Ok this may be a really stupid question, so just laugh at me if it is. But, Is there any way to match adjustable shocks without a shock dyno? See this video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZfDDzW9UXI

It seems like the most common criticism regarding Koni yellows is the accuracy of the adjuster. That matched settings may not provide the same damping rate. On this video the speed at which the piston extends is heavily affected by the rebound setting. The piston almost stops at full stiff to 1/8 back. Then once 1/8 back the piston speeds up considerably.

The reason this question came to mind, was some of the comments I read on this article.

http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets18.html

Notice this line: The last 1/2 turn to full hard is useless (tiny changes make huge force changes)

The author's comments seem to coincide to the video above. So does the speed the piston extends tell you anything about the damping rate? Can you match shocks in this way, at least roughly or better than just matching the turns of the adjuster?

 

No.

The only reason these shocks return to the top, as shown in the video, is internal gas pressure.

Furthermore, a shock will never see speeds this slow, or with this little force.

I don't agree with this guy about running full stiff either. The only danger is moving the adjuster too far and damaging the internals. The caution has nothing to do with the shock not returning to full extension.

Remember, there are hundreds of lbs of force acting on the shock, it will move no matter what the internal resistance is, unless of course it's infinity.

 

For reference, here are my shocks on a dyno.

Notice the speed that the shock is tested at.

http://youtu.be/xIGQDLilYwc

 

He's not saying that it's dangerous to use the last bit of adjustment on the Konis -- he's just saying that because the adjustment is so non-linear in that range that it compromises your ability to make fine changes and/or run similar settings on the left and right sides of your car.

 

Looks like you had to press it down harder after turning it to full stiff, evidencing some cross talk between rebound and compression.

 

First off matching the adjusters is not really that big of a deal. Definitely not something to worry about. But if that doesn't convince you I would reccomend contacting circle track prep shops. In my area there is a circle track shop that charges only $10 to dyno non adjustable and $15 for adjustable shocks.

 

No, gas pressure, oil volume, bleed past the piston, temperature and seal stiction all have far more effect than the actual valving on the return rate, it won't tell you anything really, bar that there's still gas in there.

 

yeah that's what I thought, thanks