Well, I had my AVO dampers dyno tested as recommended by the Radical SR1 owners manual.
Before I did this, I asked for a dyno chart to compare them to. I think it was kept in the "Tower of London" as it took weeks and many e-mails to get. So it is attached here for all to see in the future.
The results are that the AVO damper is junk. there is no consistency between the 4 of them.
So I am thinking about getting some Penske 7500 single or double adjustable dampers. Any opinions about what works?
The Intrax triple adjustable dampers are a significant improvement over he AVO’s. I would recommend giving Anthony at Radical Northwest a call. He has given some great deals on Parts.
Charley
So after some close examination, checking installed lengths and such (more to post on that later) I have discovered that the front rockers hit the chassis skin when the suspension compresses. Just noticed this tonight, I am curious if this is common to other SR1 or the SR4?
There seems to be very little bump travel on the front before things start to hit other things. I will find out exactly how much travel when I can get back in the garage.
The Penske 7500 double adjustable dampers are being built. I ordered them about the same length as the Gen2 SR1. This will allow the Hankook to be used, if desired.
The gen 1 dampers are 305mm front and 325mm rear.
To solve the front rockers hitting the chassis, I test fitted a rear damper on and shortened the pushrod. This configuration gives enough travel that the tire will hit the body befor the rocker hits the chassis.
On the rear, the upper control arm rod-end will need the Gen2 spacers.
The mounting points will need some custom spacers to get the .5" spherical bearings to work with the 3/8" & 7/16" bolts. Some of the existing spacers might work. I am sure I will have to play around with bump stops and maybe a spacer inside the damper to control the droop. But they are so easy to work on that I can do that here at home. Plus they have the same piston as the upper end dampers so they can be revalved as needed.
Now the fun begins, a few more details to resolve...
Great parade. I am looking forward to hearing how much of a difference they make on the track.
Charley
Getting closer, fabricated new bushings for the mountings. Because these dampers are pressurized, the spring preload that was used on the front AVO dampers is too much, I have to back it off to get the same ride height I had before. Now on to the bump stop rubbers!
added a few photos
Out on track, finally. They felt great. Didn’t get a chance to sweep the damping as I had a axle/CV boot pop off and I didn’t want to contaminate the joint. But 4 installation laps, a good look over, then 8 laps to get a baseline. Most of the laps were within .8 of my PB, that’s with not driving for 5 months and old junk tires. CV Boot is repaired, now to get back on track for some real testing.
Great to hear that your car is working well! I was just thinking tha we hadn’t heard from you for a while. Thanks for the update.
Charley
GreaemeD, thank you for posting the pictures and notes. I'm sorting through my SR4 and your pics of a clean car give me something to shoot for!
thanks,
just let me know if there are other areas that I can help with.
If I understood correctly, the roll bars are not adjustable, I have "hard" in place and I think of mounting "soft": what do you think ?? .thank you to enlighten me. Christian
i am running the same 300/250 original springs. They seem to work for me.
I only run circuits, and it never rains here, I don’t even own rain tires.
the stock nik link is the medium, again that is what I have.
not sure if any of that helps,
Not quite,
let me add to that statement, during most racing weekends. There have been some early and late events that have had a dusting of snow on the circuit!
The one time that it did rain briefly while I was at the track, there was also a tornado. Sat belted in my truck with my helmet on..........
