Shock questions....

[TWISTER]

Trying to figure out what kind of shocks i need to get for a steel head dirt late model running on mostly dry slick race tracks. We pretty much have an open shock rule....for the most part anyway.
My actual questions are.......
1) How will a gas canister shock(afco m2) help me over fluid shocks(afco t2)? How will it enhance my handling, i.e. side bite and drive, or will it help at all?
2) Would a shock like the IDA shocks supply any advantage for me over regular fluid shocks(afco t2)? Are they worth the extra money over say a set of Afco Silver series shocks? Will they also supply any additional side bite or drive over standard fluid shocks?
** I have always been told that a "gas" shock would only help me if the track was rough, but on a dry slick track that the fluid shock was just as good if not better. I am having a hard time agreeing with this so i am asking others their opinion on this issue.
Please, lets do not turn this into a "brand" war as i am not looking as to what brand i may need to purchase,but as to what style of shock i may need to purchase.Once i decide "what" i need, then i can determine as to whom to buy them from and what "brand". So please if you don't mind please keep the responses performance based. I listed brands because that is what i have now, but does not limit me to only those options. All immediate responses will be greatly appreciated as i may be ordering some as early as today to have them by the weekend.

Thanks so much.

[rubbinsracin]

since we got into LM 4 years ago we have ran oil shocks because they were cheaper to come by at the time. i have always been told if you are running long races on a rough track they are not good because it can cause the oil to "foam" which you will never see in a gas shock. but since we run no longer than 25 lap features in all but our season ending race which is a 40 lapper and the track is usually more or less smooth we are ok.

we are sticking with afco next time becuase its "what we know". when we get our next set of shocks, we are going to go with the afco package. they take all of the thinking out of it. all you need to do is is look at the track and put the shocks on that match the conditions. i know its probably not as good as a set of shocks that are tuned perfectly for our chassis and track size by a shock guru but cost wise its about as good as it gets.

[TWISTER]

I guess i should have been a little more specific with my question. If i have regular fluid Afco T2 shocks now, would switching over to either a gas canister shock,or the Integra IDA shocks, enhance the handling of my car? i.e. an increase in side bite and or forward drive. I would think that if there were not any advantages to the gas shocks, then most of the bigger teams would be running the cheaper and more user friendly fluid shocks. Hope this helps clear up my question.

Thanks

[rubbinsracin]

they run the gas shocks, because they are better over long runs. ie the 50+ lap features because heat in the shock does not cause oil to cavitate. they are also better on rough tracks due to the mono tube design. but can not be run with any dents in the shock due to the big piston,

an oil twin tube will give you way better feel for traction on a slick track due to the fact that there is no rod pressure from gas and are more user friendly. not as good on a rough track due to oil cavitation. they can be run with a dent in the body of the shock.

[dualdj1]

Here's my take on it, and I could be way off base but this is my experience.

We were on the Raburn stock Koni set for 2-3 years. Seemed to work ok, we didn't do much adjustment, and didn't do real well in the slick, except for the first year when we didnt' have much power.

We switched to a set of billsteins by Weaver next year, didn't really notice much difference.

This year we're on the M2 double adjustable canisters. Whereas I can't say for sure that they've made a ton of difference, as we've got a newer chassis as well, they do seem good for our application.

What I like about them (and adjustable gas shocks in general): As stated above, they work well on rough/heavy tracks. The adjustments are very noticable. You have more options than just changing valving settings, gas pressure adjustments help adapt to the track conditions, making it a very versatile shock. On rough you throw a ton of pressure on it and it works great. on slick you can put a ton in the LR and get it to have less rebound/more compression. or drop the rf way down so it lays over easier. I'm not real familiar with other shocks though to be able to provide comparison, but to me these seem like a great all around shock if you could see a variety of track conditions

[jedclampit]

I think you will have a noticeable improvement in traction going from T2's to just about anything! (including the old afco d/a.)

[timmayb]

The gas shocks, whether it be a canister or an IDA will allow you to do more with your car then you ever could on an oil shock. They calm the car down significantly if they are done right, and your program is good. You will be able to do more things with the car to give you side bite, and forward drive......where before your car would shove like a dumptruck, now it will still turn. You will notice that more then whether the actual shock gives your more drive/side bite.

Worth the money? Depends on your application, and where you are running....what your purse is...etc etc. We ran so much better on ours, at 1000 to win a week we probably paid for our ohlins in literally a half a season. Just by running 1st or 2nd instead of 3rd, 4th, 5th every night.

[hpmaster]

I agree with the last post. Find a good shock guy and let him work over some good shocks and you will find out fast alot the stuff you were trying to raise a bar lower a bar out of your car was bad shocks.

[sj valley dave]

We started out with twin tubes...When the track was dry and smooth, they were fine, but if it was rough, it was a pogo stick after 4-5 laps...You could not touch them they were so hot...We went with mono tube Penske's because we race approx a dozen different tracks, from one extreme to another and it is a lot less money than having to buy a bunch of different twin tubes...Best $$ we have spent....