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Free shipping when you spend $500+
If you are considering upgrading your shocks AST Suspension needs to be on the short-list. Every AST coil over manufactured is designed specifically with the user and application in mind. Nothing is off the shelf. We design and manufacture the shocks based on the car, driver goals (i.e. trackday/HPDE, time trial/time attack or wheel-wheel racing), tire/brake pad combination, any added aero and even driving style of the driver. AST Suspension brings decades of motorsports and suspension/chassis design experience to the table. Let us design a coil over you will love, making the car more predictable, giving you confidence.
The story of AST begins with Piet Kreeft. Piet started his career with KONI Suspension in 1965 working for their motorsport department supporting professional racing all over the world. Here he is, pictured right, speaking with F1 legend Niki Lauda, center, in 1969.
After 15 years at KONI ,Piet decided to branch out on his own. In 1980 he formed Aragosta Suspension which specialized in motocross and GP racing bikes, two disciplines in which Aragosta became leaders in. They then got involved in suspension for vehicles and were present at World Rally championships, Kartcross and Touring car events where Aragosta Suspension set records in the Paris-Dakar Rally, in both the T1 and T2 categories.
In 1989, aided by the suspension designed by Piet, Emmerson Fittipaldi became INDYCAR 500 World Champion. Piet supported INDY CAR chassis and suspension development for almost a decade.Â
Teaming with the manufacturing expertise of Peter Smits & Gerard Smits of Smits Factory to manufacture every component, Piet forms AST Suspension in 2000. Together Piet and the Smits combined the technical expertise of suspension design along with the unparalleled quality control and manufacturing flexibility unlike others in the suspension industry.
In 2007, AST brings these decades of suspension design and manufacturing expertise to the North American market and in 2010 is selected as the damper provider for the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. The GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge ran in the United States from 2000 to 2014 and was split into two classes, Grand Sport (GS), intended for large capacity GT-style cars, and Street Tuner (ST), consisting of smaller sedans and coupes.
AST is one of the few damper companies that offer both a monotube design AND an inverted installation. (More about the benefits of these features below). AST offers 3 different coil over models, the 5100 (single-adjustable), the 5200 (double-adjustable) and the 5300 (triple-adjustable). A key design feature of the 5000 Series is its inverted strut design. This makes for a very stiff strut assembly, providing better suspension geometry under heavy lateral and braking loads and reduces unsprung weight with the chassis carrying the weight of the coil over, not the control arms.
Another great feature of the 5000 series shocks is modularity. If you want a double-adjustable or triple-adjustable shock but can’t afford it, simply purchase the 5100 damper, then when you are ready send your shocks to an authorized rebuild center to upgrade them to 5200s or 5300s.
If you’re a serious track day or HPDE driver and have advanced your skills as a driver and are catching faster cars, the 5100 Series shock would be a wise upgrade. The 5100 series shock is single adjustable (rebound). It comes in monotube with inverted/upside down technology with the benefits discussed above. Rebound is adjusted with one knob mounted on the top of the damper. It comes with an adjustable spring perch allowing you to adjust ride height. AST suspension shock bodies are specially designed to keep maximum stroke, even with a lower ride height.
AST 5100 Series Damper shown with rebound adjustment knob
The rebound adjuster opens or closes a small bleed hole , this restricts the
flow of fluid . Each click will have an effect on the handling characteristics so do not
adjust more than 1 or 2 clicks at a time.
Find The 5100 Series Damper For Your Car
If you’ve advanced beyond HPDE and are a time trials/time attack driver or wheel-wheel racer the 5200 series damper will fully satisfy your needs. The 5200 series damper is double adjustable (rebound/compression) and comes with an external reservoir.
AST 5200 Series Damper shown with external reservoir
Like the 5100 series damper, the 5200 series damper also comes in monotube with inverted/upside down technology. The 5200 Series double adjustable shock absorbers are based upon the more expensive competition triple adjustable shock absorbers. The 5200 shock absorbers are adjustable independently in compression and rebound. The design of the compression adjuster is an evolution of the compression adjuster AST provided for the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. The 5200 shock absorbers were designed to achieve a quick and easy set up, allowing separate adjustment of compression and rebound. Throughout testing and competitions, the 5200 has been praised for its performance and capabilities, surpassing other major, more expensive brands and setting a new standard of double adjustable damper. Its no surprise that the 5200 is fast becoming a favorite damper amongst race teams and track day enthusiasts world wide.
The rebound adjuster is located on top of the shock body with the compression adjuster located on the external reservoir. With the inverted/upside down technology the external reservoir may be easily located and mounted inside the engine compartment.
Find The 5200 Series Damper For Your Car
If you’re super serious about your driving and want to punish and dominate the competition then the 5300 series damper is for you! The 5300 is triple adjustable (rebound/compression and shock velocity) and comes with an external reservoir. Like the 5100 and 5200 series damper, the 5300 series damper also comes in monotube with inverted/upside down technology.
AST 5300 Series Damper shown with external reservoir
The highspeed compression is adjustable in 12 positions and the lowspeed compression is adjustable in 14 positions. Both compression adjustments are made using an external canister. All adjusters work completely independent. Many years of technical knowledge, testing and experience has been refined, fettled and brought together to create a perfect balance between the choice of springs and the corresponding damping characteristics. This makes it a versatile product for every customer. The 5300 series shock absorbers are the best solution for every race team. Once installed the shock absorbers are easy to setup, highly reliable and require low maintenance during the season because of the high grade of materials used.
Find The 5300 Series Damper For Your Car
We make it very easy to locate the shock best suited to your needs. Simply click the link below, select your car make, then car model and then select the AST Suspension damper best suited to both your budget and your needs. We offer AST Suspension dampers for most car makes found at North American track events: BMW, BMW-Mini, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Lotus, Mazda, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen. Once you’ve selected the AST damper you want then just provide us some additional information so we can design a suspension system tailor made to your application. We’ll need total car weight with driver, tire make/model, engine HP, any aero mods you’ve made and any other other information you’d like to share such as the series you run in or your driving style.
Find The AST Damper For Your Car
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