shock location

[tucker71]

just put wedge bolts and tubed upper a- arms on front of my metric car. where is the best place to mount the shocks? not enough room to go inside of a - arms thanks ahead

[tucker71]

70 people looked at this and no one has a opinion thanks anyways

[dirty white boy]

on mine,..the shocks are mounted to a arm on back side to the lip bout half way out from bushings,...the top is mounted to roll bar...

[tucker71]

thanks not sure if mine will work behind wheel my rf tire almost hits frame will check it though... do you know if its better to have them behind or in front of tire

[dirty white boy]

this is way mine was set up when i bought chassis,...an yeah,.right tire dose hit shock,..i dont see why it would matter front or back....sept left tire be fittin shock then....maybe do right in front an left behind....good luck with it tho'

[racer69]

That looks like a very well built car! I have always heard it doesnt matter but what you said Stock Car makes sense. I can hear BS from a 100 guys and never believe it til I know why. I will believe the one guy that explains it because he actually knows. Makes me want to rethink my asphalt cars front shocks now!

[tucker71]

thank you for the advice

[racer69]

Most of the super stocks at Salem have them in front. Some have them mounted in a spot that bends them if you turn to sharp! Drove a guys car to see what was wrong with it and bent the right front backing out into the pit lane! Gonna grab some new mounts and move mine.

[racer69]

I do believe I would like to see that!

[racer69]

The top I have done like that. Never thought of doing the lowers that way. Thanks Man!

[istock11m]

Do you have to run a different rate shock due to the distance in from the tire?

[tucker71]

thanks stock car driver.

[istock11m]

Your question makes no sense to me on many levels.

My shock follows the motion of the lower, wouldnt it have more control than a shock pointing fwd traveling away from the motion of the lower?

I havent ever asked anyone else what shock rates they run or think I should run, so different makes no sense since Im not trying to copy anyone or make my set up be like theirs.

I guess i was over thinking the mounting position. Lets say your setup is good, but you are having a clearance issue with the bottom shock mount that is next to the ball joint. You then move it in towards the control arm bushings, the shock will need to be stiffer to have the same control that it had mounted further outboard. By the time you figure in angle change and following the arch of the lower arm it may all be the same. I don't know thats why I asked the question. Not picking at your mount just curious.

[stockcar5]

yes if you move your shock from the ball joint area to the back part of the a arm the shock is less effective and will need a slightly stiffer rate to get the same handling effect. i'm sure there is a formula for it somwhere. same thing goes for springs.

[dirty white boy]

yeah thats pretty much how my are mounted...

[Racer96m]

I have seen shocks mounted many ways. Is there a right and a wrong way? Guess not, but I do believe there is an efficient and less efficient way. You pay lots of money for good shocks, so why dont make them work for you the best they can? Mounted inboard on the arm, close to stock will give the shock the least amount of travel, lets say 1.5 inch. Why not mount the bottom of the shock as close to the lower ball joint as you can, and the top of the shock as vertical as you can (without causing a tire rub) this way it is the most efficient and has the most travel (3.5") and works the best for you. You pay the money, make them work for you! I want as much control as I can get, not the least. Have cars won races with shocks mounted all over the place? Sure, and they will continue to. But if you are redoing the mounts, make those shocks work for you! I like an adjustable clamp on upper mount off of the front hoop bar for the top of the shock. That way you can adjust them to keep from rubbing on the tire, and I weld the lower mount as close to the lower balljoint as I can, and mount the shock off the front of the lower arm. Just my .02

dave.

[buterbaughb1]

I've used weight clamps for top shock mounts, I made a 0.10" shim to allow the heim end free movement away from the clamp, and ran a bolt in the backside for an extra point of insurance, never had an issue with them. I have the LF behind and the RF in front because I kept getting tire rub and I run the big late model tires. I have mounts very similar to stock car drivers, the only difference being I tried to keep my bottom mount out near the ball joint. I've always been told and gone by the 10 to 15 degree lay-in is best for the shock.. I could be mislead. Nothing wrong with the way he does his.

[Jeffery]

I run my shocks behind.

I think it matters, the lower a arm swings in a arch upward toward the rear, the shocks in order to follow that travel would need to be mounted at 5-7 degrees leaned towards the rear.

That said lots of guys run they angled way out the front and it seems to work for them, too.

fyi- my lower shock mount is 2.75 behind the closest to the frame rivet in the side of the lower arm. the rivet that holds the steering stop on the lower. My upper mount 9.5 off the top of the frame and just flush with the face of the frame, my rf doesnt rub on the shock. All these measurements are fresh in my head since I just redid a 2012 car someone else built last week.

Wow, and nice. Love to have a chassis like that one for a purestock dirt car.

[spray004]

I have seen shocks mounted many ways. Is there a right and a wrong way? Guess not, but I do believe there is an efficient and less efficient way. You pay lots of money for good shocks, so why dont make them work for you the best they can? Mounted inboard on the arm, close to stock will give the shock the least amount of travel, lets say 1.5 inch. Why not mount the bottom of the shock as close to the lower ball joint as you can, and the top of the shock as vertical as you can (without causing a tire rub) this way it is the most efficient and has the most travel (3.5") and works the best for you. You pay the money, make them work for you! I want as much control as I can get, not the least. Have cars won races with shocks mounted all over the place? Sure, and they will continue to. But if you are redoing the mounts, make those shocks work for you! I like an adjustable clamp on upper mount off of the front hoop bar for the top of the shock. That way you can adjust them to keep from rubbing on the tire, and I weld the lower mount as close to the lower balljoint as I can, and mount the shock off the front of the lower arm. Just my .02

dave.

I'm about to purchase a new set of bearing mounted shocks for my car. The only place I can mount them would be on the front of the LCA and then tie in to a vertical post on my cage. What is the max angle I can mount the shocks forward before it puts too much of a side load on the shock? If I do the math right I get around 19.4 degrees forward on a 7" shock and 16.6 degrees on a 9" shock at ride height.