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Understanding Shock Absorbers, Dampers and Struts | Handling Basics | Articles

Understanding Shock Absorbers, Dampers and Struts | Handling Basics | Articles

[Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the May/June 1997 issue of Grassroots Motorsports.]

Story by Lee Grimes

If you, like many motorsports enthusiasts, were hungry for any racing action as the 1997 season began winding up, you likely paid attention to the practice and qualifying sessions for the Daytona 500. The big story there was the new stronger spring rule mandated by NASCAR, and which teams could now get their suspensions to work the best.

The buzz was all about shock absorbers and how they were the key to keeping the rearend stable and predictable so the driver could put the precious horsepower to the pavement.

But Daytona isn’t the only place where proper suspension tuning is vital to car control and fast lap times; it has been accurately said that many of the recent gains in suspension control have been made with shock absorbers. They can be the difference between who is on the track and who is on the trailer. But it doesn’t matter…

Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Grassroots Motorsports Online Articles…