Not that I have any money, but there is a possibility that I might have a co-driver next year that actually does....
Need as much information on shocks as possible. Dyno curves for Koni SA / DA / Penske SA / DA, Stock 03, Stock 04, etc. Basically anything commercially available. Also, would be very useful to know which settings make the shocks equivalent to stock 04's.Valving information, etc.
Depends on what class you are running. Lowered beyond factory recommendations or not.
Dyno curves on adjustables will vary with valving. No body really is forthcoming with those as they are a trade/racers secret and may be the only advantage for instance, in a stock class.
The double adjustables become a real advantage on a dual purpose car that sees low speed AutoX, some highspeed track work and also is a daily driver.
I recommend Penske DA's set up by Guy Ankeney for Pro Solo and National Tour.
Mallet also has a nice Penske DA set up for the track. His mounting of the reservoirs is superior to any other.
The Penske's already have a threaded outer body so they can be easily converted to coil over and triple adjustable if you move up to SM2
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Ankeny/Penske for the following reasons:
1) Correct valving for specific application
2) Correct (body up) mounting for minimum unsprung weight
3) Correct body length for lowered cars
4) Aluminum body threaded for coil overs (if desired)
5) Adjustable damping for rain or dry dates
6) Completely rebuildable
7) Made in USA (not EU) , all CNC billet construction
Ankeny Penske's do not have the correct valving. This is why Salerno isn't using them anymore.
Yup, went to Koni's on the new car, ran the Penske's last year, I guess second in nationals wasn't good enough, lol. No matter what you have, the grass is always greener...it's only money and the Koni's are a lot less expensive. Good luck, looking forward to you getting the new shocks...are you getting the "special" ones or are you going to try the Koni's?
I believe the Konis that Erik Strelnieks is now running cost quite a bit more than the Penske 8100's. Didn't Pat Salerno just change the valving on his Penskes, or did he also buy new shocks? Regardless, it does seem to be a matter of preference, Stacy was able to win last year with Guy's valving. I recently got my Penskes from Guy and was, at first, not sure what I had gotten into...they are valved pretty stiffly and also don't take full advantage of the shortening allowed under current SS rules. After changing my ride height slightly, working on the rebound settings and generally getting used to the shocks, I feel I am going faster...if Erik thinks good shocks are worth .2-.3 on a 45 second course, I feel Guy's shocks have given me at least that improvement. No back to back testing, though, to substantiate what are "seat of the pants" impressions...although, through slaloms and in making mid turn corrections, the benefits are very obvious.
One other thing, Guy is always there to answer questions and try to help, which has been very beneficial.
Last edited by tigerdrvr : 08-01-2005 at 01:12 PM.
I recommend anyone who wants shocks to talk to Sam Jr from Stranoparts.com before throwing away money. If you want anything I would recommend talking to him. Of the people I would trust / believe are Pat, Sam & Jr and they all had good things to say about the non-Penske shocks in regards to the Z06.
I think the only area you might get more "discussion" than shock tuners is engine builders...in both cases, you're working with individuals who have theories and ideas, based on experience, which leads them to their recommended set ups. I think this is definitely one of those circumstances where the "best" is that which fits your personal driving style and comfort level
To be perfectly honest, big $$$ shocks are only going to buy you a few tenths improvement over the '04 shocks. There are quite a few nationally competitive drivers running on what are essentially stock shocks. If your driving talent isn't already close to nationally competitive .... then you're really just throwing money away.
If skill level is not a concern and the question is which shock is better, well ... how big is your wallet? I've heard great things about Ohlins and JRZ's .... but they're very pricey and there aren't a lot people running them. The Koni 28-series shocks are very nice .... have all the amenities of the Penskes but do not have the external reservoir (making install A LOT easier). But again, they are quite pricey.
I personally bought Ankeny 8100 series shocks and wasn't satisfied with them. I have since re-valved them through Penske and am much happier with them .... but that's not to say that they didn't work before. I just prefer the new setup. I guess that's the moral of my post .... a lot of it is driver dependent, so do some research before you bust out your credit card.
BTW, Pat Salerno's shock story, there are rumors abound about what actually happened ... so unless you heard it from his mouth, I would be very careful about what you take from it.
To be perfectly honest, big $$$ shocks are only going to buy you a few tenths improvement over the '04 shocks. There are quite a few nationally competitive drivers running on what are essentially stock shocks. If your driving talent isn't already close to nationally competitive .... then you're really just throwing money away.
-Don
Don, FYI...this is for Braun's National car. If it'll get him 0.1 seconds...he'll take it.
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