Adjustable Shockers

[Matt7c]

Being a new-comer to Lotus, I have noticed that there are a lot of options out there for adjustable shock absorbers. I suspect my old ones will need renewing, although I'll try to get the MOT without to start with! However, I don't actually understand why I might need adjustable ones! Would somebody mind explaining why I might want to have adjustable ones, what the purpose of adjusting is and how difficult it is to get the right set up? Also, what are the best brands out there?

[steveww]

Adjustables are good if you use your car for different things e.g. Sunday afternoon blat on the road and hill climbing / sprints. You can keep a soft setting for the road and firm them up a bit for the competition stuff. Additionally if you fit non-standard springs the dampers will need to be adjusted to match.

The best adjustables have a knob or screw on the side / top of the damper which is turned to increase / decrease the bump. Some also have adjustment for rebound in the same way.

I use the GAZ dampers from Tony Thompson Racing also the Koni are very good but more expensive.

Getting the setting right is just trial and error - drive, tweek, drive, tweek, drive... you get the idea.