Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Reiner
Whereas the "main" or "usual" shock is oriented close to the vertical and approximately at 90 deg. to the axle, and is most effective in dampening wheel motion in bump and rebound, the "5th" or auxiliary shock, by virtue of being oriented at about 45 deg. is more effective at dampening chassis roll motion.
If the valving of the main shock were stiff enough to provide the same roll dampening as is provided by the auxiliary shock, it would be too stiff to allow the needed compliance for good tire performance.
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What Frank is saying here is correct. With the current car design the chassis suspension (torsion bars, etc.) on the rear is mounted below the vertical center of gravity. Since the suspension is the only means of controlling chassis roll (until the jacobs ladder locks up, that is) it must be stiff enough to limit the rate of said roll, which potentially makes the suspension too stiff to maximize tire contact/weight transfer, etc. This 5th shock appears to allow some control of the roll rate while keeping the suspension as soft as possible. Kind of like installing an adjustable rate anti-roll bar. Probably not a bad idea, but all I need is to have to buy another 4-600 dollar shock.
By the way - coil-over suspension suspends the car at or above the roll center which adds some anti-roll itself.
Tim Simmons