I am an occasional tracker and have been driving my '00 with stock spring/KONI damper for a while. Typicall, I just learn how to use the car as is and be smoother.

Now, I have '07 and install a KW V3 coilover.
I am going to track next month but wonder how to take advantage of these KW adjustments (compression, damping).

What do I look for or how do I know when:
1) to add front compression?
2) to add rear compression?
3) to reduce front compression?
4) to reduce rear compression?
5) to add front damping?
6) to add rear damping?
7) to reduce front damping?
8) to reduce rear damping?

and combinations of either?

Advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

 

http://g-speed.com/pbh/dampers.html
Scroll down to Dampers 202.

 

Thank you. I enjoyed that read.

 

A great reference, I'm going to add it to the FAQ.

 

Thank You.
This is very helpful.

 

Just got through Dampers 201 (had only seen Dampers 202 before I found the above link), and it's quite interesting as well; a really great discussion of the role of aeration in damper operation.

Some good nuggets:
On high-speed vs low-speed: "Low speed and high speed damping refer to the speed of the damper shaft relative to the damper housing, not to car speed. Low speed damping adjustments affect dynamic weight transfer and the motion of the sprung mass relative to a smooth track surface. High speed damping adjustments affect the motion of the unsprung mass (wheels and tires) relative to a bumpy track surface. We are usually much more interested in low speed damping adjustments than high speed."

On gas pressure: "The effect of gas pressure is less pronounced in bump travel [than rebound travel]. This is why increasing the gas reservoir pressure increases bump damping some and increases rebound damping more."

On spring effects: "When shaft speed or oscillation frequency becomes very high or gas pressure is very low, the percentage of gas bubbles in the working fluid becomes high enough that the damper starts acting like a spring in addition to a damper." However, he notes "This is only a real problem if you run on superspeedways or if you run very low gas pressure (less than 50 psi or so)."

On flexible hoses: "If the canister has orifices of any sort in it, the length of flexible hose connecting it to the damper housing should be as short as possible. The hydraulic flexibility of the hose produces a spring between the two stages of damping orifices, adding to the confusion. For the last few years, the dampers that Penske made for their own Indycars had a canister bolted directly to the damper housing with no flex hose."

 

Here's my annotated, color-coded version of his adjustments table in Dampers 202:

 

John, you seem so attached to this subject of damper tuning... how can you live without your 3-way JRZ's? Do you have nightmares at night?

You're welcome to visit and play with my JRZ's and Dynamic's anytime you are having a withdrawal craving.

 

Richard posted a link to those back in Feb when I was having handling trouble with my car, and the advice in there helped me settle it.

It felt quite planted this weekend in Spokane.

 

I think twohoos gave me the links originally