I Don't understand shocks?

[speedbuggy]

Speedbuggy,Ball up your fist and hit the concrete wall. Then place a dampening device like a pillow or shock between your fist and the wall and throw that same punch.The same weight is transferred but the result is very different. The energy is absorbed in the absorbing device but the same punch was thrown.Shocks are about controlling the contact patches. Everything is about controlling the contact patch.The sudden jolt didn't cause the contact patch to bounce off the track. You are controlling these jolts by design of the suspension and the absorbing characteristics of the components.The suspension has a frequency at which it operates. Springs and design control this frequency.If you search for suspension frequency you will ground yourself some in the way you think now. The suspension frequency is what your talking about and not the absorption characteristics of a suspension.They are 2 entirely mutually exclusive things. A) How much weight can a corner hold *spring* B) How much absorption is on that corner *shock*

First I have ever heard of suspension frequency. I'll check that out. thx

[stock car driver]

Ill erase it for ya, pull your pantys out.

[Matt49]

If a shock is stiffer on compression, weight will transfer to that spring slower. The shock shaft doesn't hold any weight or apply pressure to the contact patch unless you are getting into some pretty high rod pressure numbers or extremely high compression.
The weight that is not transferring to that spring because of the dampening is transferring to another spring or failing to come off of another spring. But it would take insanely high compression numbers for the shock shaft to be actually loading the contact patch. The spring is the only thing that loads the contact patch to any measurable degree.
Shocks do not "absorb" weight transfer the way springs do. Shocks "dampen" weight transfer which is completely different. This is a common misconception and leads to the mindset that stiffening a shock compression is like stiffening the spring but it is completely backwards thinking. Stiffening a shock compression has the affect of softening that spring but to a lesser degree. If you want a spring to accept weight (and thereby load that corner of the car) sooner/quicker, you soften compression dampening.
Springs "absorb" weight transfer and apply it to the contact patch of the tire (how much is dependent on travel and motion ratio).
Shocks "dampen" weight transfer by changing how quickly a spring can load and unload.

[speedbuggy]

Scamper, sorry if I hi-jacked your thread.

I hope maybe you found some of this info useful.

[hpmaster]

I like posts about how shocks work, springs and weight transfer. Now after all that we turn the most complexe race car suspension in the world into a frggin gocart. The actual question I am tryin to figure out is at what point to turn it into a gokart and then release it to work again. After 30+ years experiance and a couple Race Wise classes, that I agree with about 80%+ of Mark's info, I sit quietly in the corner.

[let-r-eat]

gokart? I'm not following your thought process.Matt49 also made a nice distinction with the weight transferring but not actually going to that particular contact patch, unless dampening rates of the devices are profoundly ridiculous. LIke that pillow example between the fist and the wall. The same work was performed by you and your fist but the result to the wall and your knuckles were drastically changed, due to the dispersing of the work away from the contact point *area between knuckles contacting wall*. Coil bind setups and bumpstop setups do exactly the same by putting the sudden jolt through to the contact patch.No different than hitting a nail with a hammer and then putting a spring on top of the nail and hitting it. How far the nail sinks into the board changes dramatically. Just like trying to pound out a ball joint or anything without a solid support. All the same principle. A way of concentrating the work on the contact patch or away from the contact patch.

[7uptruckracer]

I think hes referring to the trend of locked down, binded, and bumpstopped setups. The bad ones are just overloading the wheels the guys who are truly good will know what their wheel loadings are and what the curves and ppi are on their stops etc...i guess go karts is a reference to a rigid suspension