07-22-2009, 09:51 PM
I'm potentially going to change around some suspension pieces and I want somebody to learn me on ability to control Rebound / Compression on a SINGLE adjustable shock. In talking to the owner of a company who does custom design / revalving of shocks and I got some good information from him but I'm still a bit hazy. I know some shocks such as my twin-tube design TEIN Flex have a constant compression and the 'knob' adjusts rebound only. Now, on a certain monotube setup I see that Compression / Rebound are both adjusted together with the 'knob', is this true in all cases or am I missing something? What are the advantages / disadvantages? The owner told me that rebound is adjusted considerably more than compression with each adjustment which allows the valving to remain proportional (I could see where that would be beneficial if I understood this correctly). I'm not concerned with the twin-tube vs. mono-tube debate, I have a pretty good understanding of the differences.
I would like to stay Single adjustable mono-tube based on price, ease of adjustment and minimal TT points but may want to upgrade to a DA in the future and would like a better understanding. The main reason I want to upgrade is to run a stiffer spring rate without totally ruining DD capabilities. I believe a custom revalved Bilstein could help me reach this goal based on the reviews and research I've done and they are very cost effective. As a note, the fastest miata time at my last autocross was set by this setup with RA-1s on a very slick course. I was only 0.70 of a second behind him on a wider street tire but I believe his suspension to be the major difference in performance, his car consistently runs top times against some fairly tough competition.
In my observations the TEIN Flex are a pretty solid and consistent coilover setup, but I have found some shortcomings that I knew would be inevitable with a mid-level off the shelf shock. They are said to have very high rebound from the company and this is quite noticeable on the street with any large inconsistencies in the pavement. I notice small bumps are no problem but any significant drop / dip causes a large reaction from the shock. Also, anything that requires quick reaction like rapid ripples in the pavement or roads with lots of uneven portions make for a pretty unsettled ride. I'd assume its the 'lag' or hysteria involved with the twin-tube design that would account for this reaction. At the same time I also have to give them their praises as I have consistently been able to drive the crap out of them on an autocross course and even on street tires the car is neutral and pretty damn fast considering my minimal seat time in the car.
I know there is a lot of experience on this forum with Koni setups, and I would consider some of the newer monotube alternatives but they may or may not be cost prohibitive. I know there are better and more expensive setups out there (Ohlin, Moton, JRZ, etc... ) but I'd like to continue to keep this a low cost, best bang for the buck project. All information is welcome and please correct me if anything above is inaccurate. Thanks in advance, forgive my novel of a question.
I would like to stay Single adjustable mono-tube based on price, ease of adjustment and minimal TT points but may want to upgrade to a DA in the future and would like a better understanding. The main reason I want to upgrade is to run a stiffer spring rate without totally ruining DD capabilities. I believe a custom revalved Bilstein could help me reach this goal based on the reviews and research I've done and they are very cost effective. As a note, the fastest miata time at my last autocross was set by this setup with RA-1s on a very slick course. I was only 0.70 of a second behind him on a wider street tire but I believe his suspension to be the major difference in performance, his car consistently runs top times against some fairly tough competition.
In my observations the TEIN Flex are a pretty solid and consistent coilover setup, but I have found some shortcomings that I knew would be inevitable with a mid-level off the shelf shock. They are said to have very high rebound from the company and this is quite noticeable on the street with any large inconsistencies in the pavement. I notice small bumps are no problem but any significant drop / dip causes a large reaction from the shock. Also, anything that requires quick reaction like rapid ripples in the pavement or roads with lots of uneven portions make for a pretty unsettled ride. I'd assume its the 'lag' or hysteria involved with the twin-tube design that would account for this reaction. At the same time I also have to give them their praises as I have consistently been able to drive the crap out of them on an autocross course and even on street tires the car is neutral and pretty damn fast considering my minimal seat time in the car.
I know there is a lot of experience on this forum with Koni setups, and I would consider some of the newer monotube alternatives but they may or may not be cost prohibitive. I know there are better and more expensive setups out there (Ohlin, Moton, JRZ, etc... ) but I'd like to continue to keep this a low cost, best bang for the buck project. All information is welcome and please correct me if anything above is inaccurate. Thanks in advance, forgive my novel of a question.