How Shocks Work 

The pan down from the fluid-stained worktop to the shelf… floor… shoes… jeans… t-shirt is comedy gold!

Ah yes, those times when you find that taking something apart is not in fact the ideal step 1. We love those times.

seeing matt stroking his shafts brings a smile to my face :)

I really really appreciate the graphical animations you provided with your explanations of fluid displacement, compression vs rebound flow and the varying roles of shims in the shim stack. HUGE THANKS!!!

my brain hurts, the puns are flowing SHOCKINLY well and the off-road viper shall be glorious

All hail the algorithm as well as the notification bell

Making these videos clearly take a lot of work, it's smart to accept sponsors

I've seen the guys at Lotus doing this stuff, and it's some sort of Engineering Black Magic. No matter how much I read, understand, it's amazing to me how people that really know this stuff can have a 5 minute conversation and then rip things apart and 30 minutes later completely change a car.

That truck at 13:12 is a textbook example of a well set up shock, tyres are staying on the ground and body of the truck is going foward in a straight line. I tip my hat to the shock tuner.

A very successful open wheel engineer explained springs and shocks very simply: spring rate determines how far the wheel moves. The shock determines how fast it moves.

The most entertaining "engineering" channel I have ever watched. I have genuinely learned more from this channel than tutorials

Spit coffee at "put shocks on your shocks" then the shots clip. Thank you, needed that😁

Bruh I needed something like this over 10 years ago- when I was learning to rebuild and tune motorcycle suspension, rebuild forks and rear springs...

Your videos are nonstop funny and educational! I appreciate your sense of humor

I've seen/heard the explanation as to how shocks do what they do before, but the visuals along with the explanation made it so much easier to comprehend! Thanks for another great video - All Hail the Algorithm!!

Great entertainment and excellent explanations as usual Matt. Thanks Oh yeah, fun fact - in Australia , a mixture of 3 Cups of Self-Raising Flour, 1 Pinch of Salt, and a can of your favourite Beer, cooked over coals in a camp oven - is also called Damper

Accutune rocked for my 3 linked toyota project. Their tech knew exactly the right questions to ask even for a guy without an engineering degree and basic construction tools to get the geometry "close enough"

Another excellent video Matt - a complex subject explained in a way that even I can understand. Algorithm hailed 👍

"Dampen" is also correct though as a verb for damp. You are correct about "Dampener", that'd be something to make something wet and that's where I largely see people make this mistake (calling a damper a dampener). But there are 2 definitions for dampen: 1. make slightly wet. 2. make less strong or intense

@ 5:21 regarding heat treating. If the metal is 'case carburized' or surface hardened it will make for a hard surface that can be machined for a smooth finish. On the other hand a 'through hardened' part could be brittle.

If a shock company had a video that was as clear/info packed as this on their product page, I'd buy from them. The fact you use Keynote for this, even more insane.

I learned more about shocks in 15 minutes here than I've learned in my entire life. All hail the algorithm indeed.

Definitely one of the better shock videos on RU-vid

This is a damper and a dampener. 😂. That’s one expertly engineered entendres.

Love it, thanks for taking the time to come down and hang with us for a bit!

I'm shocked. That was more informative than I expected, and you've put my expectations high.

2:00 - What a perfect demonstration of bad shocks from "Uncle Buck"!!

ive been waiting 15 years to learn how shocks work. thanks matt.

I never knew about all the shims inside of the shock. I have an RC car and its familiar to me that rocks chip/ding the shafts and then eat away the seals and oil leaks everywhere. Shock socks solved that problem, I wonder if they make shock socks for regular size vehicles too? Thanks for the in depth video Matt.

One of the best channels on RU-vid. Educational and hilarious.

The bushing in the gland/cap is called a glacier bushing and is best removed by die-grinding the ID as thin as possible until you can get in behind it and collapse it. Collet puller also works but you tend to fight it all the way and if the gland is aluminum, you tend to score it

The engineering behind vehicle suspension is incredible, yet it's always evolving. Given that tyres and suspension, and brakes are three of the most important components in a vehicle that keep you on the road and alive, I'm glad it's continually evolving

The adult in me wished I was able to get my head around how the more complex parts affected the shocks' characteristics, but I enjoyed all the puns so the child in me enjoyed this video

At first, I found the contents of this video shocking, but then I rebounded and found that my surprise began to dampen, and I reached a harmonic equilibrium

So I used to work in a small suspension shop that mostly did high-end road racing stuff, but we did some off-road too. One time we got this set of icons in where those two belville washers Matt mentioned that go on the compression side in place of the rubber stopper present on the Kings had completely obliterated themselves. It was like the shock had just extended itself inexplicably at Mach 2 and crashed the droop Spacer into the piston. Totally hilarious to pull apart a shock and see big chunks of metal fall out with the fluid.

