Young Version — August 1999
An archive project by Flock MFGNew issue alerts →
About this issue
The August 1999 issue of Young Version explores drift setups versus grip tuning through 22 shop demo cars, including S15 Silvias from Mine’s and Kazama Auto. Features cover front-wheel-drive builds taking on high-powered 4WD rivals, choosing a first drift car, and reviving a used AE86 Trueno on a ¥1 million total budget. Suspension fundamentals, engine-oil selection, rotary maintenance, new-parts tests, and reports from Hiroshima and California round out this look at Japan’s late-1990s tuning scene.
242 available scans from Young Version — August 1999, in right-to-left reading order. Japanese OCR and English translation drafts are available throughout. Drafts have not received exhaustive image proofreading; unreadable source remains recorded in the archival data.
Page 62 — English draft translation
Damping force is the resistance that is created. Adjusting damping force means changing how strong that resistance is. The valve itself is made from spring material and covers the piston opening, also called the orifice. When oil tries to pass through, the valve flexes. The basic, easy-to-understand way to adjust damping is to make that spring force stronger or weaker. The shape of the opening in the piston also changes how damping force is produced.
This is the type with an adjustment dial at the top or bottom of the shock. There is a bypass passage in the rod for oil to flow through. Instead of going through the piston opening, oil flows through that passage. Turning the screw moves a needle inside the shaft up or down, narrowing or widening the opening. When the bypass is fully open, damping force is low; when the opening is closed, damping force is high.
The rod is immersed in oil inside the cylinder, but when it comes back out, no oil clings to it. The oil inside is under pressure and wants to escape, yet the rubber seal closes around the shaft as it extends. This seal is an area where manufacturers use their own designs. But if the shaft is scratched, oil will leak out there, so never damage the shaft. That's why a dust boot is fitted.
Captions and page details
…basic questions.
First of all, what is damping force?
About suspension…
What does that mean?
Simply put, the valves above and below the piston…
.
Another adjustment method is shown in the illustration.
Here's the key…
Point…
Most shocks with a damping-adjustment dial on top use the type explained in the illustration. It's the most popular…
Adjust damping force here!
The other type has an adjustment dial at the very bottom of the shock. Like the top-mounted type, it works with a…
Some shocks have a dial on the side. Each manufacturer has its own approach to damping adjustment.
Why doesn't the rod come out covered in oil?
The rod is immersed in oil inside the cylinder…
Rod.
Oil
OO
Piston.
62
These stacked thin plates are the valve that covers the piston opening. Pressure makes them flex outward, allowing oil to pass through. The plates themselves act like a spring.
Normally oil would pass through the piston opening and push the valve aside. Here, a needle-like piece moves up and down to adjust the gap available for oil to pass, which changes damping force.
Rod.
Piston.
What is a bump stop for?
Metal strikes metal, and then…
If the piston or valve is crushed, it can cause serious problems. A rubber bump stop prevents the suspension from bottoming out first. Some people remove the bump stop to lower the car further, but then it's no surprise when parts break. Trimming it a little is fine, but never remove it entirely.