Afco shock settings
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From: Fort Worth, TX
Afco shock settings Just purchased some double adjustable Afcos for the rear. I have never had DA shocks before. What settings should I start with? With the rear SA QA-1's it hooked set at 8-9 on a well prepped track and the front SA QA-1's set at 2, but front would pop up and come back down quickly.
On The Tree
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I have the same shocks on my Stock Eliminator car. My car is totally adjusted by the shock settings no matter the air or the track due to how I have it balanced. It sets down very gently and doesn't bounce, ever.
I am not sure my settings will help, but I don't mind letting you know. Have either one of you ever weighed your car on the individual scales? The weight bias might help some. Plus, are either one of you using an anti roll bar in the back?
Kyle Ratcliff
4121 C/SA
1998 LT1 Firebird
I am not sure my settings will help, but I don't mind letting you know. Have either one of you ever weighed your car on the individual scales? The weight bias might help some. Plus, are either one of you using an anti roll bar in the back?
Kyle Ratcliff
4121 C/SA
1998 LT1 Firebird
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Bain there was a sheet with baseline settings in the box ..per AFCO ..heavy door cars (thats us F body guys) slower than 9.90,,start with compression 6 clicks from full soft ...
rebound start full soft and adjust 2 clicks at a time until the 60 ft falls off
keep good records of track conditions and tire pressures...if running a radial...i have good luck with tight compression and rebound ...hit the tire and keep the weight on it with a tighter rebound setting...
rebound start full soft and adjust 2 clicks at a time until the 60 ft falls off
keep good records of track conditions and tire pressures...if running a radial...i have good luck with tight compression and rebound ...hit the tire and keep the weight on it with a tighter rebound setting...
On The Tree
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Bain,
I am looking at your weight sheets and am guessing that the "D" represents when you are sitting in the driver's seat. Also, the front to rear bias doesn't add up to 100% in either case. Is there something I am misreading?
Anyway, I have a couple of final questions. How many turns do your front shocks have from full tight to full loose on expansion? The same question for the rear shocks.
And, how many settings do you have on the front for compression? 9? Same question for the rear.
Thanks!
Kyle Ratcliff
4121 C/SA
1998 Firebird LT1
I am looking at your weight sheets and am guessing that the "D" represents when you are sitting in the driver's seat. Also, the front to rear bias doesn't add up to 100% in either case. Is there something I am misreading?
Anyway, I have a couple of final questions. How many turns do your front shocks have from full tight to full loose on expansion? The same question for the rear shocks.
And, how many settings do you have on the front for compression? 9? Same question for the rear.
Thanks!
Kyle Ratcliff
4121 C/SA
1998 Firebird LT1
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,455
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From: Fort Worth, TX
Yes, D is me sitting in the drivers seat. I have the single adj QA-1 R's with firm compression and 275 lb springs on the front with 12 settings. Not sure how many settings the rear Afco's have, but they are double adjustable. I will look in the paperwork tomorrow and see if it tells you.
Last edited by BAIN; Dec 14, 2011 at 11:13 PM.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Fort Worth, TX
Longbob - You are correct looking at the sheet the %'s don't add up so I went trough it myself.
Front = 1871 = 55%
LF = 972 = 52%
RF = 899 = 48%
Rear = 1507 = 45%
LR = 758 = 50.3%
RR = 749 = 49.7%
These are the weights and % with me in the driver's seat. Hope that clears it up
Front = 1871 = 55%
LF = 972 = 52%
RF = 899 = 48%
Rear = 1507 = 45%
LR = 758 = 50.3%
RR = 749 = 49.7%
These are the weights and % with me in the driver's seat. Hope that clears it up
On The Tree
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I was thinking the same thing about it being nose heavy. Although, Bain did mention that the car rose quickly then came back down quickly. There isn't much we can do with the expansion rate on the front shocks since they are single adjustable, but I think I would definitely stiffen the compression settings on those shocks to settle it down. I like a car to sit down smoothly after the launch.
If you have 12 clicks on the fronts, I would put it on number 9 or 10 (almost full stiff) to start rather than in the middle. The rears I would put the expansion and rebound in the middle settings to begin. You want the weight transfer for sure.
It would be nice to see if you could get closer to a 50-50 front to rear, but that may not be in the cards. I would also like to see more weight on the right rear. Example with you in the car: Left front (860lbs) Right front (829lbs) Left rear (838lbs) Right rear (851lbs).
And your new anti roll bar intalled with neutral setting on the driver's side and maybe a turn of pre-load on the passenger side. This depends on the bar and the car, but I bet that would get it close to launching straight and flat.
Kyle Ratcliff
4121 C/SA
1998 Firebird LT1
If you have 12 clicks on the fronts, I would put it on number 9 or 10 (almost full stiff) to start rather than in the middle. The rears I would put the expansion and rebound in the middle settings to begin. You want the weight transfer for sure.
It would be nice to see if you could get closer to a 50-50 front to rear, but that may not be in the cards. I would also like to see more weight on the right rear. Example with you in the car: Left front (860lbs) Right front (829lbs) Left rear (838lbs) Right rear (851lbs).
And your new anti roll bar intalled with neutral setting on the driver's side and maybe a turn of pre-load on the passenger side. This depends on the bar and the car, but I bet that would get it close to launching straight and flat.
Kyle Ratcliff
4121 C/SA
1998 Firebird LT1
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Fort Worth, TX
Here are a couple vids of it launching.
The front shocks were on +1 and the rears were Comp Engineering set at 50/50 leaving off the trans brake at 5100-5200 rpm.
The front shocks were on +1 and the rears were Comp Engineering set at 50/50 leaving off the trans brake at 5100-5200 rpm.
On The Tree
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I can now see the videos. Your car doesn't bounce much at all. It actually leaves pretty good. Not sure where you have the front shocks set, but I would stiffen them a little on the compression if possible.
It would be more pronounced if the new shocks and roll bar free up the chassis some. And even more so if you were able to modify the weight bias. You are able to keep the left front from rising quite a bit due to how much weight you currently have there and the Spohn bar, IMO.
Kyle Ratcliff
4121 C/SA
1998 Firebird LT1
It would be more pronounced if the new shocks and roll bar free up the chassis some. And even more so if you were able to modify the weight bias. You are able to keep the left front from rising quite a bit due to how much weight you currently have there and the Spohn bar, IMO.
Kyle Ratcliff
4121 C/SA
1998 Firebird LT1
