Lets se your friction shock setups!

A buddy of mine gave me a set of Mr Roadster friction shocks and I'm thinking of using them. Lets see your setups

 

Friction shocks are not very effective. Tubular hydraulic airplane shocks are much better, or even old Ford Houdaille, GM Delco, or foreign car Armstrong lever arm hydraulic shocks.

 

Neither are banger motors but the set-up looks cool and fit asthetics better in some applications.

 

Here's mine. I intend to replace them with some Armstrong lever-arm hydraulics.

 

Banger motors are NOT effective? Jeez, I thought they got a car down the road just like any other motor. A car builder just has to know his and his motor's limitations.

Nonetheless, friction shocks aren't shocks they're just "stylish" ornamentation.

 

That statement could be effectively argued, but who wants to challenge an "expert".

Frank

 

Does anyone make repop lever arm shocks?

 

Bobby Green would disagree with the statement on bnanger motors with his 135mph speed record.

 

I also fully disagree with that statement.

I will say this, some work well and some don't. All depends on how they're setup, and what the material is that is used for the friction plane. Some even have multiple friction planes for ultimate adjustability so they can be carried over to various applications. Friction shocks have been used for decades in 100's of applications from race cars to military applications. Not to mention just about every British motorcycle that had a "girder" type front end used a friction shock.

There are some great threads on the HAMB and tons of pictures on this very topic. Should be able to find lots of information and examples. Just make sure the friction shocks you have are good enough for your application. If your car is slinging a lot of weight around, that type might not be the best choice. Good luck with your build!

 

Here's an example of a multi-plane "Hartford style" shock...



There good to almost 700 pounds each. I'm sure it works just terrible and is only for looks.

Here's the actual Hartfords...

 

Heres one......

 

Here's what I fab'd up for my TrackT...I incorporated them into the h/l mounts...actually ripped the design from Zipp

Stan

 

I haven't ever built this setup, but I feel that it might be worth a try. Using a rubber disc that is about 1/2" thick for the compression medium with a couple of pins in the arm and a couple in the fixed portion should not only dampen the arm movement but encourage the arm to return to the static position.

The other thing that is a little different here is the use of needle thrust bearings under the head of the fastener. One of the major complaints about friction shocks is the difficulty in maintaining the tightness of the fastener over a period of time. The arm acts as a wrench of sorts and has a tendency to unloosen due to the friction between the arm and the fastener. The needle bearing eliminates that problem. That idea has been used successfully by several people.

 

I don't even give them that much credit. They don't damp spring oscillations as much as they simply resist suspension movement equally during both spring compression and extension. A functional shock absorber should provide very little resistance to compression, but damp rebound efficiently. In other words, they have differing "damping" rates in extension and compression. The common friction "shock" is not capable of providing that function.

Bob

 

50-50 damping is considered to be more suitable for compe***ion use rather than boulevard comfort.

 

This is the second roadster that I have run with friction shocks. Once you start playing with the adjustments, they work fine. I've seen stacked disks and rubber biscuits used to create the "friction". These are Zippers with some sort of plastic biscuit. Too many guys bolt them on for looks and then bad mouth them without taking the time to make the adjustments.

 

Interesting set up and appears to have potential but I'd think the pins in the rubber disc would have a tendency to tear the friction rubber. If I were going to try that I think I'd only pin the frame side and not the lever arm to reduce the likelyhood of tearing the rubber, especially if you would hit a pothole.

 

I don't believe the thread is about whether friction shocks are jewelry or particularly functional. Friction shocks were the technology for a large part of automotive history. To use friction shocks today would be to invoke a certain historical context as opposed to any effectiveness. They look great on period traditionals, and work well enough that they are not dangerous. You could argue that it is silly to use solid axles, leaf springs and wishbone suspensions as well, but these are part of what makes traditional hot rods unique. Hope the thread continues...

 

I fully agree with this statement! Well said.

Friction shocks are indeed old technology. They are not nearly as effective as hydraulic type shock absorbers (radial or linear, as pointed out by Pasadenahotrods earlier) when it comes to ride control, but they do work for basic dampening. The modern car industry did away with them for a reason.

I also hope this thread keeps going. I think friction shocks are a period staple on so many vintage racers or race inspired cars and it makes for a good topic. I did an image search on Google and came up with TONS of examples of how they're being used.

 

There is no reason one could not have telescopic action in a friction shock. Just have two lengths of bar stock sliding past eachother. Hold them together with washers, valve springs and bolts. The bolts would have to run through long slots. Friction material depends on what is available.

I'm going to do this for a sprung trailer that hops at 18 mph. Comfort does not matter for a trailer.