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Originally Posted by 98sr20ve
Back in the day, the B13 front was the only option commonly tired. Now we have Spec V and Maxima inserts. Even back then the standard SE-R fronts are ok up to the 325lb range. Thats the setup Matt (a very good instructor) is using on his SE-R on a roadcourse.
http://www.sr20forum.com/showthread.php?t=47637
But, knowing what I know now, I recommend the SpecV insert. The cost is less then $10 more.
BTW, the Maxima insert ($135 from tirerack) as tested by Koni has nearly the same starting rebound dampening as the 8611 but with out the overly stiff compression portion. It's my favorite setup for the front. The B14 Koni front has about 10% less starting dampening as the 8611 and makes a great rear unit for a B13 GC car. In the end my criteria for a shock are:
1 Shorter then stock
2 Adjustable
3 Easily Revalvable
4 Of a know high Quality
5 Adaptable to a variety of setups
6 Race Proven
7 Will survive a daily driver
Very few shocks make that list. VERY, VERY few.
And all this talk of Digressive dampening curves kinda makes me wonder about all the SE-R Cup cars running Koni's in the past. Take a look at the Advance Design setup.
http://honda-tech.com/zerothread/1104049
It's not even that digressive (I know it's tunable). Like I said in my post a little while back. There is a heck of a lot more in picking a damper then just looking at a dyno curve. I will take "1 inch plus shorter then stock Koni" over the AGX setup any day of the week on a lowered car. If I was to build up any B13/14/15 my first and only choice would be either a set of Spec V or Maxima/B14 setup depending on the springs I was using. I would recommend Progress stuff, but I'm still mad at progress for making my S13 swaybar wrong and not replacing it. I can't imagine buying a $1200 setup of coilovers and getting the same service I have recieved with my simple to make but poorly made swaybar. I will stick with recommending Koni's as they are proven to be a reliable long term performer with great customer service. Just to be clear, it's not "my Maxima" setup in the sense that you have to pay me to get it done. I have posted how to do all this stuff on your own. It's off the shelf simple  |
The AD chart supplied looks pretty digressive to me. Look how steep the curve is in the 1-2" veloctiy range. In fact it looks slightly more digressive than my front SE-R cup spec and definatly more than my rear spec curves.
But look at Koni reds.
Most modern shocks can be made more digressive, since blow off valves have been added to the circuits.
Results also vary on who is setting up the car to a great deal
Here is a pic of Tom Paules AD equppied car hitting the FIA curbs. Note its bouncing off the ground. The shocks are the old AD valving and Tom is really bad at shock setup. He is such a good driver that minor details like that don't bother him! Following him I could see his car hopping and bounding off of the curbs and bobbing in the rough coners. You can see how much the chassis is upset by the cars attitude and how its heeling over.
As a contrast, Annie Sams old style 8611's in the same turn with the same hit. Its planted. Look how flat the body is at close to max G. This car was the first I tried harmonics tuning on and is set up really well. A lot of attention was paid to the chassis set up on this car. Now its not as good because of changes to the front spring rates. This car works exceddingly well with "old" technology shocks.
Finaly my car with custom spec AD valving. I really clouted the curbs trying to shave every bit off of the track during a time attack. Look how the wheels are all on the ground and the chassis isnt even upset. This is an exccedingly hard hit as well, most other car are launched on two wheels when you do this sort of stuff. Look at the bodys attitude and how flat it is even though the car is at max G here. When my car hits curbs, its a gentile bloop and it goes on, its not a big bounce and slide. Sometimes I even hook my inside tires on the inside of the curbs to try and get more speed. Well set up dampers allow this with little drama.
So how a damper works isnt exatly related to brand. This is what Steve is alluding to. If you are good at tuning what you have, you can make things work.
