Suspension Histograms

[Max Power]

I am an Adelaide Uni FSAE Alumni from 2004, and a keen reader of these forums for a number of years. I have followed numerous interesting threads regarding vehicle dynamics and tuning however I don't recall a decent one devoted to shock absorber tuning by velocity histograms.

I was introduced to this technique at one of the Claude Rouelle seminars so I have a basic understanding of the procedure employed. I have formulated a vague explanation in my head as to why it may work but I would be interested to hear from anyone who has a good theory.

Furthermore I am keen to hear other real life experiences people have had using damper histograms as a tuning tool, and any rules of thumb they have developed regarding the shape of the ideal histograms etc etc.

Regards

Mark

[Bete Noir]

While I do not know what use Claude may have made of velocity historgrams, I know how I would use them.
Shocks do not move at a single velocity. Velocity is very dependent on displacement which may result from road surface roughness or abrupt vehicle motion. A velocity histogram will reveal which of several velocities is most common and permit shock tuning using a shock dyno.
Of much greater importance (IMHO) is shock frequency analysis since the primary function of dampers is to minimize oscillations resulting from a forced displacement. The damper motion frequency and time of oscillation decay are of vital importance.
The topic is well covered by Dixon.

[js10coastr]

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