First off, thanks to all of the GD.com members that came to our Wizard / Donaho Racing shock seminar. I thought it was a HUGE success and we are currently looking at all of our options for future seminars.

So those that went, what did you think?

And another question for everyone... what other types of seminars to you see being useful to the industry/consumers?

Any business owners in the industry interested in putting on a seminar other than shocks, give me a call or a PM.

I was not able to go are they still talking about a DVD version?

We would like to thank you guys as well. It was extremely informative and what I wouldnt give to spend a year following those guys around to pick their brains about shocks and suspension technology. Very informative and well worth our time. Thank you as you can never know enough about suspension.

Not to be a dick but you have your own forum for posting up crap about your schools... keep it in there... i come in here looking for stuff about buggys and not Tech seminars offered by wizard fab.. if i wanted that i would go to the damn sponsors section!!!

Well I am sure that BeachHead will move it if he thinks that is what needs to be done. And I personally think it was a very informative and educational [b]Tech[/b seminar for everyone.

Doug will be home in a couple hours to post pics and more info for those who are interested.

Apparently you didn't go to the seminar, because this was about as "Sandrail Tech" as it gets. It was extremely informative and appreciated by most. He was not advertising and we didn't pay any money to go to this seminar. They actually provided food and drinks at no charge, sure it doubles as marketing for them but I don't see anything wrong when all they did is offer a great FREE seminar helping out the community.

It seems tech related to me.................. Your rail uses shocks, and tuning them is important.

Rarrrr!

Wish I could have made it

just a note, you didn't accomplish your goal .

Don't know you and haven't heard about you..but you sounded like the biggest DICK with that statement. But your probably a nice guy though....Go Bears!

I would like to thank everyone that help put together the seminar we learned so much info that it was like being lead out of the dark ages I don't think it could have been turned out any better then it did. Greg Donaho is a great person to deal meet him a few years when he first started selling his lift kits for the superduty trucks he has allot of working knowledge with on and off road shock tuning.

Next time need to see about meeting board members at the end or beginning, but it was pertty late and everyone wanted to get going I think we where the last ones to leave hung around to talk.

Note to ISBB your totally out of place with your statement!!

Wish, wish , wish...could have been there. I'm for keeping the post right here, it's tech enough for me. Any thing on a DVD !!!!!!!!!! I would be more than happy to pay for one.....

Thanks for the good comments most everyone. Yes we will making a DVD. Mitch from Sand Obsession filmed the Saturday morning seminar and Donaho Racing had one of their own guys film the second one on Saturday. I have no info on the release date of the DVD, as it still needs editing, etc.

And we'd love input from all of you on what other types of seminars would be something you would like.

It was a great seminar.. Sad that some couldn't attend..

Nice turnout Saturday am tho..

And free food? Where do you get that kind of service.

i for one would be interested in the dvd . i took my bypass off the other dayt to tear the car down to give it to justin , i thought one of my bypass was empty at first because one side popped up quick the other side did not look like it moved . i then took a minute to compress each shock and watch the time to extend 2 0r 3 seconds for one then 7 or 8 for the other i then noticed that the srew was flush with the nut on one and the other had 5/8 of an inch sticking out so they are set different hence the different time to pop back to full extension . as they both were pressurized . please keep us informed on the dvd doug . a sfor another seminar give us some ideas as to what kind you could put together . i know you do frames and suspension at wizard but i was thinking about engine tuning i talked to umi at the show and am thinking about getting a newer mefi setup with the software but i wouldnt know what to do with it just my 2 cents . tim

Well we are thinking about an engine tuning seminar. But there are so many variables and different approaches that we could take that I would like to hear some input from the major engine builders and tuners as to what their opinion is before we commit to such a seminar.

I would like to thank everyone that came to our shock seminar. I know it was a drive for some, and even a few airline tickets for others. I would also like to thank Doug and Courtney and the entire Wizard staff for all the work they did on organizing this event. And last, I would like to thank Crag and Dylan for such a incredible seminar. They had me rethinking what I new, I learn something new every day. I plan on having more of this type of seminars so if you can think up some good ideas, Doug an I will try and offer more to the off road community at no charge. And to the guy that got his feelings hurt about us posting this in tech, YOU MISSED OUT ON SOME
GOOD TECH INFO.
Thanks, The Wizard.........

I wish I coulda gone, I'm sure it was extremely informative...

And only because it was brought up, this is most certainly a "tech" thread. I think next to transaxle's, suspension is probably one of the areas most of us has the least amount of knowledge with. (OK, at least in my case.. ) This section of the board exists to share knowledge that will make all of our rail experiences that much better. Wizard Fab is not only doing that with their seminars, but they are also paying to help keep this board here for that information to be exchanged. Even if it weren't a tech subject, I think we as reasonable people might put up with one or two off topic threads with that in mind, shouldn't we?

Thanks Bob.

Here's a little insight as to the theory behind this. Kreg Donahoe of Donahoe Racing deals with or has dealt with ALL of the major shock builders. It's common knowledge that shock tuning is something a lot of people don't understand. And that includes buggy builders, as most buggies come with off-the-shelf valving, and not valving tuned to that specific car.

So what happens? Companies like King, Fox, SAW, Bilstein, etc get flooded with calls asking for help. While most of those companies try to help their customers, there simply isn't enough time for ANY company to run their business AND help tune everyone's personal buggy/truck etc.

So Kreg Donahoe came up with this idea to teach people how to tune shocks on their own. And they didn't "just" cover shock tuning, they actually talked quite a bit about geometry for those that want to build their own buggy or change their shock mount locations.

