Congratulations on your new purchase of a 7800 Series Shock.

Each shock is
equipped with the same quality, high performance components found in
every Penske Racing Shock. They were designed and hand built after
extensive development specifically for Quarter Midget cars.

This manual contains information about your shocks. If you have any questions
regarding your 7800 Series Shocks, please contact our main office at 610-375-
6180.

Table of Contents

7800 Series Parts List ................... 2

Disassembly/Assembly
Instructions .................................... 4

Suggested Maintenance ............... 5

Trouble Shooting ........................... 5

General Valving Characteristics .. 6

A Guide To Damper Tuning ........... 7

Dyno Graph Overview ................... 8

Made in
the U.S.A. 1
REV: 8/10/06
7800 Series Parts List

14

15
1
16
2
17
3 4 7
5 15
6
18
19

20
8 21
9
22

23

24
10
11

12
25

13

26 27
8

28

2
7800 Series Parts List
ITEM NO. PART NO. DESCRIPTION

1 SC-50 Screw, Ball Plunger

2 RH-78175 Ride Height Adjuster, 7800, 1.75"
3 IU-06 Valve Cap, High Temperature
4 IU-04 Valve Core, 2000 psi
5 IU-22-S Air Valve, Port O-Ring, S.S.
6 OR-2010-B O-Ring, 2-010, Buna 70 Duro
7 MO-5 Mono Ball, .312" ID X .375" W
8 RR-75 Retaining Ring, .783" OD, VH-75
9 BC-78 Body Cap, 7800
10 OR-2117-B O-Ring, 2-117, Buna 70 Duro
11 PI-78 Floating Piston, 7800 SERIES
12 OR-2122-B O Ring, 2-122, Buna 70 Duro
13 BD-78250 Body, 7800, 2 1/2" Stroke
14 NT-375R Ring Nut, .375" X 16
15 VW- Valve Shims
16 PI-110025 Piston, 1/1, 0 Bld, 25mm
17 PB-25 Piston Band, 25mm (1.00")
18 VW-7800 Top Out Plate, 7800
19 RR-37 Wire Ring, .043" Wire Dia. X .375" ID
20 BU-06DU06 Bushing, DU .375" X .375"
21 OR-2110-V O-Ring, 2-110, Viton 90 Duro
22 OR-2206-B O-Ring, 2-206, Buna 70 Duro
23 SB-78 Shaft Bearing, 7800
24 SL-375 Shaft Wiper, 3/8" Shaft Bearing
25 SH-78NA250 Shaft, 7800 Non-Adj., 2 1/2" Stroke
26 SR-78175 Spring Retainer, 7800, 1.75"
27 RR-46 Retaining Pin, 7800 Spring Retainer
28 EY-78NA Eyelet, 7800, Non-Adjustable

TOOLS AND ACCESSORIES

KT-78SHIMS Shim Kit, 7800 Series
TL-78SC 7800 Shaft Clamp
TL-78W 7800 Bearing Wrench

3
Disassembly / Assembly Instructions
Nitrogen Pressure Valve
Shaft Bearing
Shaft Eyelet

Body Cap Eyelet

Disassembly Instructions
1. Depressurize the shock.
2. Clamp the body cap eyelet in the vise with the shaft eyelet pointing up.
3. Unscrew the shaft bearing assembly from the shock body and remove the shaft
assembly using a Penske bearing wrench (Part number TL-78W)
4. Drain the oil, when needed. Please dispose of properly.
5. Clamp the shaft eyelet in the vise with the piston pointing up.
6. Remove the 1/2" ring nut to access valving.

Assembly Instructions
1. Install shaft bearing. Be sure to grease seals and o-rings to prevent any damage.
2. Reinstall eyelet. Use Red Loctite on eyelet threads and tighten securely.
3. Reassemble the shaft, be sure that the piston is properly positioned. With the
shaft still in the vise, the compression valve stack is on the bottom of the piston
and the rebound on the top. Bleed holes are on the rebound side (facing K)
4. Torque 1/2" ring nut to 150 inlbs.
5. Pressurize body to 50 psi. Fill body with oil*, stopping at lower threads.
*Penske Suspension Fluid (Silkolene Pro RSF 2.5 wt.) is recommended. Use of alternate
fluids may have an adverse effect on the damper's internal sealing components.
6. Insert shaft assembly with piston band into body. Move piston assembly up and down
slowly (1"-2" strokes) to extract all air. DO NOT pull piston assembly out of the oil at
this time.
NOTE: this step is very important; take your time, repeat as needed. When all air
is bled out, slide the shaft bearing down and screw it into the body until it is snug.
Let the pressure out of the shock and finish tightening the bearing.
(DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN).
7. With the shaft fully extended, charge shock with desired pressure.
(DO NOT EXCEED 150 PSI)

Replacing the Shaft Bearing Seals / Eyelet

1. Remove eyelet from shaft using a shaft clamp (Part number TL-78SC)
2. ONLY REMOVE SHAFT BEARING OVER EYELET THREADS.
3. Replace seals and wiper if needed.
Continue following steps 1 through 7 in the Assembly instructions above.

