re Re: Theory and Practice

["Smith, Kirby A" <kirby.a.smith@lmco.com>]

"Rich, Jack" <JRich@Kronos.com> commented, in part:

2) What is "bouncing too long"?  If it bounces at all, the shocks are worn
out.  From pushing it down, it should rise up to the rest point.  If it goes
above this and then back down, that is a bounce and your shocks are going or
gone.  If it goes back down and then has to come back up again -- forget it,
they're dead.
************
I'm not sure I agree with the argument that the shocks should not overshoot
at all, except perhaps on smooth race tracks.  No overshoot means critically
damped or overdamped, xi>=1.0.  Response time in this case is long, and
while the tire will stay stuck to the road on positive bumps, it may not be
fully weighted on negative bumps if they occur at high frequency (high
speed).  A damping ratio between 0.5 and 0.707 may be better,where the
overshoot is in the 10% to 5% range.  Van Valkenburg doesn't discuss this in
detail, unfortunately, so I do not know what is truly optimal for various
conditions, but I suspect that for best performance on bumpy rural roads, a
little overshoot will be better than none.

Someone have some practice to supplement theory here.

My 2 poles

Kirby A. Smith   New Hampshire USA
1988 90q Titanium gray, 182 kmi
1988 90q Stone gray, 187 kmi 
1995 S6 Pearl effect, 82 kmi