Everyone loves to have a smooth ride in a car and one of the major factors closely related with smooth riding is shock absorbers. But to what extent the shock absorbers can be blamed for undue vehicle jerks, as it depends on the proper functioning of sway bars, bushings, stiffness of the chassis and the quality of the tires may also make the ride miserable.
As you know, a homemade electric car has to carry extra weight of the deep cycle batteries throughout the chassis of the vehicle. When the internal combustion engine of the vehicle has been removed, it is very important to get the total weight balanced correctly. In this sense, the suspension system of the DIY electric car is even more important.
To have a comfortable and smooth ride, suspension settings are very crucial and these settings may vary from vehicle to vehicle depending upon the driving conditions. An experienced driver may be aware of the road condition and would be very cautious while driving and would prefer safe and controlled driving methods, when compared to an inexperienced driver who may be little rash and may ride at high speeds irrespective of the road conditions.
For instance, two cars manufactured by the same company are given to an experienced and less experienced driver then both of them would prefer to make significant tuning suspension damping for smooth riding according to their driving styles. So the key for fine tuning of suspension lies in the hands of the driver who has good control over the car he drives.
The fine tuning of suspension is no guarantee for a smooth ride on your EV as the settings have to be changed from driver to driver frequently and better alternative to this would be to prefer non-adjustable expensive shock absorbers of Bilstein and Koni with lifetime warranties.
If you want to have shock absorbers within your budget, then you should think of Tokico blues, known for good performance at a competitive price. So these shock absorbers are of great choice to an average driver who enjoys smooth rides without breaking the bank.
Now, let us think about a high performance electric car. In this case, an adjustable shock absorber will be very helpful to improve the performance and handling of the EV. The problem is not during acceleration because the electric motor has more than enough torque.
The problem is when your electric car is taking a corner at high speed. The extra weight of the batteries will definitely send your vehicle off the cornering line. So a high quality suspension and shock absorbers are important for a safe ride.
Having high quality shock absorbers to your electric car is no guarantee for a smooth ride as loosen or weak chassis condition may not give the desired smooth ride results. Over a period of time, if the chassis is not repaired in time, it may cause some amount of damage to the absorbers. Make sure the check and maintain the absorbers on a regular basis to prolong its service life.
The best way to have hassle free car riding would be to install chassis braces and good quality sub frame connectors. To fix the cars inflexibility cheap braces would benefit a lot.
For people who love to ride their EV fast can replace the spring with that of sway bars and for a comfortable high speed ride. Sometimes the change of sway bars may not result in the desired result, then you may have to replace stiffer brushings also.
The process of suspension tuning is to choose the best alternative for a given car model. So before opting for changes to the absorbers, it is always advisable to know your expectations and to have a clear idea of what to buy.