While not known for having 3-Way adjustable dampers on our shelves available for customers, we do have the technology to add that to our 2-Way adjustable kits, such as our Super Racing dampers.
For those not familiar with 3-way adjustable suspension, it adds a high-speed compression adjustment. That’s the third extra “way” you can tune your suspension.
What’s the benefit?
Well, for one, there is no one setup that is ideal for all parts of the race track. Some portions of track may be relatively smooth, while other portions may have a rumble strip that you have to attack to put or keep you on the correct side of the racing line. So, with having both low-speed and high-speed compression adjustment, the end-user can have a setting that maintains vehicle posture through low-speed bumps where weight transferring isn’t too much of a concern, and on the high-speed bump, the wheel/tire for that specific corner can absorb a much larger impact and deflect quickly, reducing weight transfer and unloading on that wheel/tire. Maintaining tire traction is paramount, and having a low and high-speed compression setting is a huge benefit, providing a form of “digressive” valving and a sense of duality for your suspension.
Smooth circuits may not seem to take much advantage of having a low and high-speed compression adjustment. In reality, it still makes plenty of sense to have such tuning ability. Again, maximizing tire grip by maintaining tire contact with the pavement means more time for the driver to hold their driving line and stay accelerating as long as possible.
This type of tuning is super critical in the world of rally racing, where TEIN engineers have been able to develop our 3+1 tuning (includes hydraulic bump stop) on gravel/dirt courses. Maintaining tire traction is even more important here as any wheel not on the ground translate into having no acceleration. Having such long stroke suspension for rally alone isn’t enough to maintain that traction. Superior ability to tune the suspension for such rough terrain will allow the driver to keep their foot on the gas pedal as long as they can.
Rally is a great example of how critical it is to maintain traction. Suspension tuning for both low and high-speed compression makes a vast difference in how well the tire stays planted while doing much to dissipate weight transfer.
Tuning can be a little tricky for 3-way adjustable dampers, which is why it isn’t something readily offered as a kit. Not all customers need the extra feature, let alone know how to tune it. But, once you have a few track sessions and get the suspension dialed in for both low and high-speed compression, it can make your driving experience feel rather seamless.
Stateside, Evasive Motorsports has applied our 3-way adjustable dampers for the rear of their Time Attack Mitsubishi Evo IX. We’ve been able to help them dial in their suspension for the somewhat harsh Buttonwillow Raceway (here’s a link to some in-car footage to show you what it is like).
If you have a set of our 2-way adjustable dampers and want to make it a 3-way, give us a call and we can help you with that!
