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Halz · 07-17-2003, 01:42 AM

When properly set up, dampning has little to do with comfort. Improperly set up, an over-dampned suspension will be ridged/stiff.. the tires will skip over bumps, while a under-dampend suspesion will be bouncy.. we've all see the car with cut springs tossing its occupants around

The spring rate and tire pressure are much more practical variables to adjust in trying to maintain a plush ride.

Also, comparing spring rates between different cars is not acurate, unless whats call a 'motion ratio' is known for the front and rear suspension gemoteries.. which would allow for calculating a wheel rate and ride frequency; the former a unit that can then be used to compare directly to other cars, and the latter dictating the.. ride frequency.. how many cycles per second the chassis will occolate in a frictionless (..dampner-less) suspension.

Alllllso, increasing the front wheel ride frequency, biased to the rear wheel frequency, will induce a 'pitchy ride' if not otherwise well dampened.. this has to do with the speed at which the car tavels over a bump, and how long it takes for one end of the car to catch up to the other end. A huge percentage of production cars are setup with the rear stiffer than the front.. maybe excaggerated, but if you've ever ridden in a large bus, its noticably more stiff sitting in the back than it is sitting up in the front.
So, a staggered setup, front hard, rear soft, works against some natural comfort that needs to otherwise be solved with higher levels of dampening

I know I'm not answering the question.. just putting stuff out there for thought..

07-17-2003, 01:42 AM	#2
Halz BANNED Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: bay area Age: 41 Posts: 214 Trader Rating: (0)	When properly set up, dampning has little to do with comfort. Improperly set up, an over-dampned suspension will be ridged/stiff.. the tires will skip over bumps, while a under-dampend suspesion will be bouncy.. we've all see the car with cut springs tossing its occupants around The spring rate and tire pressure are much more practical variables to adjust in trying to maintain a plush ride. Also, comparing spring rates between different cars is not acurate, unless whats call a 'motion ratio' is known for the front and rear suspension gemoteries.. which would allow for calculating a wheel rate and ride frequency; the former a unit that can then be used to compare directly to other cars, and the latter dictating the.. ride frequency.. how many cycles per second the chassis will occolate in a frictionless (..dampner-less) suspension. Alllllso, increasing the front wheel ride frequency, biased to the rear wheel frequency, will induce a 'pitchy ride' if not otherwise well dampened.. this has to do with the speed at which the car tavels over a bump, and how long it takes for one end of the car to catch up to the other end. A huge percentage of production cars are setup with the rear stiffer than the front.. maybe excaggerated, but if you've ever ridden in a large bus, its noticably more stiff sitting in the back than it is sitting up in the front. So, a staggered setup, front hard, rear soft, works against some natural comfort that needs to otherwise be solved with higher levels of dampening I know I'm not answering the question.. just putting stuff out there for thought..