Buying Shocks as a Beginner

One of the largest expenditures in the auto racing industry is shock absorbers. When you look at the prices of shocks and the number of shocks you need, the sky is the limit. How do you know what brand of shocks to purchase? How many shocks do you actually need as a beginner?

The answer is simple; you can call us up here at Speedway Motors and talk with one of our race techs on the specifications of your car and track. With that information we can get you set up with an affordable and competitive set of four to six shocks.

How do you know if you should use a gas shock or an oil shock? Usually oil shocks are preferred by someone who is racing on a smooth slick surface. They provide a better feel than that of a gas shock. They also can be dinged or dented and still function like they are supposed to since they are a twin tube shock. Gas shocks are preferred by drivers that are competing on a rough aggressive surface. This is because the gas pressure will help the shock absorb the shock of a bump or hole. It does this by reacting fast enough to keep the tire to the ground or track surface when going through a hole or rough patch.

If you are a beginner you should bolt the same four shocks up and race the same shocks for at least a solid season. This is to reduce the variables that may change the way the car handles. The theory here is to allow the driver to become comfortable and allow you to adjust spring rates, bar angles (if applicable), and tire stagger. Keep in mind to only make a single change at a time. If you change a bunch of different things at once you will never know how each change affected the car.

One of the best parts of running shocks from Speedway Motors is the quick turnaround for a rebuild of a shock. If you buy a shock from Speedway Motors you can have it serviced, rebuilt, or revalved if applicable to the shock. This is a beneficial tool when you are trying different valvings and don’t want to have to buy multiple different shocks. All you have to do is box up your shock or shocks. You can go to our website www.SpeedwayMotors.com and print off the shock service form by going to the resource guide at the bottom of the page. Just click shock technologies and then the shock service form will pull right up for you. Then just fill it out and send it in with your shocks to the 340 Victory Lane address.

Speedway Motors offers shocks for pretty much every class out there. We offer shock packages for Hobby Stocks/Street Stocks, Southern Sport Mods, Modifieds, and Northern Sport Mods and Sport MOd Shock Package. We can even do figure eight shocks and drag racing shocks of all different kinds.