Vertical Travel
In the world of off road racing, vertical travel is critical to the performance of the vehicle. Vertical travel is the measure of the shock absorbers distance to extend and compress. Enhanced vertical travel is crucial to the overall suspension of the vehicle and how it handles the ever changing terrain of jumps, water, mud, ditches, etc. Horsepower and driver skill are useless without enhanced vertical travel.
My new truck is a consumer version of a vehicle developed to race in the deserts of Baja, Mexico. Part of the package on the truck includes upgraded suspension with racing shocks with 11.2” of vertical travel in the front and 12.1 in the rear. In addition, there is also an off road mode switch in the truck, which allow the computers in the truck to adjust the vehicle to change the handling characteristics for off road conditions as they are totally different from normal street driving. I did test the off road functions recently while playing in some mud and pretty deep holes filled with water, and the truck did its job as designed. The enhanced vertical travel compensated for the changing conditions of the terrain.
Vertical travel is a critical performance factor in life too. Shear brute force and skill are not always enough to get you through. There will be pot holes, standing water, debris or some other distraction on your journey. That’s just life. You have to have the ability to adapt and handle the ever changing terrain of life right there in front of you. So how is your internal suspension?
No comments:
Post a Comment