THE SCIENCE OF SETUP: Episode 8 - Shocks, Part One [VIDEO]

0 March 23, 2017, 10:41 a.m.

By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com

This bi-weekly column by RC Crew Chief founder Bob Wright delves deep into how and why particular adjustments alter the handling of your RC car or truck. You can download a trial version of RC Crew Chief for free and follow along to learn more about how to get the most out of your vehicle by tuning it the right way to suit track conditions:
rccrewchief.wrightdesign.ca/RcccDownload.aspx

CLICK HERE to view Episode One - Setup Physics and Terminology
CLICK HERE to view Episode Two - Suspension Properties
CLICK HERE to view Episode Three - Weight Transfer

CLICK HERE to view Episode Four - Overall Suspension Stiffness
CLICK HERE to view Episode Five - Camber and Camber Gain
CLICK HERE to view Episode Six - Roll Center and Camber Gain
CLICK HERE to view Episode Seven - Steering Ackermann
CLICK HERE to view Episode Nine - Shocks, Part Two

Episode 8 – Shocks, Part One

Shocks are also known as dampers - they may be one of the most difficult aspects of car setup to comprehend and also to simulate. Before we go too far, we need to look at the type of shock we will be discussing in this series of videos, the basic principal of operation, how to quantify damping and how the shock model was validated against test data.

Shocks are critical to having a vehicle that can handle the different conditions you can through at it: cornering, bumps and jumps to name a few. They must perform over a wide range of strokes and speeds while keeping the chassis under control. Springs and anti-roll bars provide the muscle and shocks provide the brains. Gain a good understanding of how the work and you will be able to squeeze out a little more performance than the other guys.

So let’s get started. Here’s Episode 8 - Shocks, Part One