KW V3 - does the shock rebound faster or slower when rebound damping is on a hard setting?

I thought, the harder you make it, the more damping making it move slower, is this correct?

 

that is correct.

 

Thanks,

I only asked as on track yesterday, a supposedly suspension expert told me that upping the rebound to a harder setting it would rebound quicker.

Had a little argument with him, saying the spring, combined with whether you go softer or harder on the settings determines how fast the damper moves, softer faster, harder slower. He said I was wrong, I didn't know 100% if I was or wasn't.

 

Could you have been having a terminology or language issue? By definition, "damping is any effect that tends to reduce the amplitude of oscillations in an oscillatory system", and thus increasing damping will reduce the speed and amplitude of suspension movements. Seems like a strange thing to be disagreeing on unless one of you was misunderstand the other.

 

It was probably a misunderstanding.

Just to clarify if I set the rebound softer, the damper/shock will rebound faster.

A bit confused now as he said harder means more resistance from gas making it rebound faster.

 

Ah -- assuming you're recounting the conversation correctly, he's definitely wrong.

Again, damping is a function of how the shock's oil moves through its valving; adjustable shocks let you change the valving's orifice sizes, thus providing more or less resistance to rebound or compression.

Gas pressure's something else altogether -- its primary purpose is to prevent the oil from cavitating. It also contributes some spring force, so I suppose increasing it makes the shock rebound a little faster, but it's definitely not a damping adjustment.

Gas pressure is adjustable on most high-end monotube shocks, but I'm not aware of any twin tube shocks that have external gas pressure adjustments. (You can change gas pressure on twin tubes like Konis while rebuilding them; some autocrossers like to reduce it to lower ride height.) I haven't seen a KW v3 in person, but it's safe to say that if it has a Schrader valve on the outside, it's for gas pressure, and if not, the gas pressure's not adjustable.



^^^
You can see the Schrader valve on this Moton on the end of the canister opposite the adjuster.