Dampers, commonly called shock absorbers, are one of the most critical components on a modern racecar. Besides controlling the effect of bumps, stabilizing the aerodynamic platform, and adjusting the transient balance of the car, the dampers contribute to the driver's feel for the response of the car and his ability to control it.
This paper examines and compares three racing dampers that are currently commercially available, presenting damper dynamometer data to illustrate the response to adjustment of these dampers.
A damper dynamometer cycles a damper through a given stroke at a given frequency and measures relative position, shaft speed, and force. The dynamometer hardware and software used for this paper were manufactured by Roehrig Engineering, Inc.