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View Full Version : what blows more?...


sw20>>s14
09-09-2005, 05:46 PM
well, ive been wondering on durability of coilovers...ive been talking to a couple of friends and we got into a little argument over what prematurely blows shocks/dampers faster...

-i thought that setting it to a stiffer dampening level would blow/ruin/whatever it faster because the piston would have to work twice as much and twice as hard...
-one of my friends said that setting it to the softest setting would blow/ruin/whatever it faster because now the suspension travel or stroke of the shock/damper is longer
-another one of my friends said that setting it exactly in the middle would blow it faster...i didnt get the reasoning for this...

we know the components and characteristics of suspension...piston, valve, orafices (sp?), etc...but is there a right or wrong answer? of course there are millions of variables...but just imagine two identical s14s...identical coilovers...one>stiffest dampening other>softest dampening...same distance traveled everyday...who would need a rebuild first? i just want a justified answer because im gonna be doing a lot of commuting on my c/os and i wanna know whats the best thing to do to preserve them...maybe tanabeUSA or ksport could step in and enlighten me... :blah: im just bored, but TIA for any info...

sykikchimp
09-09-2005, 05:52 PM
Higher settings will blow struts faster. The pressure against the inside of the damper seals is greater for every given ocillation when the holes in the valve are smaller.

The only way softer would be worse is if your springs were too soft, and a softer damper setting allowed your struts to bottom out.