Multimatic DSSV shocks are on some of our favorite cars; here's how they work

One thing common to some of our favorite performance vehicles lately, from the Chevy ZR2 pickup truck to the Ford GT supercar, is the shocks –- they use Multimatic DSSV damper technology. It was just on the Chevy Camaro ZL1 1LE we drove last week. Seems the technology is everywhere. But what the heck is it?

To quote the manufacturer, "DSSV dampers use precision spool valve technology to deliver the highest level of damper predictability, accuracy and repeatability in regulating oil flow and thus, damper curves."

A damper, what you and I might call a shock absorber, is a tube full of oil with a big metal plunger in the middle. The plunger moves up and down inside the tube, slowed in its upward (jounce) or downward (rebound) travel by the thickness, or viscosity, of the oil inside -- and by the orifices through which the oil is forced.

Ah, the orifices. They make up the key difference in a DSSV damper. The vast majority of shock absorbers on the vast majority of cars use shim dampers, or what is known as deflected disc valving. As the fluid inside the shock is pushed up or down by the plunger, the resulting force causes the disc(s) to bend, or deflect, which allows the fluid to move through the tube and the wheel to go up and down in a controlled fashion. There is usually more than one disc involved. DSSV dampers push their fluids through laser-etched openings in spool valves inside the damper that open and close as a sleeve slides up and down around them. Sleeve slides down, orifices open. Sleeve slides up, orifices close.

cutaway and non-cutaway

On the Camaro ZL1 1LE we drove last week, there are two spool valves per damper, one controlling compression, one rebound. On the Camaro, the DSSV dampers "…incorporate pairs of specifically tuned, piston-mounted spool valves into an aluminum-bodied, camber- and height-adjustable strut damper system engineered to be lighter, stiffer and faster…"

It operates pretty much that same way in other applications.

"DSSV dampers regulate oil flow via precisely shaped ports," Multimatic explains. "These ports, combined with the configuration of other elements within the valve, enable detailed shaping and optimization of the damper's force-velocity curve."

If you want your damper to absorb tiny bumps but stiffen up for larger bumps, or vice versa, you change the size and shape of the openings, or orifices. DSSV damping is highly predictable and easily tuneable, or at least easier than other damper technology like deflected discs. Once the setup has been tuned, the damper is not adjustable like magnetorheological or electronic systems.

"DSSV damping characteristics are mathematically predictable using Multimatic Specfinder software," Multimatic explains. "Ideal damping characteristics can be accurately reproduced without extensive trial and error testing."

So suspension engineers can pretty much name the characteristics they want in a damper, plug it into the Specfinder software and have the laser etchers open their orifices.

Like all good technology, DSSV came from racing. It was pioneered in Champ Car in 2002, where it won five championships. It made its way to F1 where it was present on the season winners in the 2010-2013 FIA World Constructors’ Championships with Red Bull Racing. Multimatic dampers were on 25 of the 60 entries at Le Mans last year, including three of the four class winners. It's on everything from DTM to Mazda MX-5 cars. In street cars, it's on the Aston Martin One-77 and Mercedes AMG GT.

So now you know. Look for more DSSV on a car near you, and ask your doctor or pharmacist if DSSV is right for you.

Subaru Is Spearheading Cyclist Safety, IIHS Says

Tesla Reclaims EV Nürburgring Lap Record

Should Active Driver Safety Systems Be Standard?

The Stellantis EVAS Steps Toward Connected Cars

Will Autonomous Bus Captains Replace Bus Drivers?

Reused EV Batteries Could Power the Grid

WHO Says Wear a Motorcycle Helmet—Please!

A Massive E-Fuel Plant Is Coming to Texas

Here's Why Mercedes Is Testing Hydrogen Hybrids

Cyclists Aren't Safe with SUVs on the Road

Cybersecurity Is the Auto Industry's Weak Point

Kia Reveals When It Will Launch Its EV Robotaxis