Damper development

FA 3030 Piston

While at JRZ Suspension Engineering, one of the R&D projects I helped complete was the JRZ FA 3030 piston. It was a departure from the way things were done at the time and a big learning experience for all involved. The goal of the project was to explore two things:

1. Explore the benefits of using more compression force at the piston
2. Create a tool to give clients a wide array of valving options without buying a lot of part

One of the major hurdles was making something that accomplished these goals while not appearing to emulate competing parts. Conventional shim and bleed damper pistons had been around for some time. As had the knowledge of the mechanics of such things. This actually came later in the design stages. At the beginning stages four main design elements were identified:

1. Symmetry between compression and rebound sides
2. Digressive, linear, or combination damping curves possible
3. Ability to have independent bleed bypass for each side
4. Functions as intended with all JRZ shaft designs

#4 introduced the most complication originally as JRZs mostly had “free bleed” adjustment at the time. This was because they did not include substantial compression valving on the piston. A bleed adjustment would then  effect the rebound primarily while always having an open path for fluid flow, giving good recovery & response. A few years prior the “12 31” motorsport shaft was introduced and among other improvements, it included a check valve. This closed off the oil bypass when the damper was in compression, meaning that the adjustment only effected rebound. In fact, the FA 3030 was already in mind when this was done. What it did add to the design challenge was a freedom of opening and closing that wasn’t necessary on previous design concepts.

Unfortunately lost to time and saving over files in CAD, the growth and development of the FA 3030 design exists only in my mind. While the original design took shape I iterated over and over until all four requirements were met. Once that was finished we got to market research and design comparisons. Originally the part had been drawn prior to market research to ensure “novelty” in that I would draw what I thought was the best solution.  Ironically, the original FA 3030 ended up looking quite similar to an existing part (and kudos to them for doing it first) so it was back to the drawing board.

Eventually an independent (enough) looking design that was expected to deliver upon the requirements was made. Being the first damper piston I’d designed, the number of iterations was much higher than  today’s efforts. Though learning to balance features and prioritize functionality was one of my biggest takeaways from this project.

The FA 3030 made it’s debut on an R8 LMS at Circuit of the Americas in 2013, taking home a win in the process. Since then, it has found a home in all types of racing cars and even street cars. It is still in service today and now can be purchased as standard in JRZ Motorsport Series dampers. I still learn from it today.