Copyright Kaz Technologies 2012

Kaz Technologies was started in 1995 We have a staff of 7 engineers

Over 91 years of combined racing and automotive engineering experience

GM Racing
Resident 7-post and shock technical specialists 7-post testing for GM racing 7-post & damper testing tools Race Engineering

What else do we do?

Race Engineering Damper design and development Damper sales and service

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 Jim Kasprzak
36 years racing experience Developed 7-post testing for GM Expertise includes:
Race Engineering 7 post testing Suspension Engineering Shock design, development, & tuning Vehicle Tuning Arvin Ride Control
Director, Original Equipment Engineering Director, New Product Development Chief Engineer, Electronic Systems Manager, Suspension System Programs Copyright Kaz Technologies 2012

31 years automotive experience

Monroe Auto Equipment

 We asked YOU to send in your questions, and here they are! Well be covering:
Data Acquisition and Analysis Shock Tuning on your car Damping Calculations

Please ASK QUESTIONS! Were here to help and guide you through this process. When you see this of your questions! it means were answering one
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Copyright Kaz Technologies 2012

Vehicle Data

Motion Ratio

Wheel Rate Ride Rate Critical Damping Sprung & Unsprung Damping Ratio

Natural Frequencies Sprung & Unsprung

Compression/Rebound Ratio

Knee Speed

Desired Damping Ratio

Compression Damping Low & High speed

Rebound Damping Low & High speed Copyright Kaz Technologies 2012

 The level of damping that allows the mass to return to steady state most quickly with no overshoot is critical damping.

Ccr = Critical Damping Coefficient (N-s/m) KS = System Spring Rate (N/m) M = System Mass (kg)

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Copyright Kaz Technologies 2012

 The ratio of the damping coefficient to the coefficient at critical damping. Think of it as a damping rate.

= Damping Ratio (N-s/m) C = Damping coefficient (N-s/m) Ccr = Critical damping coefficient (N-s/m)

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Passenger Car

Non-Aero Racecars

Critical Damping Aero Racecars Ride: 0.7-1.1 Roll: 6.0-9.0

Milliken
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 Choose Damping Ratios for: Low speed compression Low speed rebound High speed compression High speed rebound Low speed is body control and transitions, high speed is control over bumps. Choose Compression to Rebound Ratio
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High Speed Compression Low Speed Compression Damping Rates N-s/mm

Low Speed Rebound

High Speed Rebound

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Control two different masses with one damper

Sprung mass Unsprung mass

Damper has many functions

Control resonant frequencies Control transient weight transfer rates

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Compression High Speed Compression/Rebound Ratio

Low Speed Compression/Rebound Ratio

Rebound

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DP Car #1

DP Car #2

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DP Car # 1

DP Car # 2

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Typical Damping

Most sources I've read say that damping curves should be biased toward higher rebound damping and softer compression. Is there any truth behind this, and if so, why is this better than having symmetric damping curves or compressionbiased curves?

Compression

Rebound

Compression Biased

Compression

Rebound
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In your seminar on damping calculations last year there was no mention of anti roll bars. Other sources also neglect to mention them. Since ARB's can sometimes cause a significant increase in the wheel rate for single wheel bumps, shouldn't they be considered when specifying dampers for a racecar?

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All my calculations were based on assumed weights. What do I do when I place a scale under each tire and get the true weight? Do I rework all my calculations?

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KS = Spring Rate (N/m)

Unsprung Mass Natural Frequency

The undamped resonant frequency of the unsprung mass

KS = Spring Rate (N/m) KT =Tire Rate (N/m) WUS = Unsprung Weight (kg) g= Acceleration due to Gravity (m/sec2)
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KR= Ride Rate (N/m) KW= Wheel Rate (N/m) KT= Tire Spring Rate (N/m)

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 Motion Ratio
The ratio of shock/spring travel to wheel travel

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Dyno test dampers Damper adjustment range Damper fit check Setup sheet Packer gap Session sheet Data analysis pages
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Low Hysteresis Smooth No Incongruities No Lag or Cavitation

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Incongruities

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Loss of damping force from cavitation and lag

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Make sure shocks fit correctly!

Correct travels
Shock and spring

Check jounce bumper engagement No binding or interferences

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Must properly position shock at ride height Typically mid stroke at ride height Determine shock travel on track
Use data acquisition
Check for bottoming/topping

Use travel indicator on shock rod

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Event Information

Chassis Information

Packer Gap

Aero Information

Gearbox Information
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Session Tabs

Session Information

Tire Info

Tire Data

Driver Comments Changes

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Understeer Gradient = U/S Grad= (Steer -ATAN(WB/((Speed*1.467)^2/(Lat*32.167))))))/Lat U/S Grad = Understeer Gradient (Deg/G) Steer = Tire Steering Angle (deg) WB = Wheel Base (inches) Speed = Vehicle Speed (mph) Lat = Lateral Acceleration (G) Understeer = (Lat > 0.5)* U/S Grad
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Speed

Throttle Brake

Understeer

Lateral Acceleration

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Do you have any tips for using data acquisition to evaluate damper performance (assuming we have the standard sensors like accelerometers and shock travel sensors). What should we be looking for in the data (i.e. targeting a specific damper velocity during cornering/braking, front and rear roll angles stay relatively close throughout corners etc) ?

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Wheel Speed

Throttle Brake Pressure

Lateral Acceleration Understeer Gradient Steering Angle Copyright Kaz Technologies 2012

Steering

Throttle

Damper Displacement

Damper Velocity

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Packer Engagement

Rear Shocks

Steering

Throttle Brake

Understeer Copyright Kaz Technologies 2012

Front Roll Gradient (1.34)

Rear Roll Gradient (1.4)

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Damper Tuning on the Car

What vehicle dynamics test should I perform once the car is running?

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To make car move at Sprung Mass Resonance Observe visually Analyze data Fix pitch, then heave May have to adjust spring rates

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Steering

Throttle

Left Damper

Right Damper

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Steering

Throttle

Left Damper

Right Damper

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Illustration from Optimum G Spring and Dampers Tech Tip 1, Girafa

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To make wheels resonate or bounce

Observe visually Analyze data More AND less compression More AND less rebound
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How do I verify my shocks are working as intended? Say I designed for 1 in bump/droop. How do I verify that's what I'm (not) getting?

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Rear Shocks

Steering

Throttle Brake

Understeer Copyright Kaz Technologies 2012

Stable? Yes, No Neutral, Understeer or Oversteer? Neutral, Understeer or Oversteer?

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