Does rear-shock placement affect suspension characteristics?

Asked by: Sheri Sharp

Does direction of shock matter?

Most forks are emulsion type, except for some cartridge forks. This means they mix the air and oil together so the direction definitely matters as oil is heavier than air.

How much travel should a rear shock have?

This is why the rear suspension on most cars with a solid axle should be using a shock with at least five inches of travel while the independent front suspension can use as little as three inches of shock travel.

Can I mount my rear shock upside down?

Bottom Line



Indeed, if you are the sort that prefers cooler bikes with enhanced appearances, then you would do well to mount the air shock of your bike upside down. However, remember that not all shocks can be safely mounted upside down.

What angle should rear shocks be?

If you have a leaf spring, solid front axle with the shackles mounted in the rear, your shock absorbers should be mounted as far outboard as possible, but with a slight lean to the rear (About 1 to 2 degrees of rearward rake for every 2 inches of lift above stock, compounded geometrically).

What does a rear shock do?

The rear shock provides two basic functions: Supporting the weight of the rear of the bike with a bump-softening spring, and controlling any up-and-down oscillations of the suspension by providing damping.

How much sag should my rear shock have?

20% – 30% sag

For the rear shock – 20% – 30% sag is recommended. For the most part, this can be used across the board for trail bikes and downhill bikes. Again, keep in mind you may want more or less sag depending on your bike, weight, and riding preferences. For the front fork- 10% sag is recommended.

Which way should shocks go?

The correct way to mount it is as shown with the boot down and the label facing so it is not upside down. So, If you are not sure which way is up on your shocks or wonder if you can mount them either way, always look at the Bilstein logo. If it is upside down, so are your shocks!

Is there a top and bottom on a shock?

The inner tube is known as the pressure or working cylinder, while the outer tube is known as the reserve tube. The outer tube is used to store excess fluid. The upper mount of the shock absorber connects to the vehicle frame. This upper mount is called the piston rod, and at the bottom is the piston.

What happens if your shocks are too long?

The other problem is that if the shock absorber that has been fitted to the vehicle is too long, in this case the vehicle suspension could experience the shock absorber “Bottoming out”. This term is used when the shock absorber is fully compressed, but the suspension still has an allowed amount of travel to go.

How do I know if my suspension is traveling?

There are a few different ways to measure suspension travel. The most common way is by using a ruler or measuring tape to get the total length of the stroke, from top to bottom. Other methods include using a caliper or vernier scale to measure how much the suspension moves at its full extension.

What determines rear shock travel?

A shock is measured not by the amount of the bike’s rear travel – which is largely determined by the type of suspension design used on your frame – but by its stroke length and eye-to-eye measurement. The stroke length is the amount by which the shock compresses when fully loaded.

What happens when shocks are installed upside down?

Typical twin-tube shocks, whether standard or gas-charged, are not designed to function upside down for many important reasons. Attempts to do this will likely result in poor shock performance, premature failure and potential damage to your vehicle.

Should you use shock boots?

Shocks can be run without boots and will function perfectly. In fact, many offroaders who deal with large amounts of mud will recommend not using boots at all because boots can trap mud against the shock rod and over time can cause pitting in the rod or lead to failure in the seal.

Do shocks work upside down?

No. With the exception of a few specialty shocks, you should never mount your shock absorbers upside down. Typical twin-tube shocks are simply not designed to function upside down for many important reasons.

Do you need alignment after replacing rear shocks?

Replacing those shocks has nothing to do with the alignment whatsoever unless the spring has lost some of it’s tension.

Should I replace front and rear shocks at the same time?

Just like replacing your brakes or tires, you should replace your shocks in pairs. However, you don’t need to replace the front and rear shocks at the same time. As long as you replace both fronts or both rears at the same time, you’ll be fine.

Are rear shocks important?

Quote from video: Похожие запросы

Will shock absorbers work upside down?

No. With the exception of a few specialty shocks, you should never mount your shock absorbers upside down. Typical twin-tube shocks, whether standard or gas-charged, are not designed to function upside down for many important reasons.

Does MTB shock orientation matter?

shock mounting orientation usually has something to do with clearance. Otherwise there is no reason to mount them one way or another. As long as the shock clears all suspension hardware and the frame when mounted “right side up”, there’s no reason you can’t do it.

Where does shock take place in nozzle?

The flow within the converging-diverging nozzle is isentropic since there are no shock waves within the device. Oblique shock waves appear outside the nozzle because the flow static pressure at the exit is lower than the back pressure and so the flow must be compressed to eventually reach the back pressure.

Why do normal shocks happen?

A normal shock occurs in front of a supersonic object if the flow is turned by a large amount and the shock cannot remain attached to the body. The detached shock occurs for both wedges and cones. A normal shock is also present in most supersonic inlets.

What causes a sonic boom?

Sonic boom is an impulsive noise similar to thunder. It is caused by an object moving faster than sound — about 750 miles per hour at sea level. An aircraft traveling through the atmosphere continuously produces air-pressure waves similar to the water waves caused by a ship’s bow.

What causes wave drag?

Wave drag is caused by the formation of shock waves around the aircraft in supersonic flight or around some surfaces of the aircraft whilst in transonic flight.