I'm putting my suspension back to stock to sell and noticed a few things about the and position of the actuator output shaft and shock control rod. I will post pictures and more info later when Install is complete.

 

hard to access rear shocks

 

because of this, do you think shock is electronically activated with the tabs on the actuator? I haven't tested with a multimeter, but my assumption is it rotates freely until a current is applied?

I was playing with the control rod, installing stock back in, and didn't fee a hard stop in either direction or any "clicks", plus the fact that its full stiff without power. Just throwing out thoughts to see what sticks.

 

The actuator has 10 hard clicks. The shock dial spins free, but needs to be installed in the same exact position. I spinned it an exact number of times and then back the same exact number of times to the last milimiter just in case. It is full stiff because its in the commanded position where its full stiff. The actuator fitting only fits when its at that angle.

it has two sides so I dont want to flip it to opposite by mistake, I dont know what it would do. Since no one disasembled the shock we dont know exactly how it works.
unless… I can flip it intentionnaly, and see if I feel any difference.

 

the instructions tell you to rotate the rod, but no reference points. So this is what I came up with.

Taking a look at the actuator, I think the "correct" orientation is to center (5 clicks in both direction) the output shaft that should align it with the notches of the opening.

Rotate the rod on the the shock so that it actuator slips onto the rod and only allowing you to rotate actuator to clip it on the shock.

*** I take back my assumption that the actuator is giving power through the tabs, instead it might be the output shaft. It's looks like it's engineered to be more than just a shaft that rotates.

 

The actuator motor should always be in the default position which is the 17 stiffest since thats how it is when car is stopped. The actuator motor has its own wiring harness that it gets power from.

 

I'm not sure if the damper valving will actually reduce the squat, pitch and roll etc?
Shock absorbers are more correctly called dampers, because after hitting a bump, the spring theoretically oscillates up and down forever.
Thanks to the internal friction between the molecules in the coil spring, the vertical oscillations will naturally and eventually dampen to a stop.

The shock absorber [damper] has "directional" valving, with one set of valves on "compression" which provides literally no or minimal resistance to the flow of oil, and another set of valves on "rebound" which provides the bulk of the resistance to oil flow, to convert mechanical motion into heat, which dissipates into the atmosphere.
Hence, dampers ultimately are responsible for controlling "float".

With soft damping, the vertical oscillations have a "low frequency", hence feel comfortable, but the vehicle will bob up and down for a while.
While firm damping, the vertical oscillations have a "hi frequency", coming to a quick stop, but then the high frequency of oscillations feels tiring.


My 1984 Mazda 929 2.0, and my 1988 Mazda 929 3.0 V6 [photo below] had Sport, Soft and Auto control of the damper valving.
In those early days, the damper valving was only in two positions.

1988 Mazda 929 V6i:

 

So if I’m reading this correctly, I “think” all the actuator is doing is turning the shaft at the top of the strut/shock a predetermined range of degrees. I find it odd that the strut/shock doesn’t also have hard defined clocks like the actuator though and just spins freely. Is it safe to say then if you disconnect the actuator, and spin the top of the strut/shock to wherever you want it, that this will now be where it remains as there is no actuator to change it?

 

Dampers can absolutely reduce squat, pitch, and roll, but not at their absolute limits. They do this by slowing the rate of compression or extension (inaccurately referred to as rebound) of the suspension.

Envision a high-G left turn. The right suspension will compress and the left suspension will extend as the centrifugal force pulls the mass of the car towards the outside of the turn. While the spring, specifically the spring rate, will determine the ultimate level of compression of the right suspension, without a damper controlling the rate of roll, the initial roll will actually be more severe.

Imagine gently placing a 100lbs weight on a 100lbs/in spring. The spring will compress 1 inch. Now imagine dropping a 100lbs weight on the same spring. The inertia of the falling weight will cause the spring to compress more than 1 inch before returning to 1inch compression. This same inertia applies to the movement of the mass of a car on its suspension. The damper controls the inertia of the shifting mass of the car, which can actually limit body motion beyond simple spring rate, especially in transitional handling (turn in, initial brake application, launch) and mid-corner adjustments.

 

Update: It's been one month since going back to stock springs. Most of the time I drive in Sport+ because normal is just too boat-like/floaty to me. Car still looks awful due to gap. I've been loosely considering going back to lowering springs, but this time may contemplate Tanabe NF210's. However, if I decide to go-down-the-rabbit-hole (again) I would install new dampers as well and likely go with the KYB aftermarket (Gas-A-Just). Anyone have extensive experience using Tanabe NF210's with AWD?

 

It's where I'm going next, Jonathancl's thread of his own red AWD convinced me to try

 

The only concern I have with the Tanabes are that it appears that some have issues with them sagging prematurely giving much more of a drop than expected. The spring rates look so close
To stock though, so it’s definitely tempting.

 

For close to stock spring rates there seems to be no other option (on the market) than Tanabe to lower the car

 

Ok, also went back to stock, and man…the gap on an AWD is just horrible when used to being lowered, even on RSR Downs like me. Comfort is definitely back, such a big difference, but man. Also seriously thinking about the Tanabes also, hoping it’s a middle ground between stock and RSR Downs?