Got my Ridetech TA Coilovers in my car, any tips or threads for tuning them?

[CTSV]

I took the plunge and had them installed yesterday, it was really late when i picked it up as i drove straight to a cruise show and the guys only had very little time to adjust things as they spent the most time on the ride height and alignment.

there is alot to adjust on these but this is the first set of TA i had where there is a low speed and high speed compression. So I am not familiar how I should go about fine tuning things.

The Ridetech parts did not come with any set up or instructions and I can not seem to find much in their tech section on their website.

I wanted to do this tuning myself without waiting on the shop to do it when they have free time plus it would lend great experience on my own to do it.

As for feedback, I LOVE THESE, the ride quality so far is just awesome and the car feels so much better and controlled.

Ridetech do you have any baseline settings I can try out for aggressive street driving?

[rallystyle]

http://youtu.be/kQ9DGECizzk

[CTSV]

neat video but not much detail regarding the 3ways, i want to know should i crank my high speed and low speed compression to full stiff or there is a different theory on setting these up. I understand rebound.

[Yelcamino]

I took the plunge and had them installed yesterday, it was really late when i picked it up as i drove straight to a cruise show and the guys only had very little time to adjust things as they spent the most time on the ride height and alignment.

there is alot to adjust on these but this is the first set of TA i had where there is a low speed and high speed compression. So I am not familiar how I should go about fine tuning things.

The Ridetech parts did not come with any set up or instructions and I can not seem to find much in their tech section on their website.

I wanted to do this tuning myself without waiting on the shop to do it when they have free time plus it would lend great experience on my own to do it.

As for feedback, I LOVE THESE, the ride quality so far is just awesome and the car feels so much better and controlled.

Ridetech do you have any baseline settings I can try out for aggressive street driving?


CTSV,

We're in the drafting stages of a "basic tuning guide" for our adjustable shocks. In the interim, let me see if I can help you along...

For starters, a shock is a "timing device" that controls how fast or slow the suspension is allowed to move. Typically, we prefer as little compression as possible because the springs are supposed to hold the car up in addition to pushing against the chassis when the car hits a bump or during a turn. With that said,

Compression: (adjusters are located on the remote reservoir; large knob is High speed, small knob is Low speed)
• Start with little to no compression in the shock (both high and low speed).
• Rotate the adjusters all the way clockwise until they stop… this is your ZERO setting where the shock is as stiff as it can get.
• Back both adjusters out (counterclockwise) 18-20 clicks.
• This sets the compression damping at a relatively soft setting.
• Adjust both the front and rear to this setting. You may have to add more to the front, but this is the best starting point.

Rebound: (adjuster is located at the end of the shock shaft)
• Starting at the front, rotate the adjusters all the way clockwise until they stop… this is your ZERO setting where the shock is as stiff as it can get
• Back the adjuster out (counterclockwise) 12 clicks (the shock has around 24 clicks, depending on adjuster and tolerance stack up).
• This sets the rebound damping right in the middle.
• Now set the rear… rotate the adjusters all the way clockwise until they stop… this is your ZERO setting where the shock is as stiff as it can get
• Back the adjuster out (counterclockwise) 18 clicks. (Since the front is set at 12 and we need the rear shocks to be half as stiff as the front, we go an additional 6 clicks, which puts the rear at 18.)
• This sets the rebound damping slightly on the soft side.

Now go drive the car! How does it feel? If it’s too stiff or too soft you need to determine if it’s the front or the rear. Once you know the offending end, increase or decrease the damping by rotating the knob the corresponding direction. Don’t be afraid to adjust things, you cannot hurt these shocks!

After you get some seat time and you try different settings, report back so we can see how things are going.

[CTSV]

Herb thanks for the reply. i seem to have the front pretty good im having trouble with rear, as my interior is rattling bad with the few changes i made out back. when should the high and low compression knobs be tweeked?

[marolf101x]

for a street car you will run VERY little compression damping. Anything you add will make the initial impact of a bump more noticeable. You can control some of this with separation of high and low speed, but for the most pat you'll want to leave it quite soft.

If you track the car (road course, autocross, etc) then compression becomes more important as you try to control how fast (or slow) the car pitches and rolls.

Ride quality is a personal preference. I prefer Muscle cars to be on the stiff side, but a cruiser needs to ride like a sofa.
A good understanding of basic vehicle dynamics really helps when tuning shocks. "if the car moved here, why did it do so? How fast did it do so? What happens if I slow that down. . .what else is affected?" It can take some time to learn, but when done right is unbelievable what can be accomplished for both ride quality and handling.

[bret]

A couple of general comments about ride quality based on a few years of personal and professional experience...

Britt is exactly correct about ride quality being subjective. Unlike handling performance, which can possibly be quantified via timed laps, ride quality is mostly an opinion. Ask a Mercedes, a Cadillac, and a BMW owner about ride quality and prepare to be amused and confused! What you may consider to excellent ride quality, the next guy may consider to be totally unacceptable...or vice versa. Hotrodders expectations of acceptable ride quality has gone up exponentially in the last 15 years...because these hotrodders daily drivers [be it a Mercedes or a Chevy truck] ride quality has gotten much better. Therefore they expect more. That is why we have continued to develop and refine our shock technology rather than let it stagnate.

Another thing about ride quality...interior noise has a HUGE influence on the perception of true ride quality. If I have a customer whose car is maybe not finished yet [no insulation or carpet, maybe no tailpipes, seats not tightened down, etc] their [or anyones] perception of that cars ride quality will suffer. An easy way to test this therory is to place a box of empty beer cans or bottles in the back seat of your BMW. :)
You mentioned rattles in your Mustang. Yep...I'm with you. Until 1979, Mustangs are one of the most ill designed and assembled cars in the world [I have 5 of them] If they don't rattle, you're likely missing parts. The trick is to minimize the rattling:)

To further confuse you [remember this is a subjective opinion] In general, I typically start out with the rebound and the low speed compression set in the middle of the range. I then typically set the high speed compression to the soft side...maybe all the way soft if your roads warrant. The rear will typically be a bit softer than the front. Before taking a test drive, slide the shock bumpstops all the way down on the piston rod to the shock body. After your test drive take a look to see where they are. If they are all the way pushed up to the top you are bottoming out...either the shock or the spring is too soft. If they have not moved much, either the shock or the spring may be too firm. I like to see them within about 1/2" of the top depending on road conditions. If you're leaving more than about 1.5" of travel on the table you might consider a softer shock adjsutment or even a softer spring rate.

As Britt and Herb said...don't be afraid to turn the knobs...you cannot hurt anything! A few miles spent trying some of the potential adjustments will generate some real ride quality and handling rewards.