RE-Xtreme RC Drift Bible - Suspension Tension

Here is an extremely basic look at an incredibly complicated topic. Suspension Tension.

Making a small adjustment might actually make four or more. I'll try to keep it simple.

Ok, so you have just bought a new chassis and it comes with ... yes... suspension! There are a set of springs of the same tension and oil of the same thickness. You read the instructions and there is usually no explanation of where to set them or what tension they are. So most people set them midway all the same. (reasonable)

A 50:50 car should have pretty good balance so there is no real issue. You just play.

Depending on how you set the tension, you might get a little or a lot of over steer, the car might turn one way better than others, the car may spin out easily or the car may not turn very well. There are literally so many reasons.

So what happens when you move the ring on the damper.

The ring around the damper controls 2 things at once. Basic ride height and corner stiffness. But there's more.

Making the spring shorter will increase ride height and increase stiffness but, you will also reduce the stroke of the suspension and increase the loaded rate of the suspension.

Squat, Roll, Dive, Load etc etc etc take your pick. If someone says suspension is not important. They are absolutely wrong. 

But hang on... I might only want to change the stiffness, not the other three or more other things. So that's where the different spring tensions etc come into play.

So I will not get too complicated.

Firstly. For most situations, Adjust front left and right at the same time. Adjust rear left and right at the same time.

(basics here) I am assuming the springs are set midway.

soft = grip
hard = slip

Scenario 1. The car is drifting but the rear is not coming out much.

Don't put up with it. Let's change something. Slowly. (small changes can actually be huge.)

We are working towards a harder rear end that will make the rear skip across the road during a slide.

Wind the ring of the rear dampers 1 whole turn shorter. Drive the car and feel the difference. is it good/bad?
Wind the ring of the rear dampers 1 whole turn shorter. Drive the car and feel the difference. good? bad?
repeat,
repeat,
repeat... you are learning.

If it gets to the desired behaviour thats great. It make take one turn, it may take 10 turns.
It may go too far. you may be spinning out. But trial and error is the key here.

The other option is to make the front grippier which will dig in and force the rear out.

Wind the ring of the front dampers 1 whole turn longer. Drive the car and feel the difference.
Wind the ring of the front dampers 1 whole turn longer. Drive the car and feel the difference.
repeat,
repeat,
repeat... you are learning.
Now if you find there is no more adjustment, (not the best situation by the way)  you will probably need to change something more substantial.

You decide what it feels like, not me. I can't tell. there are 100 chassis out there with 10000 combinations and 1000000000 permutations of track surface, motor, tyre, oil, damper, spring, weight, etc etc etc

I cannot tell you a setting. I can only advise you how to change things.

Scenario 2. The car is spinning out easily. Basically the opposite.

We are working towards a softer rear end that will make the rear grip more and a harder front to make the car not "throw" the rear.

Wind the ring of the rear dampers 1 whole turn longer. Drive the car and feel the difference.
Wind the ring of the rear dampers 1 whole turn longer. Drive the car and feel the difference.
repeat,
repeat,
repeat... you are learning.
Wind the ring of the front dampers 1 whole turn shorter. Drive the car and feel the difference.
Wind the ring of the front dampers 1 whole turn shorter. Drive the car and feel the difference.
repeat,
repeat,
repeat... you are learning.
Now, the balance may be upset with a super hard or super soft rear and the opposite on the front. 
You may find balance in adjusting the rear only.
You may find balance in adjusting the front only.

you may need a slight change front and rear.

Wind the ring of the rear dampers 1/2 turn longer.
Wind the ring of the font dampers 1/2 turn shorter. Drive the car and feel the difference.

As you try more combinations, you will feel how your chassis behaves.

go back to the starting point and try a new direction.
 

So, as you change tension as I mentioned before, you are actually changing many things.

If you have wound the spring so tight that there is limited compression, it's very hard and the ride height has changed.

You should probably change to a harder spring to regain stroke and reduce ride height back to normal.

OR

If the chassis is scraping on the floor. You NEED a harder spring up front to regain height.
But that may also mean that the rear should also be changed to regain balance.

It's a good idea to have a spring set with about 5 different tensions. Thus you can do your own R&D.

Don't put up with something you don't like. Change things. 

I've tried a $2000 chassis that handles terribly. I've tried cheap chassis that handle beautifully.

It's ALL in the setup.  You will LOVE YOUR RC.

Russ.