17" Magnum 500's
Well since you don't know all that much about me that's a pretty bold statement. But I don't need to know you to understand your grasp on suspension theory is pretty tenuous, that's all right here.
Wow.
Yes, a tire with a short sidewall will transmit more energy into the suspension because it can't absorb as much, that is true. But a shock absorber that has been designed for that application doesn't need that additional cushioning, so the overall ride doesn't need to suffer at all if the suspension is tuned to handle it.
This is easily seen with any modern luxury vehicle that has both short sidewall tires and a smooth, luxurious ride. It's not at all hard to find a modern car with short sidewall tires that rides better than any of these vehicles ever did in stock trim, these cars in stock trim were nothing all that special from a ride or handling perspective. Heck even the ride in these cars with 14" wheels and radial tires is softer than what the factory intended, the OE bias ply's have much stiffer sidewalls than radials do and the shocks of the time were pretty pathetic.
So while it is a fact that a shorter sidewall tire will transmit more energy to the suspension, it is not at all fact that it has to result in a rougher ride. Because there are literally millions of cars on the road today that show that isn't the case.
Seems to me like you just believe in vague, general platitudes about suspension theory, rather than having a good handle on the actual physics behind it.
Not necessarily. The shock should be tuned to match the wheel rate and the inputs from the wheel/tire. Those inputs will be different coming from a short sidewall tire vs a tall sidewall tire, different frequencies, different amplitudes, different overall load values. So really, a shock that will handle a higher wheel rate and shorter sidewall may not be the best choice for a tall sidewall tire and lower wheel rate. You have to match the capabilities of all the components of your suspension, they all work together, and that starts at the tire and goes all the way to the chassis.
Realistically though a shock that can handle the additional demands of the higher wheel rate and shorter sidewall will probably deal with the inputs from 14" wheel just fine, it's gonna be a better quality shock than you generally find on a car running 14" wheels.
Unfortunately even if the shock handles the wheel inputs just fine, it can't do anything to correct the increased sidewall flex you'll get with 14" wheels. And the taller sidewalls will deform with any input, so, not just inputs from the road but also inputs from steering. So even if the better shocks resulted in a better ride with the 14" wheels you'd still have the vague, sloppy steering and cornering response to deal with. Because every input you make at the steering wheel has to go through that extra tire deformation before it changes what happens where the tire meets the road, so your inputs feel slow and vague by comparison. And shocks can't fix that.
I've driven these cars with 14" wheels and stock suspension. It's not impressive. The suspension bottoms out because the wheel rate is too soft, the steering response is vague and slow even with a decent alignment, and there just isn't a DOT legal tire for a 14" wheel that's worth a crap so you never have anything remarkable for traction. I put thousands of miles a year on my Duster with its 18" wheels and low profile tires, and it rides and handles far better than it did with 14" or even 15" wheels and fairly stock suspension.
Well since you don't know all that much about me that's a pretty bold statement. But I don't need to know you to understand your grasp on suspension theory is pretty tenuous, that's all right here.
Wow.
Yes, a tire with a short sidewall will transmit more energy into the suspension because it can't absorb as much, that is true. But a shock absorber that has been designed for that application doesn't need that additional cushioning, so the overall ride doesn't need to suffer at all if the suspension is tuned to handle it.
This is easily seen with any modern luxury vehicle that has both short sidewall tires and a smooth, luxurious ride. It's not at all hard to find a modern car with short sidewall tires that rides better than any of these vehicles ever did in stock trim, these cars in stock trim were nothing all that special from a ride or handling perspective. Heck even the ride in these cars with 14" wheels and radial tires is softer than what the factory intended, the OE bias ply's have much stiffer sidewalls than radials do and the shocks of the time were pretty pathetic.
So while it is a fact that a shorter sidewall tire will transmit more energy to the suspension, it is not at all fact that it has to result in a rougher ride. Because there are literally millions of cars on the road today that show that isn't the case.
Seems to me like you just believe in vague, general platitudes about suspension theory, rather than having a good handle on the actual physics behind it.
Not necessarily. The shock should be tuned to match the wheel rate and the inputs from the wheel/tire. Those inputs will be different coming from a short sidewall tire vs a tall sidewall tire, different frequencies, different amplitudes, different overall load values. So really, a shock that will handle a higher wheel rate and shorter sidewall may not be the best choice for a tall sidewall tire and lower wheel rate. You have to match the capabilities of all the components of your suspension, they all work together, and that starts at the tire and goes all the way to the chassis.
Realistically though a shock that can handle the additional demands of the higher wheel rate and shorter sidewall will probably deal with the inputs from 14" wheel just fine, it's gonna be a better quality shock than you generally find on a car running 14" wheels.
Unfortunately even if the shock handles the wheel inputs just fine, it can't do anything to correct the increased sidewall flex you'll get with 14" wheels. And the taller sidewalls will deform with any input, so, not just inputs from the road but also inputs from steering. So even if the better shocks resulted in a better ride with the 14" wheels you'd still have the vague, sloppy steering and cornering response to deal with. Because every input you make at the steering wheel has to go through that extra tire deformation before it changes what happens where the tire meets the road, so your inputs feel slow and vague by comparison. And shocks can't fix that.
I've driven these cars with 14" wheels and stock suspension. It's not impressive. The suspension bottoms out because the wheel rate is too soft, the steering response is vague and slow even with a decent alignment, and there just isn't a DOT legal tire for a 14" wheel that's worth a crap so you never have anything remarkable for traction. I put thousands of miles a year on my Duster with its 18" wheels and low profile tires, and it rides and handles far better than it did with 14" or even 15" wheels and fairly stock suspension.