techtorque
Non-Adjustable and
Adjustable Shocks
In the old days, a loose front
shock – either a worn out stocker
or a special 90/10 valved shock
– was used to allow the nose
of the car to rise quickly. That
transferred as much weight as
possible to the back wheels. It
was simple because there was
virtually no rebound (the “10”
in the 90/10 rating) and a whole
bunch of bump at work (the
“90” in 90/10). These shocks kept
the nose up in the air; you can
imagine how this messed with
the race car’s aerodynamics.
You can still purchase shocks
with 90/10 and other valving
ratios designed specifi cally for
maximum weight transfer. Some
of these shocks have dual stage
valving on the compression side
that allows the nose of the car
to settle on the top end. They
work well, and you don’t have
fi ddle with them.
On the other end of the spectrum
are adjustable shocks like those
manufactured by AFCO, Strange
Engineering, Koni, Competition
Engineering, and others. Many
shocks are available as single-
adjustable or double-adjustable.
A single-adjustable shock lets
you set rebound valving only,
while
a
double-adjustable
shock lets you set compression
and
rebound
valving.
Many shocks have external
adjustment knobs on the shock
body with settings from softest
to fi rmest. For example, Strange
Engineering single-adjustable
shocks have 12 rebound settings
to choose from with 1 being the
softest and 12 the fi rmest. The
rebound adjuster is extremely
sensitive; one or two “clicks”
will make a signifi cant change
in tuning the chassis.
Here
are
the
starting
points Strange Engineering
recommends for their single-
adjustable shocks:
Drag Race, Front
• Turn to position 2 or 3
(position 1 is full counter-
clockwise)
• Rotate the adjustment knob
to increase weight transfer
(front end travel)
Drag Race, Rear
• Turn to position 5
• Rotate counter-clockwise to
plant the tires harder
• Rotate clockwise to decrease
wheel hop
Street, Front & Rear
• Turn to position 4 or 5
• Rotate the adjustment knob
clockwise for a fi rmer ride
Double-adjustable shocks are
often used at the rear of the car
for drag racing. Chassis builder
Jerry Bickel off ers this advice for
initial settings:
Single-adjustable front shocks like these from
Strange Engineering allow for external rebound
adjustment.
“A good starting point for rear
shock adjustment is to set
the rebound adjustment tight
and the bump adjuster loose.
Remember that the fi nal setting
that is best for your car will be
found with some thoughtful trial
and error and may change with
track conditions.”
ADJUSTMENT
TIPS
So, you have the shocks on
the car and you know how
the adjustment settings work.
Now what? Here are the basic
procedures for dialling in the
shocks:
Front or Back First?
If
the
car
wheelstands
excessively or bounces on the
gear change (more likely), adjust
the front shocks fi rst. If the car
rattles the rear tires, wheel
hops, or has way too much body
separation, adjust the rear shock
absorbers fi rst.
Front Shock Adjustment
The idea is to get a smooth
transition in front end movement
as the car launches right through
the fi rst gear change.
If the car is violent on the launch
and physically jerks the front
wheels of