What brand of street shocks do you have?

[Red]

Apolan, when you ask about AE92 shocks bear in mind they are designed for a DIFFERENT CAR.

"Short" is meaningless unless it is used in comparison to something else. Short, medium, and long. Or, shortened versus original.

In order to absorb energy (shock) you can do it gradually, or try to do it suddenly. A sudden energy transfer will never be felt (in the seat of your pants<G&gt as gently as a slow energy transfer, and in order to transfer the shock of a 1500kg vehicle bouncing on the road, you need a certain length shock absorber in order to do that more gently. Shorten that--at all--and the transfer becomes more rapid and the shock to the vehicle and drive becomes harsher. Or, you can compensate by changing the design, sure. But then what happens when there is a larger shock? Oops, there is no longer the capacity to dampen it and the suspension bottoms out. No matter how the valving in the shock is set up, it is only "absorbing" while the cylinder is compressing and the oil is bleeding through the valve. In a short stroke shock, it stops compressing sooner--because it has reached the end of the cylinder and bottomed out. That's when the suspension goes "boom" and you start breaking things. (Or, the front end alignment is knocked out first as the energy is "absorbed" into the other parts.)

Ask any of the guys who race on tracks for a living, the pro circuit. Their shocks are designed for a flat professional track--and they'd bottom out and break in street use, for that reason.

For us, street use means you need the ability to hit railroad crossing at 40mph without bottoming out. To hit potholes at 50mph without bottoming out. And to hit the uneven concrete slabs on the highway at higher speeds, and absorb them without abusing the kidneys.<G> In order to get that wider longer range of absorbtion--you need longer cylinders than for track use.

In physics there are only trade-offs. Magic is another department, and magicians just don't make shock absorbers. Even though many shock absorber companies claim they do!<G>