Specifications
Ring nut, 150 inlbs
Eyelet to Shaft, (Red Loctite)
4
Suggested Maintenance
Shocks should be serviced yearly by Penske Racing Shocks or an
authorized dealer.

Trouble Shooting
LOSS OF NITROGEN PRESSURE ............. Valve core (Part number
IU-04) is not tight or needs
to be replaced, o-ring (Part
number OR-2010-B) on air
valve needs to be replaced.

OIL LEAK AROUND SHAFT ........................ Shaft seal o-ring (Part

number OR-2110-V) or
wiper (Part number SL-375)
needs to be replaced.
Note: minimal oil seepage
is normal.

OIL LEAK BETWEEN

SHAFT BEARING AND BODY ..................... Shaft bearing o-ring (Part
number OR-2206-B) needs
to be replaced.

5
General Valving Characteristics

High Speed Low Speed* High Speed

Rebound Compression and Rebound Compression

The damping characteristics of your shock are determined by the

compression and rebound valve stacks located on the main piston.

The valve stacks are made up of a series of high quality shims, which are
made to flex under the force of oil flowing through the piston ports and
then return to their original state.

The thickness of the individual shims determines the amount of damping

force the shock will produce. By changing the thickness of the individual
shims, damping forces will be altered. For example, if you are running an
3 compression valving, where all the shims in the stack are .XXX thick
and you replace them with a 4 compression valving, which consists of all
.XXX thick shims, the compression damping will increase.

* When the shaft is moving very slowly oil passes through the bleed
hole(s), if there is one, before it passes to the shims.

6
A Guide To Damper Tuning
The ultimate purpose of a shock is to work together with the spring to keep
the tire on the track. In compression (bump) to help control the movement
of the wheel and in rebound to help absorb the stored energy of the com-
pressed spring.
Usually in low grip situations, allowing more bleed or less low speed damp-
ing is desirable to delay tire loading upon initial roll.
In dry high grip conditions, adding damping or restricting bleed will load the
tire sooner upon initial roll increasing platform stability.
A car with too much low speed damping will usually lack grip in change of
directions, cannot put power down in slower corners (wheel spin) and lack
overall grip after initial turn in.
If traction is a problem coming off slow corners, reducing low speed damp-
ing or adding more bleed will help weight transfer at the rear thus increas-
ing traction.
Also, the amount of rebound can have a great influence on weight
transfer. Less front rebound allows weight transfer to the rear under
acceleration. Less rebound in the rear allows for a greater amount of
weight transfer to the front under braking and turn in.
When a shock is over damped in rebound, it can pack down in a series
of bumps and a driver will recognize this as too stiff and usually will think
it is compression damping. Too much rebound can cause lack of grip
on cornering.

7
Dyno Graph Overview

+750

+600

+450

+300

Quadrant 1 Quadrant 2
Force (Lbs)

+150

-150

Quadrant 4 Quadrant 3
-300

-450

-600

-750
-1.20 -1.00 -.80 -.60 -.40 -.20 +.0 +.20 +.40 +.60 +.80 +1.00 +1.20

Displacement (Inches)

This section of the manual illustrates different valving combinations in

the form of graphs. The graph shown is force vs. displacement graph.
The force vs. displacement graph is a very accurate and simple way to
assess valving characteristics. If you are not familiar with this type of
graph, it is explained on the following page along with the graph above,
showing the four different quadrants.

