Thread: OE strut boots

EDIT for people who may later search for a strut boot thread:

THE BEST SOLUTION IS: buy 4 OE front strut boots for all 4 corners and pop the OE bump stops out and replace them with Koni Bump stops.





(original post)
so I just got my OE strut boots in the mail from GSpec...

I have Koni Bump Stops that I was going to install with my hypercoil springs and shortened koni reds. Doing this tomorrow AT LAST!!!

Do I need to cut out the OE looking bump stops that are built into the strut boots?

You don't want to run double bump stops, and you should be able to just pull out the stock bumps stops from the boots.

Josh

See Shawn's suspension thread, there are pics in the Koni section which shows the OEM bumpstops that you'll be pulling out. I also don't think I used one pair of the dustboots on mine because they wouldn't fit. I can't recall why, or if it was the front or the back pair.

What's wrong with the OE bump stop in the brand new boot?

Nothing is wrong with it, but you have Koni bumpstops which are superior? I don't understand the question

ok Lucas, "what makes the koni bump stops superior of the OE ones that are integrated into the boot?"

Some more discourse on the OE bumpstops, I would think an advantage of the OE bumpstops would include the fact that they are integrated, right?

It would seem that taking the OE ones out of the boot would cause more dust to get into the strut.. so then IMO it defeats the purpose of buying the strut boots..

if I go with the Koni bump stops, I will probably just sell the intact strut boots...

on these pictures, it looks like they are using both bump stops for the rear.. the one integrated that you can't see and obviously the koni bump stop.

So after some research I have found out that, THIS IS NOT HOW YOU DO YOUR REAR BUMP STOPS! This doubles up the bump stops and greatly reduces suspension travel. Instead buy 2 sets (4 total) of front strut boots and pop the OE bump stops out and replace them with a Koni Bump stop.

THIS IS NOT HOW YOU DO YOUR REAR BUMP STOPS! This doubles up the bump stops and greatly reduces suspension travel. Instead buy 2 sets (4 total) of front strut boots and pop the OE bump stops out and replace them with a Koni Bump stop.

THIS IS NOT HOW YOU DO YOUR REAR BUMP STOPS! This doubles up the bump stops and greatly reduces suspension travel. Instead buy 2 sets (4 total) of front strut boots and pop the OE bump stops out and replace them with a Koni Bump stop.





ok, upon further reading of Shawn's thread (i've read that thread 1 thousand times, I guess I didn't remember how detailed he got with regard to bump stops)




My guess is that in the rear with the small bump stop you need to cut the bump stop in half as shown above and for the fronts you remove the OEM bump stop and go with the Koni's..

and to answer my question (why is the OE bump stop not as good as the Koni Bump Stop):

energy suspension vs koni bump stops? - SR20 Forum

OK, so that's why I didn't use the OE boot in the rear. The bumpstops are made of a different material, OE to Koni. You never want to hit the bumpstop, but hitting the Koni isn't as bad as hitting the OE (from a predictability of suspension movement standpoint). So you don't want to use two bumpstops in the rear, effectively doubling the height. Don't cut the Konis. They are designed to work in a specific way as they deform/absorb. I have had my non-booted Koni rears on now for 5 or 6 years, and they've survived that many Michigan winters, dirt roads, etc etc.

Did you buy one (1) pair of front dustboots and one (1) pair of rear dustboots?

That would be the issue right there. I though I made it clear to buy two (2) pair of rear OEM dustboots.

Koni bumpstops are actually a progressive-rate bumpstop. They get firmer the more you compress them due to their actual design. Which is why they are relatively expensive as far as bumpstops go (IIRC they were about $70-ish shipped for all four). Finally, Mike K swears by them, I *think* I have a thread or two linked on his opinions/facts in the Suspension Thread. (Once Mike K fully endorses a suspension component applicable to a street ride, I simply buy it. No further thought on my part is necessary.)

Some folks trim the Koni bumpstops, some folks do not. I *believe* it is actually correct to trim them per Waynes (formerly Sentrixx) instructions. Although, Isfahan knows more about suspensions than I do, and he just stated (post above mine) to not cut the Koni's. Obviously, there is some debate on cutting them.

I did not trim mine, due the the progressive nature of the Koni bumpstop and wanting to have maximum protection from bottoming out. I have the AGX/HypercoII combo (less travel than the CSK's), and would rather "gently" touch my progressive-rate bumpstops more frequently and still have full Koni protection when I really bottom out (not frequent, but it happens weekly, or every ten days or so).