In three words, a Corvette stands for light weight, power, and agility; light for its fiberglass body, powerful for its longtime allegiance to V8s, and agile for suspension that grew more sport-like as generations succeeded one another. The last of these has become a rather crowded market for enthusiasts, with selections ranging from soft to firm, twin-tube to mono-tube, regenerative, magnetorheological, and so on.
So it’s good to have some perspective and knowledge where you can get it. Today, it comes from Mid America Motorworks, one of the leading Corvette specialist companies out there. Let’s take a look at what it had to say about shock absorbers and what they mean to a Corvette.
Looking at it one way, the shock absorber acts as the brain of a car’s suspension. Its job is to take the energy from any sort of change in velocity–braking, cornering, or accelerating–and redirect said energy as gently as possible. Through compression and rebound, the car stays as stable as possible to avoid pitching forward or backward, or lurching side to side. And that’s where firm versus soft shocks come into play.
Firm shocks will resist compression, making for a stiff ride that’s more attuned to performance and racing, since drivers will seek to have a car stay more stable in turns. Meanwhile, soft shocks will reset more slowly, making them more useful for everyday driving, since the asphalt tends to be less uniform and flat than a well-maintained race course. In the end, it will depend on an owner’s focus for his Corvette and how it will be used.
As for the kinds of shocks one can have equipped on his ride, that’s an entirely separate matter. The old standby, twin-tube shocks, date back more than 60 years and are popular to this day as an economic choice. Twin-tube shocks use a piston that rests in the outer reserve tube, while an inside pressure tube guides the piston through hydraulic fluid that absorbs kinetic energy made during compression. In addition to being low-cost, it has the advantages of having versatile fitments and working well with daily-driven vehicles.
Monotube shocks reduce the complexity of a twin-tube’s oil pathway in compression, making them the superior choice and most common of modern-day OEM shock designs. Instead of having the piston push fluid into a reserve like twin-tube shocks, a monotube shock presses against a pocket of gas (typically nitrogen) which resets the piston after the energy has been dissipated. Higher efficiency and consistency are what makes monotube shocks a great choice.
An extension of monotube design was the coil over shock absorber. The spring surrounds the shock (hence the name) and allows for adjustability of height, firmness, and softness, which translates to better handling. On the downside, however, coilovers tend to be more expensive than basic spring-and-shock setups, and, in the case of a conversion project, can result in a greater amount of tire wear due to alignment changes.
Lastly, there’s the adjustable shock absorber. Here, the shock allows a user to control the compression and rebound to his liking by way of knobs, although there’s a bit of a learning curve involved in determining how to use them properly. The cost can be quite prohibitive too, but once overcome, adjustable shocks are great for offering control, quick tuning, and optimum cornering ability.
As with anything that’s considered for installation on a car, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. You can peruse all that there is to be had by visiting Mid America Motorworks’ website, and don’t forget to like the company on Facebook too.