8
Dyno Graph Overview

COMPRESSION SHIMS
CLOSE AND
REBOUND SHIMS
BEGIN TO REACT
COMPRESSION SHIMS REBOUND SHIMS
REBOUND SHIMS REACT REACT
CLOSE AND
COMPRESSION SHIMS
BEGIN TO REACT
P

Low Speed
Bleed Holes
Through
Piston O
Low Speed
Bleed Holes
Through
Piston

QUADRANT #1 QUADRANT #2 QUADRANT #3 QUADRANT #4

This is the beginning of This quadrant begins with This quadrant begins with This quadrant begins
the compression stroke. the compression valve the shock at full compres- with the rebound valve
Where the graph crosses stack open. Where the sion and the compression stack open. Where the
the zero line (pounds) in graph crosses the zero valve stack closed. graph crosses the zero
quadrant #1 begins the line (inches) in quadrant Where the graph crosses line (inches) in quadrant
compression stroke. #2 is the maximum force the zero line (pounds) in # 4
Approximately the first produced by the com- quadrant #3 begins the is the maximum force
1/2" of displacement is pression valving. As the rebound stroke. Approxi- produced by the rebound
formed with relation to the shock approaches the full mately the first 1/2" of valving. As the shock
low speed bleed holes. compression point, the displacement is formed approaches the full ex-
When the shaft reaches compression valve stack with relation to the re- tension point, the re-
a certain velocity, the begins to close as it ap- bound bleed through the bound valve stack begins
low speed bleed holes proaches the rebound piston. When the shaft to close as it approaches
shut off and the compres- movement. reaches a certain veloc- the compression move-
sion valve stack begins ity, the bleed shuts off and ment. At this point the
to react. the rebound valve stack cycle starts over again in
begins to react. quadrant #1.

An easy way to help picture what is going on here is to relate the graphs shape to
what the dyno is doing to the shock. The dyno uses a scotch yoke system (shown
above), where the motor turns a crank and the sliding yoke allows the main dyno
shaft to make the up and down movement at the preset stroke. The dyno software
takes thousands of measurements throughout a single revolution of the crank. The
sampled points are connected to form the graph. By relating the cranks position to
the corresponding graph quadrant and the circular crank movement may help in
reading the graphs.
9
Dyno Graph Overview
Penske Racing Shocks uses SPA or Roehrig Dynamometers because of their versatility and
low speed metering and sample rates. Penske Shocks primarily uses the Force Average
display, but SPA and Roehrig both offer Decelerating CD/Accelerating RD and Accelerating
CD/Decelerating RD viewing options for all their graph displays.

Force / Velocity Average

This graph shows the averages of the
accelerating and decelerating compression and
rebound forces. It is a good quick, general
review of the shock curve, but is the least
accurate of the options displayed.

Force / Velocity
This graph displays the accelerating and decel-
erating compression and rebound forces. Think 2
of this graph as the Force / Displacement graph
(below) folded in half.
1
* Hysteresis is the gap between accelerating and 3
decelerating compression and rebound damp-
ing. It is affected by the type of piston and the
shims used. The bleed hole(s) will close the gap
4 Hysteresis
or soften the low speed forces.

OVAL (Force / Displacement)

QUADRANT #1
This is the beginning of the compression stroke. Where
the graph crosses the zero line (pounds) in quadrant #1 1 2
begins the compression stroke. Approximately the first 1/
2" of displacement is formed with relation to the low
speed bleed bypass. When the shaft reaches a certain
velocity, the low speed bleed holes choke off and the 4 3
compression valve stack begins to react.
QUADRANT #2
This quadrant begins with the compression valve stack
open. Where the graph crosses the zero line (inches) in
quadrant #2 is the maximum force produced by the
compression valving. As the shock approaches the full
compression point, the compression valve stack begins
to close as it approaches the rebound movement.
QUADRANT #3
This quadrant begins with the shock at full compression
and the compression valve stack closed. Where the
graph crosses the zero line (pounds) in quadrant #3
begins the rebound stroke. Approximately the first 1/2" of
displacement is formed with relation to the rebound
bleed through the piston. When the shaft reaches a
certain velocity, the bleed chokes off and the rebound
valve stack begins to react.
QUADRANT #4
This quadrant begins with the rebound valve stack open.
Where the graph crosses the zero line (inches) in
quadrant #4 is the maximum force produced by the
rebound valving. As the shock approaches the full
extension point, the rebound valve stack begins to close
as it approaches the compression movement. At this
point the cycle starts over again in quadrant #1.

10
Dyno Graph Overview

500

400 Low Speed Bleed Holes

300 Bleed Chokes Off / Shims Activate (knee)
Damping Forces (Lbs)

200

peed (slope)
100
Low Shaft S
Compression
0

-100 Rebound
-200

-300

-400

-500
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00

Shaft Velocity (In/Sec)

Note:
Remember that low speed damping characteristics are controlled by bleed through
the bleed hole(s) in the piston, not the valve stacks.

11
Notes

12