• Shocks more inclined: Makes the spring and damping softer.
Makes the car more progressive, giving a smoother feel and
more lateral grip (side-bite). When all four shocks are inclined
it makes the car very easy to drive, and it feels like the car has
more grip, but it is not always fastest.
• Shocks more vertical: Makes the spring and damping harder.
Makes the car have a more direct feel, but less lateral grip.
• Front shocks more inclined than rear shocks: Makes the
steering feel very smooth and there will be slightly more mid-
corner steering. Mounting the rear shocks very upright can
result in the rear feeling unpredictable and more nervous in
corners.
• Rear shocks more inclined than front shocks: Makes the car
feel aggressive turning into a corner, but most of the time the
car will have slightly less steering. The car will have abundant
lateral grip in the rear, so turning radius won’t be very tight.
Shock Damping
Setting the right damping is always a compromise and requires a lot of
“hands on” experience.
Damping only comes into play when the suspension is moving (either
vertical wheel or chassis movement or due to chassis roll), and loses
its effect when the suspension has reached a stable position. When
the shock is compressing or decompressing (rebounding), the shock
absorber oil resists this movement. How much it resists depends on the
thickness of the oil, how much the ow is restricted (affected by the
number of holes in the shock piston), and the velocity of the piston. No
damping means that the spring rate determines how long it takes for
the spring to compress and the suspension to reach a stable position.
Shock Oil
• Thicker oil: Slower shock action, more immediate chassis
weight transfer from side-to-side or front-to-rear. In general
this means that the will respond quicker and is less likely to
become unsettled with sharp direction changes such as in
chicanes.
• Thinner oil: Faster shock action, faster chassis weight
transfer. Faster shock action means the suspension can work
faster to keep the tire in contact with the surface quicker,
resulting in more traction. However, the chassis is more
susceptible to chassis roll and becoming unsettled in sharp
direction changes such as in chicanes
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