Among the street suspensions, a considerable part of them has a damping adjustment function, so what do adjustable dampers mean for daily driving? here is something you need to know about adjustable damping coilovers.
K-Value & Damping
A misleading view: the spring will be stiffer when you raised up the spring seat, and softer if you down the spring seat. This is actually not accurate. K value does not change, and when it does not change, where does the stiffer experience come from?
When you raised up the spring seat, the length of the spring is not changed, you only change the length of the exposed part of the piston rod (that is, the length of the upper part of the shock absorber and the camber plate). But why do you feel it becomes stiffer? simply put, the exposed length of the piston rod increases, so the damping increases, and the decrease is vice versa.
Find the Right Setup
Too large damping will hinder the compression and extension of the spring, and reduce coilovers sensitivity. it cannot absorb bumps and control body roll. Too small damping cannot suppress excess vibration of the spring. so it is crucial to choose a spring with the right K value before tuning. We provide 24-ways adjustable coilover suspension, you will experience better ride quality in all road conditions. for more information about K value calculation, you can look at our previews blog.
Damping adjustment is counting the number of clicks. for example, if one coilover is 10 clicks of damping adjustable, the damping coefficient of each compartment is about 10% of the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the variable damping. And so on in other 8 clicks, 16 clicks, 24 clicks, etc., and the damping coefficient of each compartment is the adjustment of a few percent of the maximum-minimum damping difference.
Ps: The adjustable damping series only means that there are several clicks of damping that can be adjusted. The more adjustable clicks don’t mean the greater the adjustable damping range of the suspension.
How-tos?
When adjusting the damping, the number of damping clicks on the left and right sides of the coilover should be adjusted consistently. The front and rear adjustments should be set according to the different driving habits.
There will be a knob on the camber plate, if the left is marked with S (soft) and the right is H (hard), then the clockwise screw will increase the damping. Damping is divided into compression damping and rebound damping. Compression damping is to provide damping when the spring is compressed, and rebound damping is to provide damping when the spring is elongated. What is the best value of damping? The big truth says a lot, it is actually: feeling, tuning, feeling, tuning… Rotate hard in the S direction, soft in the H direction, and so on indefinitely until you find an optimal balance point that you are satisfied with.
Players who choose to modify the suspension must have something ready: patience, time, and money. It’s a long time from installing to adjusting it, but it will bring you indescribable fun, changing the car is torture, but the torture is at the same time you are enjoying it.
