Abstract: A shock absorber includes a pre-load ring for providing a desired damping characteristic when a piston is being moved outwardly of a hydraulic cylinder. The pre-load ring has a curved surface in contact with a disc valve. A spring bias is applied to hold the pre-load ring against the disc valve. Since the pre-load ring has a curved surface in contact with the disc valve, there is line contact between the pre-load ring and disc valve. As a result, when the disc valve moves away from a port controlled by the disc valve, there is less friction between the disc valve and the pre-load ring.