Digressive piston compression valve

A vehicle damper includes a valve having a flanged spring seat for clamping a floating orifice disk to a valve seat. The flanged spring seat supports and aligns the orifice disk during assembly and operation of the valve. The valve may include a bushing having a guide surface piloted into the valve seat for guiding the floating orifice disk. Piloting the guide surface into the valve seat precludes pinching or clamping of the orifice disk between the bushing and the valve seat during assembly or operation of the valve. The valve may include a low rate, high preload spring, and the floating orifice disk may include openings for passage of fluid prior to the disk lifting off the valve seat, thereby providing a digressive valve operating characteristic. The valve may be used as either a compression or a rebound valve in a vehicle damper.