When it comes to upgrading our classic rides, one area that seems to get overlooked is the lowly shock absorber. It’s understandable, as they really are not a focal point of performance — or are they?

In October 2017, we did an article that focused on that very subject. Called, Shock Absorber Selection: Tuning Your Ride With Help From VariShock, we collaborated with the folks at VariShock, to find out how important proper selection is to performance. We found you can choose from one of three types of shocks: factory preset, single-adjustable, and double-adjustable. Once the decision is made about shock design, there are more decisions to make, and you’ll have to check out the original article for all the details. For that reason, I thought we would focus this week’s Throwback Thursday on this great article.

Even when using a stock suspension, many enthusiasts can benefit from a custom-shock tailored to their installation. The folks at VariShock wanted to make sure it was easy for enthusiasts to configure custom shocks for their individual application. For this reason, the company has compiled a comprehensive, easy-to-use guide that covers all of the important aspects of shock absorber design and construction. This is done via a component “code” that facilitates configuring a custom shock absorber by the numbers.

“Some manufacturers offer shocks with 24 settings, but there’s really no difference in range,” states Chris Alston of VariShock. “We believe it’s easier to tune a shock when there’s a bit more noticeable difference between settings.”

The original article really gets into the aspects of shock-mount selection, shock length, and even shock body design. There is a lot more in-depth information in the original article, and that is why I selected, Shock Absorber Selection: Tuning Your Ride With Help From VariShock as this week’s Throwback Thursday showcase article.