Study the current Bilstein set-up recommendations for your particular type of racing. These combinations are tested and proven successful, but due to many variables that come into play under racing conditions, it is to your advantage to have a basic understanding of how shock damping rates affect your lap times. Adjustments can then be made with reasoning and understanding.

Simply stated, shock absorbers convert the kinetic energy of the spring movements into heat. This heat is then dissipated into the air through the shock tube or body. In practical application, shock absorbers are necessary to maintain maximum tire patch contact to the track as the car corners and negotiates irregularities on the racing surface.

Spring rates determine how far your chassis rolls, pitches or squats. Shock rates determine the length of time it takes for each of these movements to occur.

Rebound damping controls the movement of that part of the car's sprung mass that is stored in a compressed spring. The rebound damping rate determines how long it takes for the compressed spring to return to static ride height. The larger the rebound figure, the more the shock resists the compressed spring's effort to rebound, and the longer it takes for the chassis to return to the static ride height.

Compression damping controls only the oscillation of the car's unsprung weight. Therefore, it is normal to use less compression damping than rebound damping. The exception occurs when we choose to slow the downward movement on a particular corner of the car to mimic the effect of a stiffer spring.