One aspect of LFS that's still missing is a realistic damper curve. The current damper curve is just a linear straight line of constant gradient that goes to infinity, which is realistically non-existant.

IRL, all dampers have their unique characteristics. Some are rising rate, others roughly linear (with high speed blowoff that limits maximum damping force once piston speed exceeds a predetermined limit), digressive (very stiff until it hits a certain speed and softens) and combinations of the above above.

This addition will aid realism because IRL, damper characteristics have massive effects on transient handling. It'll go a long way to making LFS cars handle much closer to the real things.

Being able to adjust fast/slow rebound damping separately with the current type of dampers would probably end up with the same result, no?

I thought they were different aspects fo dampers.

Either way, +1 for each.

Quote from xaotik :

Being able to adjust fast/slow rebound damping separately with the current type of dampers would probably end up with the same result, no?

That would make your average 4-way damper that could cost as much as 10,000AUD each. That's ideal for the pure race cars in LFS (GTRs, BF1s, Rallycars (hope they'll get around to adding a rally car soon)).

Unfortunately, 10,000AUD is a bit OTT for the road cars such as XF/XR, RA/FZ50 and TBOs. So to keep it a bit more real, lets keep the existing linear 2-ways but with a blowoff point and high speed valving that results in stiffness a predetermined fraction of the low speed regime. This would better simulate how RL 2-way dampers behave.

Then they're progressive dampers. These are the most primitive and cheapest dampers you usually get as your OEM cheapies. They are horribly soft at low speeds when maximum control is needed but stiff a speeds when compliance would improve comfort and most importantly mechanical grip. Thus the lousy wallowy handling and backbreaking ride over washboards and speed bumps. I'll never use them IRL if I could avoid it, but it'll be nice to include it on the slower (aka cheaper) cars just to provide the option of showing how and OEM car would handle.

Anyway, you're right about the implementation of 4-way dampers.

Most high end sportbikes these days (i.e. a $9000 600cc 4-cylinder) have fully adjustable dampers with fast and slow for both bound and rebound. Perhaps they cost a lot more on a car because of the much greater forces involved?

While suspension changes are being talked about we still neeed the update to the trailing arm suspension system as last news it was still using the old S1 suspension model. This means all the cars with trailing arm lose the anti dive properties this sort of system provides.

Quote from Forbin :

Most high end sportbikes these days (i.e. a $9000 600cc 4-cylinder) have fully adjustable dampers with fast and slow for both bound and rebound. Perhaps they cost a lot more on a car because of the much greater forces involved?

True about the forces part. The adjustable car dampers are massive compared to their 2-wheeled counterparts. For instance, Ohlins race dampers for Lancer Evolutions are monotubes with 46mm or so bores.

As for the 10,000AUD or so per unit I'm talking about, they are full blown, extremly precise and consistant race dampers for top level motorsports such as WRC or Formula 1. They are extremly precise especially at low damper speeds regions and displacements, providing a powerful and invaluable tool for controlling transient behavior. Dampers like Koni 2822 4-way adjustables.

And Woz, good point. The current suspension model does a good job for double wishbones and Mcpherson struts, but are still omits some obvious and important things. For instance, there's still no multilink suspension and dynamic toe. The lack of live axles is also an obvious ommision, though they are relatively more complicated in behavior, so that's something that could wait until other important issues such as aero modelling are done.

Anyway, I'm happy with all the constructive posts in this thread so far. Keep them rolling in.

Speaking of speed sensitive dampers, I've just thought of one one thing:

How about bypass shocks? Those used in off-road racing such as the Baja 1000 off-road racing trucks with as much as 36 inches of travel?

Well, a bypass shock is ubique in that they are position as well as speed sensitive. In essence, its damping behavior is dependant on not only how fast the damper piston moves, but also on the exact position of the piston. This is extremly useful especially for off-road racers taking sand dunes at 100+mph. Softer when the damper is more stretched to allow the wheels and tires to comply to the terrain more quickly, stiffer once the compression of the damper reaches certain thresholds to maintain chassis control.

The simplest bypass shocks 2 stages of action. In reality, sophisticated long travel units can as many as 3 different stiffnesses for 3 different travel regions. Just goes to show how advanced off-road suspension technology is these days.

Just wish the developers would add a proper rallycar in the near future. As for the off-road racers such as Baja and Dakar machines, I just wish they'll add those too somewhere down the line. With those vehicles and the real life dampers I've mentioned here, we can really show how the LFS physics engine really is.

For the time being, I just wish they'll implement speed sensitive and 4-way adjustable dampers in the next incompatible patch.