What strikes me is how many similarities these high-end shocks have with the suspension spheres of classic Citroën´s. Maybe you should take a look at that Matt. In my opinion, every car gets better with hydro-pneumatics. Think about it, an off road Viper with a suspension called "hydractive". Yeah, you need that. I promise, you won´t loose any sleep at all over sphere pressures, stiffness regulators or solenoid activation thresholds. Ok, I can´t really promise that. But it´s an interesting way of loosing sleep though...

You explanation of the curves was so well said that I think I'll need to refer people back here when they ask me about my suspension products. Excellent video as usual

Matt, your knowledge on this subject is as ideal as the gas law that’s ideal. The viper is going to be something special for sure.

The writing of this script was funny as hell. I don’t think Chat GPT can emulate your creativity and comedy. Great edit too!

@SuperfastMatt Those "beveled washers" are actually called Belleville springs and they are in more things than you think.

Great editing and pretty cool pictures drawn today bud, good job. Oh ya, thanks for the shock learning, kinda forgot already, but it was good while it lasted.

I love shocks. They've evolved into such a simple reliable design which still gives great performance. Unfortunately expensive as the machining needs to be near perfect for high end performance, but still reliable. The explanation was really quite good, hit all the important points. Though I do find digressive shocks mandatory for my purposes, they give a greater overall energy absorption and better handle a far wider range of speeds (at least on road which is where I live).

I love you for this. I had to struggle through learning how all this worked, but you broke it down in a really simple and informative manner. I will probably consult it later when I go back to dealing with shocks.

Didn't bother watching for two days, thinking it would be boring and I know that stuff already. But, I was very wrong, and as it turns out, I know nothing and Matt's videos are very informative and equally entertaining.

Finally! Someone else who "appreciates" the difference between damp and dampen! If I hear one more person refer to "dampening fluid" ....

Hoping for a part 2 (3,4...) with a bit of track tuning!

Such a great video, i've learned a lot. Thank you Matt

Good to see you again, Matt. Catch ya' on the rebound.

thank you for the clarification of damper vs dampener, I have been using that illustration for quite some time, but I specify a squirt gun as the dampener, you wouldn't believe how many people use the wrong term and argue that it is correct, even in NASA, they even invent new terms like "dampner"

Love the explanations. In my world of Audio, we also have people say things that stop materials from being "excited" are "dampened". 😂 It's "Dampered"

I rebuilt and resprung my motorcycle forks a few years ago and learning all about suspension was fascinating. It blew my mind that if you cut a spring, you make it more springy.

The best video I have ever seen on shocks, hands down.

I just learned more about shocks in 16 minutes and 15 seconds than I had learned in all of my 58 years. Great video!

I like the amount of work put in this..

I'd love to see a videos like this for other parts of a car. Maybe a transmission or something.

20% like to view ratio in the first hour is a damn good sign of a solid following.

Awesome! I need to show this to the suspension side of my Baja Sae team. Well thats if we can ever get a car built by comp 😂

Of course he makes a video about shocks when my Saab's suspension has just given up in life Keep making these videos man. They are awesome to watch as always

Awesome video! Very informative with some good ol' fashion humor, keep it up Matt!

“Probably should have put the guard on the cut off tool for this one” Me: YESS!!

Best explanation of shocks ever. thanks

Finally someone is showing the truth inside King and Icon shocks!! Cheap internals 4:34

0:41 no, this is a shock damper. The spring is the shock absorber.

