The Science Behind Ride Shocks’ High Flow Piston Design

The main piston inside Ride Shock’s is the powerhouse that drives exceptional ride quality and unbeatable comfort. The engineering team at Ride Shocks dedicated months to designing and testing pistons, pushing the limits to deliver the ultimate solution that the market craved.

The main shock piston is responsible for most of the damping in the shock as oil flows through it. The flow is controlled by the size and shape of the piston ports, along with the tuning of valve shims. These three key areas were identified and targeted for optimization.

Leveraging our extensive industry experience and collaboration with AccuTune Off-Road, our engineering team has hands-on expertise in designing and tuning a wide range of shock pistons, fully understanding the pros and cons of each. However, we didn’t stop there – we wanted a fresh, clean-sheet design for our shocks. To ensure we got it right, we tested multiple port shapes, comparing results across various suspension types, including those found on Toyota Tacoma’s, 4Runners, Ford Broncos, Jeep Wranglers and Super Duty trucks.

Testing our shock pistons spanned several years and took place across a wide range of terrains. Street testing was done on the brutal roads of Los Angeles and the local streets of San Diego. For desert conditions, we ventured through Ocotillo Wells, Johnson Valley, and Barstow, tackling everything from sand to rocks and various types of whoops. Our 4×4 testing included grueling trails in Big Bear, Rubicon, Johnson Valley and Fordyce. We even pushed the limits by prerunning over 4,000 miles in Baja, ensuring our pistons were tested in the toughest conditions possible.

All of this extensive testing led to the creation of the ultimate piston for off-road shocks. In the following sections, we’ll dive deeper into what sets our piston apart from the competition and how these differences will give your vehicle a ride quality that outperforms the rest.

Optimizing Ride Quality: The Role of Piston Port Shape in Ride Shocks

First, the port shape plays a crucial role in overall shock performance. Certain shapes can make the shock overly progressive, which can lead to a harsh ride, while others can make the shock too stiff and difficult to tune. A progressive shock is soft at low speeds and stiff at high speeds, making it challenging to fine-tune the shims for the right balance of stiffness where you need it most.

Through our testing, we discovered that round-shaped ports deliver the most linear performance. This means that as you adjust the tuning for more stiffness, you get a consistent increase in both low and high-speed damping. The result is a smoother, more predictable ride, as the shock can be easily fine-tuned to be either stiffer or softer using traditional tuning methods.

Equally important to the port shape is the design of the port inlets. Many shocks in the industry force oil to flow around sharp edges before entering the ports. These sharp inlets disrupt the oil flow, resulting in a rougher, less smooth ride. While sharp edges are cheaper to manufacture, Ride Shocks took a different approach. We discovered a significant improvement in ride comfort by smoothing out the port inlets, allowing oil to flow seamlessly. This required advanced 3D machining of the pistons, a process that added considerable cost, but the resulting boost in ride quality makes it well worth the investment.

Ride Shocks’ Piston Port Size: A Critical Design Element for Optimal Oil Flow

Secondly, port size plays a critical role when the shock is moving quickly. If the ports are too small, they can’t allow enough oil to flow, leading to hydrolocking—where the piston can’t move properly due to insufficient oil flow. On the other hand, if the ports are too large, the shock will allow too much oil to flow, resulting in a suspension that’s too soft and hard to stiffen adequately. Finding the right balance is key to ensuring smooth and effective shock performance.

We tested a variety of port sizes to find the perfect balance that prevents hydrolocking while avoiding an overly soft suspension. By fine-tuning this balance, Ride Shocks have achieved a design that is not only highly tunable and predictable in its performance but also, most importantly, incredibly comfortable.

Revolutionizing Off-Road Performance: The Ultimate Ride Shocks Piston for Unmatched Quality and Comfort

In conclusion, Ride Shocks has truly redefined the off-road experience with a shock piston that delivers unmatched ride quality and comfort. Countless hours of design, testing, and refinement have gone into creating the ultimate piston, with a laser focus on optimizing the size, shape, and tuning of the piston ports and valve shims. Partnering with AccuTune Off-Road and rigorously testing across diverse terrains—from the brutal streets of Los Angeles to the rock-strewn trails of Baja—our engineering team pushed the limits to ensure this piston thrives in the toughest conditions. Every twist and turn of those grueling tests—on everything from sand dunes to rugged mountains—has resulted in a shock piston that is as powerful as it is precise. The outcome? A game-changing shock piston that sets a new standard in off-road performance. In the next sections, we’ll dive into what makes our piston the ultimate choice for conquering any terrain and why it will completely transform your ride!