Penske Racing Shocks 7800 Series - Manual (Page 7)

7
A Guide To Damper Tuning
The ultimate purpose of a shock is to work together with the spring to keep
the tire on the track. In compression (bump) to help control the movement
of the wheel and in rebound to help absorb the stored energy of the com-
pressed spring.
Usually in low grip situations, allowing more bleed or less low speed damp-
ing is desirable to delay tire loading upon initial roll.
In dry high grip conditions, adding damping or restricting bleed will load the
tire sooner upon initial roll increasing platform stability.
A car with too much low speed damping will usually lack grip in change of
directions, cannot put power down in slower corners (wheel spin) and lack
overall grip after initial turn in.
If traction is a problem coming off slow corners, reducing low speed damp-
ing or adding more bleed will help weight transfer at the rear thus increas-
ing traction.
Also, the amount of rebound can have a great influence on weight
transfer. Less front rebound allows weight transfer to the rear under
acceleration. Less rebound in the rear allows for a greater amount of
weight transfer to the front under braking and turn in.
When a shock is over damped in rebound, it can pack down in a series
of bumps and a driver will recognize this as too stiff and usually will think
it is compression damping. Too much rebound can cause lack of grip
on cornering.