Originally Posted by
captain america
Here's an idea: what about maintaining the same size shock body as we currently employ, and depending on the lenth of the rocker arm needed for adequate damping, the shock piston travel would likely be lessened, so you could run a shorter piston shaft. The end result would be a shorter overall shock, but with the same amount of oil, so more consistency over the course of the main. I'm also at a loss to understand why no one has offered dual rate springs for buggies, I think that's something that could be done fairly easily to improve handling. Like quite literally making the springs currently used half the length, and have a shock cup/collar in the middle.
I think with the shocks, the rate at which the shaft travels through the oil in relation to suspension arm travel is governed by the geometry on the actual rocker/cam and the mounting holes on them. These can actually be selected as a tuning aid in themselves, depending on track conditions etc. The equivalent adjustment on a regular buggy is the shock angle/mounting positions.
The shocks in all honesty will have to work out shorter on an inboard setup, but the volume of the shocks - like you said - should be comparable to what racers have got used to with good quality, big bore shocks. If the shocks end up small ie significantly smaller in volume - heat and consistency related issues will inevitably occur and this will result in the suspension feeling less than plush.
Whilst I used progressive rate springs on my Pred, the cams can be set to give rising rate through the travel.
I used progressive rate springs on my Mugen MBX4 RR to good effect - I really liked them on tracks where you have lots of bumps and big jumps. Usually you have to compromise one over the other - less so with progressive springs.