that's generally backwards. If you have a car that is perfectly balanced, a stiff rear end would cause more oversteer, and a stiff front end would cause more understeer. That works in all cars to a degree.

On my Civic I did notice that having my rear dampers ...........what rear sway bars are for.
Click to expand...
Well thanks for clearing that up... though its confusing others said quite the opposite..

niky
H&R? That's what I have on mine, and I feel they're too stiff for the Tokicos... but on a heavier car like the Max, it might even out.

The rears on the H&R have a lower ride height? Weird.
Click to expand...

Yes, once lowered on H&R the A33 chassis rear sits lower by...a 3/4" :sick:
not the best looking but... Daily Driving in the North East cant complain.
They are stiff for sure but suposidly the most comfortable spring/strut combination out there for my chassis. And yea at times its not super comfy but thats why you have the adjustable Illuminas.:sly: i guess.

Also wanted to note H&R doesnt release thier spring rates..... they say "the way they test thier rates isnt the same to other manufacturers".. so that being said I dont know how I can match the dampeing to my springs... other than trial and error.
 
That's pretty much all you can do... or swap to something slightly softer each time till you get it right... :lol:
 

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