Hotchkis/Fox Shocks..

[musclecarmatt]

Hey guys....has anyone tried out these shocks from Hotchkis tuned by Fox?....looking for a reasonable priced shock that offers superior ride quality and performance for street and autocross.....have DSE dropped springs 2 1/4 550lb front and 3 inch 175lb rear....

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hss-70020012

[DTM Racing]

Absolutely awesome shock. I've been running them for about 6 months now and we've swapped them onto several cars for before/after comparisons. THe results have been pretty apperent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZcpL6LeWrA

[72BBSwinger]

I have a set, they are not a gimmick.

[Ron.in.SoCal]

I'm curious if/how they differ from the Ride Tech shocks?

[DTM Racing]

I'm curious if/how they differ from the Ride Tech shocks?

I can't speak to the tuning on the Ridetech non-adjustable shocks aside from their adjustable (which I run), however the Hotchkis Tuned Fox shocks are rigorously tuned for each application offered. These shocks have the guess work taken out of modern shocks and allow folks to bolt them in, go fast and have a reliable set up that is well suited to many driving styles (street/Auto-X/Track). As a builder I spend more time talking folks out of single/double/triple adjustable shocks than I do talking them into them. The Ridetech guys will tell you the same. Most people don't need that level of adjust-ability and don't have the time to do it either. The end result can be a customer with an ill-handling ride because they are playing Wheel of Fortune with the shock knobs.

[musclecarmatt]

I can't speak to the tuning on the Ridetech non-adjustable shocks aside from their adjustable (which I run), however the Hotchkis Tuned Fox shocks are rigorously tuned for each application offered. These shocks have the guess work taken out of modern shocks and allow folks to bolt them in, go fast and have a reliable set up that is well suited to many driving styles (street/Auto-X/Track). As a builder I spend more time talking folks out of single/double/triple adjustable shocks than I do talking them into them. The Ridetech guys will tell you the same. Most people don't need that level of adjust-ability and don't have the time to do it either. The end result can be a customer with an ill-handling ride because they are playing Wheel of Fortune with the shock knobs.

do you recommend ridetech non-adjustables?...are they better then fox shocks?

http://www.ridetech.com/store/1970-81-camaro-rear-smooth-body-shock-hq-series.html

[DTM Racing]

I haven't tried them or spoken to Bret about them.

[Josh@Ridetech]

do you recommend ridetech non-adjustables?...are they better then fox shocks?

http://www.ridetech.com/store/1970-81-camaro-rear-smooth-body-shock-hq-series.html

Our shocks (Ridetech) are built by Fox as well. The non-adjustables are valved for a better ride quality, they're for the guy who is looking for a great ride without having to tune it to their liking.

As it was said above, not everyone needs a single or triple adjustable shock, sometimes that can lead to more negativity by giving too many options. If you're not driving a full blown race car, I normally tell the customer to stick with the non or single adjustables.

[Hotchkis]

Hey guys....has anyone tried out these shocks from Hotchkis tuned by Fox?....looking for a reasonable priced shock that offers superior ride quality and performance for street and autocross.....have DSE dropped springs 2 1/4 550lb front and 3 inch 175lb rear....

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hss-70020012

Hi Musclecarmatt,

If you are looking for a bolt-in shock for both street use and autocross then you are right on the money with the Hotchkis-Tuned shocks. We have spent countless hours tuning these shocks to each of their applications both on the track and on the street to allow them to bridge the gap between comfort and performance. What allows these shocks to work so well for both street and performance driving is its digressive piston design. This technology allows the shock to be firm during low-speed compression (normal cornering forces) and continue increasing the resistance rate of the shock up to a certain shaft speed (like when you hit a bump or pothole) at which point the resistance remains constant. What this produces is a shock that will be firm enough for cornering yet still absorb bumps without upsetting the overall balance of the car.

If you want to learn more about shock design, this article from Circle Track magazine really does a great job explaining all of the different technical aspects of shock engineering: http://www.circletrack.com/techarticles/139_0307_shock_absorber_tech/viewall.html