The springs on your vehicle react to bumps, ruts and other road irregularities, cushioning the impact. Struts and shocks control spring movement, isolating the cabin from vibration, preventing excessive body movement and keeping the tire tread in contact with the road, for optimal traction and control. Your OE shocks and struts are fine for cruising, but don't have the damping calibration to provide the stability necessary for performance driving. Our performance shocks and struts control suspension motion at speed so you have the traction and control you need to go faster and corner harder.
Shocks and struts, collectively called dampers, have pistons that move up and down inside hydraulic fluid cylinders. As the pistons move up and down in response to suspension movement, the hydraulic fluid is forced through small passages and valves in the pistons that resist oil flow, thereby damping spring oscillation and controlling suspension movement. The energy of the spring is turned into heat by the damper. Compression damping affects the spring when the vehicle hits a bump and it compresses, rebound damping controls the spring when it expands and forces the tire back down, after the bump.
Properly designed shocks and struts have valving for all stages of piston movement, from short and gentle travel as would be encountered with minor road irregularities to rapid and lengthy travel caused by potholes. However, OE and ordinary replacement shocks and struts are compromises, with damping that is usually biased toward a smooth ride. When a vehicle is driven hard with such components, the rapid movement of the pistons within the dampers causes the hydraulic fluid to foam and overheat, drastically reducing their ability to control suspension movement. This can result in excessive body roll and dive, unequal tire grip, and poor vehicle control. In contrast, our performance shocks and struts are designed for spirited driving, especially when paired with higher rate performance coil springs.
If your vehicle is equipped with regular hydraulic shocks, you can get an improvement in performance by switching to gas shocks. Gas shocks contain nitrogen gas under pressure, which helps prevent the foaming that results in reduced damping force and poor road holding. And if your vehicle is equipped with twin tube shocks, switching to monotube shocks is a significant upgrade that will give you the benefit of the monotube's larger piston and increased valving area, for increased damping and better handling, and better heat dissipation through the single tube. The high-pressure nitrogen gas in a monotube shock is in a separate chamber isolated from the fluid by a floating piston, completely preventing aeration. This all adds up to consistent fade-free performance.
Although monotube shocks do a great job of getting rid of heat, for severe conditions like racing and off-roading we offer shocks with external reservoirs, which increase fluid capacity and heat dissipation. We have shocks with reservoirs that attach to the shock body and reservoirs connected with a fluid line that can be mounted remotely. If you want the ability to dial in your own damping rate for performance driving, we have shocks and struts that are externally adjustable without lifting the vehicle or removing the tires. And if you have a front strut equipped truck and want to make it level for an improved stance and the fitment of larger tires, we have struts that allow the lower spring seat to be raised in one of several positions, so you can get the exact ride height you want.
In addition to the above, we also have the shock and strut related accessories that are essential for many performance applications. These include mounts, brackets and kits to run dual shocks, coilovers or custom installations; heavy-duty shock towers and shock and strut mounts that can handle racing and off-road abuse; strut spacers for lifting and leveling; heavy-duty bushings, sleeves, and shock bolts; guards and boots to protect vulnerable shock shafts from damage and premature failure; extension kits that enable the use of shorter OE shocks; and conversion kits that enable eyelet mount shocks to be converted to stud mount. No matter what your performance or racing shock and strut needs may be, you'll find what you're looking for here on our digital shelves. |