Originally Posted by
dragracechief
I believe todays shock are good pieces, but are they maxed out, no way. There is always room for improvement. As long as there is compitition there will always be advancements. Its just a matter of the costs involved and if the market will bare those costs. I for one am always interested in improving my equipment but at the same time must way the costs of the improvents vs the actual performance increase.
I'm not a pro, but...
I agree, lots of room for development but cost, size, and weight are the main constraints I see. The current shocks are not very aerodynamic and must produce a decent amount of drag at higher speeds. A flatter lying shock would seem to lower the overall CG and thus promote better handling. The reservoirs may not be able to grow much given that weight would be increased and the chassis size is fairly small, but a larger reservoir would help to keep the fluid slightly cooler over longer runs (more consistent shocks). Materials could certainly be improved, specifically the pistons and interior walls of the shock bodies, perhaps some ceramic coating? It would be really cool to have adjustable rebound and compression on the exterior of the shock like full scale racing shocks, but the mechanics involved may not be able to be scaled down and still function appropriately and consistently. There is always room for improvements