what is a bumpstop?!

[quadboy47]

im installing a set of tein s-techs on my tc tomorrow and im doing some research. People are saying "Cut the bumpstops" what is a bumpstop. does anyone have a picture of them and which one do i cut. TOP bottom both . your info would be great.

[SquallLHeart]

cut in half, keep the top part.

it's yellow and is on the shock.

[ppiech2]

just to add another question, is there any harm in not cutting them?

[lilfunnijohn]

i dont think so. when i had my trd springs installed we didnt cut the bump stop. i think its cut only so your car will go lower.

[danyo]

it doesn't matter too much if you cut the bump stop. The bigger the bump stop the less shock travel, the smaller then more. It's just recommended when you install lowering springs.

[SoleLaced]

they recommend cutting the bump stop since it lowers the car so much. On bumps, the car will bounce and on the down-bounce(?) it would crush into the bump stop. This would cause the bump stop to crush and then just shatter into pieces.


if you cut it in half, like it tells you to, then it would have less chance of being crushed; thus keeping it from being shattered.

I say just cut it to be safe. Tein must have told us to do it for a reason.

[ChelsDS]

Why continue selling them with the bump-stop if it will cause harm? Or am I reading this wrong?

[SoleLaced]

cause on stock springs, the shocks will only come close to the bump stop. Its only when the car takes a really hard dip, and that is where the bumpstop will say "Hey, this is low enough, go back up" so to speak.


When you put on stechs, which is significantly lower, the shocks will compress pass the point of where the bumpstop would usually be. That is why tein recommended us to cut it.

And as said before, if not cut, it would be crushed constantly and cause it to shatter. When cut, the bump stop would be shorter....causing it to be compressed less...and not shatter


I dont even have Stechs, but I just know this from reading the darn forums too much. lol correct me trung if im wrong

[danyo]

he is right. when i bought my TEIN Basics coilovers, they came with new bumpstops that were smaller than OEM because the strut/shock itself was smaller. If you aren't buying new shocks that come with bumpstop u'll have to do with whatever you have so just cut them in half. Again, since u got lowering springs, the shocks will travel further on bumps so it will most likely crush the bumpstop in the long run. Although, i don't think it will shatter since the bumpstop is some type of rubber material but will most likely be crushed/deformed. I cut my bumpstop in half when i had TRD springs installed. Didn't cause any problems but TRD drop isn't as much.

[lilfunnijohn]

mmm do we have to cut the bumpstop in half for trd springs? because i didnt have mine cut.

[danyo]

it is recommended but it's hard to say. You would have to find some measurements on exactly how far the shock will compress with TRD springs on stock shocks. check this install out(link below), the guy installed TRD springs + TRD shocks and you can see the TRD shock is a lot smaller. He cut the original bumpstop in half and it worked out for him so i'm guessing cutting 1/3 to 1/4 of the bumpstop would be fine for original shocks. Better to be safe than sorry i guess.

http://www.scion-tech.org/wiki/How_To:Spring_and_Shock_Installation_(tC)

[TheScionicMan]

The bumpstop is a rubber cushion that helps out when the shock reaches its travel limit. Like was mentioned, its for when you hit a large bump and the shocks compress fully, there's still some cushioning there to stop the car's downward travel.

What happens when you don't cut them is that you will hit the bumpstops more often, on smaller bumps and it makes for a rougher ride.

Think of it like this: say you've got 6 inches of shock travel before you hit the bumpstops. When you lower your car with springs or coilovers, you're shortening that travel which means you're more likely to hit them. Cutting that bumpstop gives you an extra inch of travel before you bottom out on the bumpstops and get a jarring bounce.

[Zebman]

Bumpstops are helpful when running aggressive wheels, too. Much cheaper to replace then a fender, tire, or even rim.

[Drey]

I got s tech and mine came with instructions (pic how to cut and chart for all cars). According to instructions you should cut lower part and keep upper part. I believe its 1.2" for s tech and 0.6" for h tech. Lower part is kinda soft. There also will be hard ring in the middle. I moved mine up in the next thread. So yeah I still got like 3/4 of my bumpstop left.