As an Engineer that previously worked at one of the large Damper companies mentioned in this video I can say this is a fairly good run-down of functionality.... Should point out some pros/cons vs. various shock designs tho. Twin tubes are cheap to make, easy to valve etc so most stock and boring (think camry) vehicles use this design, also cheaper aftermarket stuff (as it's easy to make adjustable)... The pro is less piston rod (shaft) force, so your low speed choppy stuff is controlled very well (also why they're selected for non-performance applications). Reason being is twin tubes do not need nearly as much gas pressure to function properly because of the valving separating the nitrogen reservoir. The cons are tho your working piston is much smaller and thus can cavitate much easier, and overheat easier as well (you have a nice nitrogen wall to insulate it from the outside air). Hence they are very not good for trucks and off-road. They can also need to be installed in a specific direction or things aren't happy with nitrogen getting where you don't want it. Should also mention, they tend to be far less robust partly because of them being cheaper but also the small working piston/cavitation issues, and also are usually not serviceable. Mono-tubes obviously have the inverse in pros-cons, more expensive to make, harder to make adjustable damping, higher rod force and thus not great for small choppy bumps. However much better cavitation control (and thus can put more damping force in for the same size shock) better heat dissipation etc. And unlike the twin tubes they are far more robust, a good quality mono-tube can last well into the 6 digit mileage range and can even be rebuilt fairly easily due to the construction. In short, if you have twin tube shocks... they're probably not that good, mono-tube ftw :P.

Excellent, and easy to comprehending

Excellent shock video! You make the best videos in automotive content. Can't wait for the next one. Thanks Matt

Wow. Amazing explanation and graphics. Great work on this

One of the best ones yet! Great vid

I hope I’m wishing you a happy Father’s Day. Love your videos.

Love your "prior to getting into this: let's get our terms and or wording straight"

Thanks Matt, really learned something today!

Matt! Great video, any day when I watch one of your videos is a school day! Thanks for entertaining, educating and sharing! Plus your sense of humour is brilliant!

We seem to be stuck with motoring folk calling dampers "shocks", when it's actually the spring (whether steel or air) that does the shock absorbing. The damper is there to control that motion and, especially the rebound. But then we are also stuck with the term "radiator", for what is, in reality, a liquid to air heat exchanger which primarily uses forced convection for cooling and not radiation. Coolant has somehow morphed into the stuff in a bottle (which is actually coolant additive), whereas it's really the liquid that runs around the engine block and various other parts to keep the engine from frying.

Thanks Matt for the entertainment. Always good for some laughs!

I am one of those pedantic people that hates calling them shock absorbers (because they don't absorb shock, that's what the springs are for) but this is probably the best explanation of DAMPERS I've seen.

I just found your channel and have been binge watching. Excellent!! You remind me of This Old Tony but for cars! Keep up the great content!

great quality video! Learned lots of practical shocks knowledge today

As usual, it's a great video. 👍 Thanks for sharing.

After having a basic understanding of shock valving and operation for close to 40 years, you finally helped me to really understand a lot more about them in 16 minutes -- Thank you!! Now, can you do the same thing for changing exhaust tones using helmholz resonators or whatever is required to give an LS engine a nice, high pitched exotic sound? It's probably "just" math and physics... Lol

Love the frequent uploads!!

This video had a high infirmation density. Thank you for explaining it to this level.

Any guide explaining the difference between dampers and dampeners is a great guide.

That was very informative and in a good way.

This is truly shocking, I hope I can absorb all the information.

Great job on the video Matt! Thanks for making it. Everybody make sure to stick around for the ad at the end!

Complicate and thick subject, but definitely an above average content for YT! I'll rewatch it more accurately, there's some really in-depth stuff to learn here. Thanks Matt!

I think you'll find that technically, the spring is the shock absorber, and this part, that most people call a shock absorber is actually the damper.

After watching way too my CEE channel those shocks look way too much like hydraulic actuators off some earth moving equipment. 🤔

Wow, it’s 9am here and I already learned so much, great video. Thank you 🙏

As someone who has exceeded the limits 7/8 of an inch icon shock shaft, 1 possible bigger problem is a very bent radius arm Caused by one very cool looking, But slightly misjudged jump.

Many thanks for using the correct terminology when speaking of shocks (you said damper which is correct). Cheers!

The brutally honesty is amazing

Matt needs to build a Family Truckster next!

01:08 - "So I gently pressed on the shaft into the body...." Waaaaaait for it.... Hahahaha Oh dear, you silly sod! Hahahaha 😎🇬🇧

What a great explanation of something we all take for granted. All hail the algorithm.

Man I love you. I've been scared to change out my front R6 springs for months now.

EXCELLENT video, as always guy -

The shock is the spring which absorbs the force. The topic you're talking about is a damper.

You know you can count on this information when he knows the difference between damper and dampener

I use a Fox shock in my prosthetic arm - revalved/tuned to suit by people smarter than me. Works great. High and low speed damping makes the elbow feel natural.... for a pretend arm.