Lowered Cars Please Read - Bump Stops!!!

[brickhardmeat]

Originally Posted by Blenjar

damn...not sure now....cut or no cut..g.rrr n I dont wanna pay 85 bux an hr for that....
I got the TRD spark red spring...
any1 got them? bump stop cut off?!?!

-- Blen

Why don't you call TRD and ask them? I am pretty sure I know what they will say.

[Galavoxx]

I agree. Just call them. They are going to tell you that no cutting is necessary with the full TRD setup.

[Blenjar]

"Hi,

Okay, when installing lowering springs on Struts, you cut the bump stop the same amount that you're lowering the car and in this case I believe that's going to be 1.2" so we're talking about 6/10's of one inch. Talk to you later.

Ken"

That was Ken from TRDspark, the RED TRD springs.
Now all I need to do is get a math major to help me cut this.

-- Blen

[Galavoxx]

Originally Posted by Blenjar

"Hi,

Okay, when installing lowering springs on Struts, you cut the bump stop the same amount that you're lowering the car and in this case I believe that's going to be 1.2" so we're talking about 6/10's of one inch. Talk to you later.

Ken"

That was Ken from TRDspark, the RED TRD springs.
Now all I need to do is get a math major to help me cut this.

-- Blen

Hmmm, I never thought toyota would sell something where they actually ask the customer to just "modify" a part to make it work. I was sure they would either provide a new piece or use the intact old one. Guess I was wrong.

[brickhardmeat]

Originally Posted by Galavoxx

Hmmm, I never thought toyota would sell something where they actually ask the customer to just "modify" a part to make it work. I was sure they would either provide a new piece or use the intact old one. Guess I was wrong.

me too, quite surprised, I am still in the air on cutting mine with the new install, i'll probably do a lot of calling around

[churp]

The bumpstops sole purpose is to prevent the strut shaft from hitting its cylinder at the bottom of its stroke (and causing damage)....changing the spring does not change the bottom travel of the strut, so cutting the bumpstop will bring you closer to that destructive interference. There will be some leaway in the design of the strut that you can get away with it sometimes....but cutting the bumpstop doesn't alter the point where damage can be done. Aftermarket struts may be designed to allow for more downtravel, but myself I'd leave it alone with the factory strut. Hitting a rubber stop is much more pleasant than hitting steel to steel!

[Chris07LB]

Of course no cutting is needed with the TRD setup... it was designed to work together..

Now any aftermarket spring and STOCK shock setup will require cutting.

Do yourself a favor, call the manufacture of the springs you are buying, AND ASK! Lots of bullshit advice being spread around lately on this topic.

[d4w1]

I have a set of TRD lowering coil springs installed on my 2007 Yaris hatchback with TRD Sportivo struts and shocks. I found that Tanabe racing development installation instructions recommends how much to cut from the front bumpers on your front struts. Tanabe tells you to only cut 15mm to 25mm from the rubber bump. You can cut easily with a cutter knife after you spray lubricant oil on the rubber bump. Tanabe also has a note: Please consider number of passangers and carrying load. For my car I only removed the mininum of 15mm. I have not had any promblems of suspension bottoming out. Here in Texas the rual roads are not that great. Losts of uneven surface raods.

[Blenjar]

I cut mine...that first U shape, cut it there...I dunno wat's a buttom out but my ride is fine..looks better..i think it will lower more within the next two weeks.

-- Blen

[daddz07]

Originally Posted by Galavoxx

I have to agree, you either need to cut the bump stops or get some aftermarket items. I was actually going to start another thread on this because I just installed aftermarket bump stops and spacers last weekend but...

As I mentioned earlier in this post, I cut off too much of the bump stop and was bottoming out at least once a week. After installing the aftermarket bump stops, the difference really is night and day. On Sunday, I Got my alignment done with a little negative camber thrown in and I actually went out looking for a way to bottom the suspension. I drove highway 1 south from San Francisco and turned up through Bonny Doon Rd to Felton to Boulder Creek to Skyline and back to SF.

The drive was great but the best part is that, there is no more *THUD* when bottoming the suspension. In one section of my drive there was a good half-hour of tight fast turns. Even in turns with the suspension compressed and riding on the bump stops while hitting a pothole or bump, the car stayed settled. All I can say is, it's amazing how much difference these damn bump stops make!

Anyway, I would recommend these as opposed to cutting.

However, if you must cut, you should leave enough bump stop to do the job it is intended to do. The aftermarket items I got are a hair over 2 inches long including spacers (52mm).

I actually did my front and rear bump stops but you should really only need the fronts. If you do the rear, you'll have to pop the stock hard black rubber stops out with a screwdriver and possibly cut the dust boot.

Here is a link to the site where I bought mine:

http://www.fatcatmotorsports.com/FCMstops.htm

The guys name is Shaikh and he autocrosses Miatas. They are about the same weight and hp as the Yaris. He is planning on making a Yaris page if enough people want these. But for now just tell him Randy sent you.

The Yaris setup:

Front: (2) 47mm strut-style bump stops $24
(4) 9mm delrin spacers, drilled to 21mm $20

Rear: (2) 40mm non-strut (shock) style bump stops $24


extras: $5 each for 3mm slotted spacers, drilled to 16mm, used to tune over/understeer on rear of car. I didn't try this yet but may do so in the future. The car already handles great with maybe a little too much understeer. But this is a front wheel drive car.

Also, I have a spare set of front bump stops with spacers for sale if anyone wants them. I had them installed on the rear of the car for about two days but the inside diameter was too big and they were flopping around so I swapped them out for a smaller I.D. $25 shipped.

do you still have this front bump stops??

[Galavoxx]

I don't have them. Try FatCat, I think he's still around.

http://www.fatcatmotorsports.com/