redtopz

I started racing T1 at the beginning of this year and decided to run my first year with the T1 Sachs shocks to really get the feel of the T1 setup without having to guess at multiple shock settings front and rear. I'm happy with that decision, but now I'm wondering how much difference a good set of shocks really makes? Afterall, in T1 the one open mod is shocks. My car seems to handle pretty well right now except for some annoying corner entry understeer. I'm afraid I don't really have the time or knowledge to dial in 3 way shocks for each track so I would be guessing at the settings and using trial and error which could be frustrating and time consuming. Does anyone else run the T1 shocks and find them to be just as fast as a upper end Penske or Moton setup? Or has anyone upgraded to those shocks and significantly cut lap times (ie. actual before/after results)? Also, how difficult is it to set the shocks up for optimal handling? Thanks,

Bill.

dsanders

I'm still running the T1 Sachs and beat Oli and his fancy adjustable shock setup at the Runoffs.
But seriously I think the adjustable shocks can be an advantage if you have the knowledge and time to setup them up correctly but I have seen guys play with adjustments too much not knowing what they are doing and go slower.

Dave

SIK02SS

If you're good at feeling what the car is doing in corners and understanding the physics at work then you'll be fine getting them. If you still struggle on feeling what the car is doing and have to second guess it, it may not be worth it. As Dave said, they can be good or bad. That said, I know some people who have them and just leave them alone

drivinhard

all you need is a travel/velocity datalogger system on the car, and a 7 post rig

Jason

And if you're running aero, you're going to need windtunnel time to make sure you're not screwing up the air your wing sees when you change your shock settings.

redtopz

My gut feeling is the expensive shocks will make little to no difference unless they are really dialed in and even then maybe only a couple tenths. But I want to hear first hand from people like you who have run the T1 shocks and/or more expensive adjustables. Oli doesn't really have top of the line shocks. Just some older model single adjustable penske's. If I did get different shocks I would want some with slightly shorter bodies than the T1 shocks so I could lower my car without hitting the bump stops.

mountainbiker2

Shocks can make a big difference in Autocross. Big difference meaning .5 second. I've owned 04,06 Z06, Pfadt inverted, dbl. Penske and triple Penske's. All on VB&P springs. Currently running LG G2 coilovers re-valved from another source. Bottom line, I like adjustable shocks. Not necessary, but gives you more options on setup and drivers feedback more importantly.

Steve A.

redtopz

Thanks for the info Steve. You've tried a lot of different shocks! That is a big difference on a short auto-x course.

CP Thunder

It's all about feel and driver feedback. She tells me what she 'feels' and whether or not its the way she likes it. If not, I twist the ***** till she does................

Makes for quick adjustments without going to tire pressures or swaybars.......

JimbeauZ06

Penske also makes a non-adjustable T1 shock. Anyone tried those?

jhester

a splitter and/or underbody aero will be much more pitch sensitive than a wing

pitch change (dive/squat) appears to be a AOA change on the wing, so it is a fairly straight forward math channel to calculate if you have a wing sweep data set. that said, splitter and/or diffuser pitch sensitivity can be much harder to model and predict accurately based on actual ride height during the pitch event

redtopz

I just did a couple nasa races this weekend in my T1 car to finish up the season. This was my first time there with the T1 setup and it was definitely more challenging with this car compared to my other setup with poly bushings, coilovers, and aero. However, once I got used to the flopping around and soft suspension I was turning about the same lap times. I managed a 1:47 lap, but once I solve my nagging power steering issues the car will do 1:46's. The current T1 lap record is 1:49 something, so I think the Sachs shocks are fine and I will save my money for tires.