Thread: Question about adjustable front shocks and spring rate

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I have been trying to find specs on Competition Engineering's 3-way adjustable front shocks. Specifically I'm looking for rebound rating to match with Moroso Trick Springs. The springs are sold according to front end weight of the car, but Dave Morgon's Doorslammer's chassis book recommends matching springs and shocks according to spring rate. He says it will do no good to select a spring rated for 240 lbs. if the shock is rated for less and will be overcome by the spring. Makes sense. Hard to select springs or shocks without shock rate data.
Any ideas would be appreciated.

I'd pick up the phone and talk to the engineers at Moroso and CE. Explain your dilemma and see if they can't get you some answers.

Thanks. I've been trying to find something without having to spend money on long distance calls, but I'm running into dead ends. I have written to Moroso by email but haven't heard anything yet. When I find the answer I'll post it here.

Originally posted by blownS10
I have been trying to find specs on Competition Engineering's 3-way adjustable front shocks. Specifically I'm looking for rebound rating to match with Moroso Trick Springs. The springs are sold according to front end weight of the car, but Dave Morgon's Doorslammer's chassis book recommends matching springs and shocks according to spring rate. He says it will do no good to select a spring rated for 240 lbs. if the shock is rated for less and will be overcome by the spring. Makes sense. Hard to select springs or shocks without shock rate data.
Any ideas would be appreciated.

thats the reason you buy 3-way adjustable shocks, so you can adj. the shocks to what ever suit your set-up the best. you dont have a lot of choice with the across the counter shocks.. to do what you want to do you would have to get someone to build you a shock to your specs.

the specs are stiff, stiffer. stiffest.

I'm just trying to find out before I buy springs whether or not my 3-way shocks will handle them. If I buy a 240 lb. spring and my shock settings are 100, 150 and 200 lbs., the spring will overcome the shock on launch even on the shock's stiffest setting. Of course I can't buy 180 lb. springs if they won't hold up my front end, but I'm having a hard time believing how difficult it is to get the information necessary to make an informed purchase. In the chassis book I bought, Dave Morgan says people don't pay enough attention to shocks and springs when setting up their chassis, and from the lack of info on shock rates, I'd say that's an understatement.
I suppose I could do what it seems everyone else is doing and purchase springs hoping they are a good match with my shocks, but that's really not very scientific, nor does it put me on the right foot towards properly diagnosing chassis problems when I get on the track.
And so my search goes on. Would be nice if Moroso or Comp Eng would answer my emails concerning their products.

Originally posted by blownS10
I'm just trying to find out before I buy springs whether or not my 3-way shocks will handle them. If I buy a 240 lb. spring and my shock settings are 100, 150 and 200 lbs., the spring will overcome the shock on launch even on the shock's stiffest setting. Of course I can't buy 180 lb. springs if they won't hold up my front end, but I'm having a hard time believing how difficult it is to get the information necessary to make an informed purchase. In the chassis book I bought, Dave Morgan says people don't pay enough attention to shocks and springs when setting up their chassis, and from the lack of info on shock rates, I'd say that's an understatement.
I suppose I could do what it seems everyone else is doing and purchase springs hoping they are a good match with my shocks, but that's really not very scientific, nor does it put me on the right foot towards properly diagnosing chassis problems when I get on the track.
And so my search goes on. Would be nice if Moroso or Comp Eng would answer my emails concerning their products.

they should answer you emails, but what other choice do you have. you see what jegs has. buy the springs you need and use the 3 way shock to go it a little better. far as i know you want the front end up soon as possible and keep it up long as possible. i agree with the spring thing, but i dont see having a lot of choice with across the counter shocks. unless you're willing to pay big bucks for them. i think you are looking at it wrong anyway. you said you could purchase springs hoping they are a good match with your shocks, is backwards. buy the springs you need and the 3 way shocks will work just fine. shocks are not rated like a spring. it wouldnt be a 800 spring and a 800 shock. the springs holds the weight up and the shocks controls the up and down movement and the valving is made so if you put them on a heavy car or light car they will bounce the same. this is JMO and i could be wrong.

blown, get up off the dime and call these guys like I suggested. Jeez, Louise, how much can a couple of phone calls cost??????

Originally posted by techinspector1
blown, get up off the dime and call these guys like I suggested. Jeez, Louise, how much can a couple of phone calls cost??????

Actually, it's not just the cost of the calls, it's a little more complicated than that. I won't go into the details.

However, I believe I can find the answers without having to spend any money. That's what the internet is for, right? Hell, I pay $40 a month for high speed, I might as well use it.

Maybe I am making more out of this than I should, or more than most, but I bought the Doorslammers book, it's a great reference, and I'm trying to follow it's advice. If you're getting frustrated with my posts on this subject, I apologize. I appreciate your suggestions and feedback.

Originally posted by lt1s10
shocks are not rated like a spring. it wouldnt be a 800 spring and a 800 shock. the springs holds the weight up and the shocks controls the up and down movement and the valving is made so if you put them on a heavy car or light car they will bounce the same. this is JMO and i could be wrong.

From what I have been able to find out, shocks are rated in lbs. of force required to move them a specified amount of travel.
Each setting on a 3-way shock is a different value in lbs. (force) vs. travel (velocity). While springs are sold according to front end weight, if my front end weight falls close to being able to use one of two different springs, that could make a big difference in how the weight transfers on launch. Having only 3 settings on the shock I feel it is important to select the optimal spring rate. I purchased scales which should be here today, so I'll know exactly what my choices are for springs.
Thanks for your feedback!

I'm not getting frustrated with your posts and I don't think anyone else is either. We're all extremely happy to see you get such a great ride and I applaud your quest to maximize your combination.

I guess my attitude stems from being a business owner for over 20 years and having to "get it done" and move on in order to survive.

I saw you agonizing over the lack of information for way too long, when the info you were seeking was a couple of phone calls away. Sorry if I overstepped my bounds.

No problem techinspector, I really like this forum and appreciate feedback and suggestions. Sometimes I concentrate too much on details. You were not out of bounds since I originally said I hadn't called to save money. That was only partly true.

I understand your way of thinking, and if I was busy I would have already picked up the phone and moved on to the next issue, but I have some time on my hands and thought I could get some answers on the net.

I just got back from a local speed shop and they reinforced what was said here but in a more direct way. And that is, the shocks are manufactured so that the springs on the market don't over power them, even on the lowest rebound setting of 90/10. On launch, the a-frame bump stop should prevent them from fully extending to the point of damaging the shocks or suspension. I just have to make sure that my bump stops are sufficient or to install seperation straps.
They also said there is such a small difference between medium and high spring rates that it shouldn't make much difference in weight transfer.

I finally got a reply from Moroso Tech Help. The C2600 3-way adjustable shocks are rated for springs with rates of 200-250 lbs.

My scales came last night so I'll see exactly what spring I need later today, but apparently it is possible to select the wrong spring since there are springs rates available under 200 and over 250.

Thanks to the Door Slammers chassis book and my hard-headed thirst for details, I won't be making that mistake!

Here's a status report on my drag springs selection.

I got my scales from Mad One Products and they work great. My front end weighs 1896, rear is 1544, total weight 3440lbs with me in the car, full tank of fuel. Front/rear ratio is 55%/45%, which I think is pretty good. The spring for small block chevys with front end weight between 1840-1910lbs is a 212lb spring Moroso #47180.

I'm wondering how much lift this spring will give the front end, and whether it will be detrimental to the front/rear weight ratio? I'm guessing it will put the front/rear ratio close to 50%/50%. Does anyone know what optimal front/rear weight ratio is?