The main function of a shock absorbers is to dampen the oscillation of the spring after the wheel travels over bumps and dips in the road.
The vehicle's springs actually absorb the shocks of the road. The spring's job is to allow the tire to maintain constant contact with the road surface.
A spring retains energy to allow it to return to its original shape after being compressed or stretched. However, a spring won't just return to its original shape and stay there on its own. You've probably seen what happens when you compress a spring, it will oscillate back and forth in smaller and smaller increments until finally coming to rest.
This is commonly seen in old cars that have bad shocks. The car continues to bounce endlessly until finally coming to rest. Obviously, this is not good for the safe control of the vehicle, and it's certainly horrible for the effective handling of a race car.
Oscillation Control
If the dampening of a springs oscillation is immediate, the car will have better control of weight transfer rate, but a hard ride. On the other hand, if the dampening is a little slower and allows maybe 2 to 3 oscillations, the ride feels much smoother.
In racing, you want the dampening to be almost immediate. A vehicle's bouncing on the springs creates volatile shifts in the tire contact patches and the mechanical down force on the tires.
Both of these conditions reduce the effective grip the tires have. Any bounce in the body of the vehicle needs to be eliminated as quickly as possible to the tires.
Stiffness of the shocks
Like springs, it's possible to have a shock that is too stiff. If the shock is stiffer than the springs, the springs will be overpowered, and will not actually fulfill their bump absorbing function.
A shock also has a major effect on how quickly weight is transferred during the dynamic changes caused by accelerating, braking and cornering. The stiffer the shock, the faster weight transfer occurs. This helps the vehicle have very responsive steering. However, the transfer can be too fast for the driver.
Particularly during cornering, the driver needs to be able to induce smooth weight transfer and feel the tires reach their maximum grip. If the weight transfer occurs too fast, the driver will not feel the tires approach their peak grip, and will likely overshoot the traction capacity of the tires causing excessive sliding or spin outs.
Knowing the rating of your springs is very important in deciding which shocks you need for your vehicle.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9229884
ADS HERE! !!