In Kreg's own words to the attendees of the seminar (paraphrasing), "I hope you will be the next generation of shock tuners. Some of you may even come up with new ideas that advances the industry." He also mentioned that someone that took this seminar, and put what they learned into to practical testing and tuning, could easily teach their buddies the same info.

And finally... yes we hope to get some positive response out of this. Of course we do. But we're not trying to "sell" anything at these FREE seminars, which is why I felt there was no problem posting this tech-related thread in Sandrail Tech, which gets many more views than our own Wizard forum.

And for those wondering, I posted the pics in the Wizard Forum. Wouldn't want to upset ISBB any further.

I heard from my posse that is was a very good class. I wish I could have made it.

I don’t want to sound like a DICK, but I thought it was great.

I would like to thank the Wizard School of Fabrication for allowing everyone to use their facility. (Personally, I think you have a great school going on there and if I lived closer, I would probably take a course)

I would also like to thank Kreg and Dylan, from DR, for sharing their expertise. I personally, have been studying this subject for a few months, and this class not only taught me some knew ideas, but it confirmed others. I now have enough information to be quite dangerous. A kidding aside, I will be tuning my own shock, from now on…

Great job!!!

Don’t worry about these guys that complain about seminars being “sales pitches”.

This kind of information sharing goes on in all industries. It helps move the technology forward. The only ones complaining are those who didn’t think of it themselves…

shock tuning is tech

I would like to thank Wizard,Kreg and Dylan for a great seminar with lots of great info. There was also never a sales pitch for the school which was greatly appreciated, although expected. The shop spoke for itself and looked to be a great facility! Thanks Again

Ditto ^^^^.Great seminar and I learned quite a bit.The formulas are great tools to have and now that I have correct info on how to tune I should be able to really dial my car in.
Thanks very much.

shock tuning is TECH... But talking about a frickin seminar and i havent heard one bit about shock tuning in this thread just how good of a seminar WIZARD FAB put on!

Bear down.. You did meet me at the show! I was hangin out w/ zukifreak all weekend!

Hey guys! ( Wizard / Donaho Racing)

Thanks for putting on a great shock Tech Seminars..
I learned a lot,and there was plenty of great info.. free food and drinks,,, Cool stuff to check out.. I would go back!!!
Nice talking to you Doug.

Tech tip
#1 Start with base line .

# 2 “Nitrogen” . is used for pressurizing the oil seals not for ride control..


Thanks again guys!!..

Rob

Tech

I attended the Sat AM seminar, thought it was great. I was kinda surprised at how much I already knew, but there was a TON of the finer points that I did learn that was well worth the drive.

For me, it took shock tuning from a "pain in the butt" process to a more easily understood, logical process.


I would have liked to see a student handout for people to refer to while tuning or rebuilding their shocks. I also thought the history portion was semi-interesting, but it chewed up some time that could have been better used for more lecture or Q&A time. I had to keep reminding myself that the lecturers deal specifically with off-road applications rather than duning, but the principles are the same.


Overall, it was a great seminar and a HUGE THANK YOU to the lecturers and Wiz Fab crew for hosting a great seminar!!

First off.....thanks to the school for the facility and to the presenters for their time and also for the food and drinks.....I know a LOT of time was spent in the preparation to get this done.....

As for myself I was disappointed in the seminar....( I didn't stay for the question period so I can't say what I may have missed).....maybe I was expecting something different.....I wanted to hear about how to select the correct springs for coil overs...how to set preload and secondary adjustment....how to set compression/rebound and its effects on driving....maybe some video of what the effects of compression/rebound adjustments look like....(maybe these come in class 201 ?)

With that being said the info being provided was good ...just not the detailed adjustments I was seeking....

(Hello to SOCALDMAX...I met you before presentation)....

I also want to jump in here and thank the Donaho Racing guys and everyone at Wizard School of Fabrication. I thought the seminar was great and the Q&A session even better. I do believe I've learned enough to at least attempt to tuning my own shocks this season without make things worst like I did last year. I might even think about tearing down my rear coilovers some time this season to remove any valving that may be there!

As for suggestion on other classes, how about shock tuning 201, maybe something on off-road safety, or possibly the effective use of a GPS??? Just tossing out random ideas here.

Thank you again Mr. Wizard.

Eric

Hey flattire, thanks for joining our seminar. It's to bad you left early because the things you wanted covered were in the O&A part. If we have a repeat of this it will only get better. This was the first time that Crag and
I have put on such a seminar so your feedback will really help. Next time come at mid class and get the part you missed.

I was there Sat. night. I thought it was all good. Good job guys. Keep the seminars coming. How about a seminar on actually rebuilding a shock. Tear down , rebuild, re-assemble. Have a shock there and actually do it. Im just throwing ideas out there.

I missed the seminar, but I will gladly pay someone to tune my suspension.
Anyone?, Anyone?

I am not one of those that went but having been involved in motorsports for years,you rarely see manufactures/builders sharing much information.I for one would like to thank all those on this board who support this industry and its participants with the help needed to enjoy this "sport" more.This for me,as for others,this is a family affair not just an occaisional event.I started out like most here with an old standard travel vw based car an now have 2 LT cars.This sort of info sharing makes it much more enjoyable for our families(and affordable).Again thanks to all those who put on this seminar hope there are more like it in the future.

I can help you, we can do it some trip out there together.


I charge a few ICDBs for the help, but I drink really slow.






Do you have bypasses front and rear?