Is it bad to run full stiff?

[s4one]

I was testing my coilovers at bw this weekend and ended up liking the 1/4 turn backoff full stiff front and rear.

Sometimes I feel that the car is under steering so I thought about doing full stiff front and 1/4 backoff rear.

Given that I am currently on a staggered setup. I plan to go square once my tires are used up.

Is it bad to run a shock full stiff? Adjustment is only for rebound.

Thanks

[MasterP]

Usually means your shock doesn't have enough dampening for what your needs are if you're having to max them out.

[luxbmw]

Full stiff is okay, as long as it doesn’t last longer than 4 hours.

[luxbmw]

Originally Posted by TrakBch

Usually means your shock doesn't have enough dampening for what your needs are if you're having to max them out.

Or the shocker needs a rebuild.

[okusa]

Originally Posted by luxbmw

Full stiff is okay, as long as it doesn’t last longer than 4 hours.

[s4one]

Originally Posted by TrakBch

Usually means your shock doesn't have enough dampening for what your needs are if you're having to max them out.

I am just testing out different settings. I'll give it a try next time.

Thanks

[bigjae1976]

Stiffer isn't always better (that's what she said). It's about matching the damping rates and springs. But...it really depends on the track. If there are bumps or elevation changes, a softer suspension setting might be better if the weight transfer upsets the car.

[Groundpilot]

Originally Posted by luxbmw

Full stiff is okay, as long as it doesn’t last longer than 4 hours.

+1. If it does last longer, he should call his technician.

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by luxbmw

Full stiff is okay, as long as it doesn’t last longer than 4 hours.

I missed that on my phone. When are people going to grow up around here...

[TheKosherStogie]

also you realize stiffening the front damper/compression will make you understeer more. You want to stiffen rear or soften front for more oversteer/less understeer

[klammer]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I missed that on my phone. When are people going to grow up around here...

Considering we're approaching (if not already there) 7 billion in population, think sex is on everybody's mind

[PhillyNate]

Do you have sweatpants on?

[LiM3y]

make sure you go with a six-point harness

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by luxbmw

Full stiff is okay, as long as it doesn’t last longer than 4 hours.

And you don't run into a wall with it.

[Yaw]

If you want to change handling at the front you change the rear. If you have single adjustables for rebound only then you want to run the rear full soft. Simple way to keep this straight is rebound damping controls the sprung weight (the car) and compression damping controls the unsprung (tires). You want more weight transfer to correct the understeer so you let the dampers allow the car (rebound) to shift forward under braking. Never run full stiff which closes the valving and can damage the shock. Start from full stiff for all adjustments and back off at least one to two clicks to reach your desired setting.

When you are relaying to someone handling traits it would be more helpful to relay both the trait and the situation. My assumption here is you are speaking about understeer during corner entry. So you can help fix this by chassis settings such as what I described above and by driving technique. Generally speaking the sharper the corner, the further to the apex you should be braking. Tight second gear corner, all the way to the apex. Fast fifth gear corner, just up to turn in. This is the other way you transfer weight thus giving more grip to the front tires. And also watch your brake release which is perhaps one of the most important skills for fast driving. Remember you adjust the opposite end of the car from what you want changed. If you pop off the brake abruptly during turn in you are quickly applying traction to the rear tires so your understeer would be caused by too much rear traction as they are now pushing the front tires straight through the corner.

[luxbmw]

You never want to run full soft OR full stiff. Dampers should always be set one or two clicks away from the end of the adjustment. As I stated if you’ve run out of adjustment than you need to revalve the shocker.

[Groundpilot]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

And you don't run into a wall with it.

I agree. Running with full stiff is ok(not recommended), but if you run into a wall, it may hurt a little.

[luxbmw]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

And you don't run into a wall with it.

I would think that would be safe. Like having two legs with a kick stand

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by luxbmw

I would think that would be safe. Like having two legs with a kick stand

Don't want to have a broken rod, running could also cause severe mushrooming on your abs.

[luxbmw]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

Don't want to have a broken rod, running could also cause severe mushroom prints on your abs.

Point taken, also consider that those well-endowed members risk impaling someone or something.

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by luxbmw

Point taken, also consider that those well-endowed members risk impaling someone or something.

That's okay, that's the goal.

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by luxbmw

You never want to run full soft OR full stiff. Dampers should always be set one or two clicks away from the end of the adjustment. As I stated if you’ve run out of adjustment than you need to revalve the shocker.

Full cold...not very impressive.