Wheel weight?

[rod cole]

Is wheel weights important in selecting shocks? What other factors does a shock selecting person need to know? Thanks Rod

[Ron Sutton]

Rod,

Don't you hate when someone says "it depends"? But it depends. Are you cruising the car & hanging at car shows ... or running occasional AutoX events ... or beating on it hard every weekend trying to win competitions?

If optimum performance is the top priority, then yes, unsprung weight (including wheels), total car weight, spring rates, motion ratios all play a role in valving needs. If you're a serious competitor, then you'll want adjustable valving to tune to track conditions, events with higher & lower speed corners, rough tracks, etc.

Give us some guidance about your car ... and about your planned usage ... and we'll be better informed to offer advice.

Are you buying shocks off the shelf? ... or having some custom valved?

[rod cole]

It is a 1980 olds station wagon, g-body, Big block chevy,Tall lower and upper bjs,680inch pound front springs,200 inch pound rear,1 1/4 front bar, solid bushings and mounts except engine. Mostly auto x and some street. Ride is not a big concern. Tires 275/40/17 rear,235/45/17 front. The plan was to purchase Bilstien shocks for roundy round cars but they are sold with different valving. Was going to use speedway as they seem least exspensive but am open to what ever is best. Not much on changing settings once it is dialed close. Does not really fit a class just fun. Rod

[79-TA]

Short answer. Wheels can't be too light. Wheels can be too heavy.

Since your build is performance minded, I don't think it will be an issue.

Sprung weight matters and should generally be minimized (within reason . . . don't go breaking a wheel in a pothole for that last two pounds.) In a road car, the sprung weight is a smaller percentage of the overall weight and is not as critical as it is in an open wheeler or racing sedan. In terms of performance, you do not have to worry about the wheel being too light. The wheel might be too light in terms of strength or cost. Heavy donk style wheels will be detrimental regardless . . . Get something that will let your run the amount of tire you want to run. Run the widest wheel and tire that you can up front that won't give you any rubbing problems. Then don't go too much larger in the rear where you are likely to have more space.


You'll be doing well (better than most, in fact) if you can get your damping ratios set in the ballpark of 0.65 relative to just the sprung weight. Know your car's maximum (static) corners weights (IE, full load of fuel with both a driver and a passenger for an autox run . . . or maybe you'll do the autox taxi thing and have 4 people in the car), your actual spring rates, your approximate unsprung corner weights, your motion ratios and then go to town figuring out how the shock needs to perform. Focus on the shock's low speed performance, where it will spend most of its time.

You will need to do some homework on reading shock dyno charts to do this.