Air bumps

Mods, please feel free to delete the previous thread I made, I think the title was causing me to get no responses.


Air bumps, who has them on their front end? I hear they are bad for the LCA? Are they really that much better then super bumps and a better alternative to a secondary shock setup?

 

Morning bump

 

I'll give you a bump because I want to know. But honestly I don't have a clue.

 

I believe air dog (?) has them on his truck (full mid travel setup, with a secondary shock), but i'm not positive.

 

On a stock LCA Its pointless really, super-bumps do work I had a set before going LT.

 

my current problem is that with super bumps my front end bottoms out on hard landings.

 

thats shock valving not bump stops

 

I believe my valving is 15 on compression and 10 on the rebound if I remember correctly, on a 650 pound spring.

 

So I'm assuming youre using an OEM replacement coilover shock(s)? Are you jumping your truck? what are you trying to achieve?


I see: 2012 NBM Sport DCLB 4X4

Level 8 Guardian's - BFG A/T KO 265/75/16 - Matt123 TRD Skid Plate - Relentless Fab T-Case skid - Sway A Way 2.0 Front's - Fox 2.0 Rear's - LED Headlights - LED Fog's - BHLM - Rear Compartment Lock Boxes - Fog

why 2" shocks and not 2.5?

 

I never really felt the need to go 2.5" I am jumping the truck. Nothing insane though. They are actually Non OE replacements. I built them up myself to fit. They are extended travelers 2.0x6 with a 3" rod end retrofitted to make them similar to the icon extended travel version.

 

I had lightracing jounce shocks for a while with my stock arms. They worked well for average four wheeling and improved high speed handling on dirt/gravel roads a lot. I would advise jounce shocks over regular bumps on a stock application due to the leverage ratio and limited travel.

(not my truck, just a pic of the LR setup.) Install is pretty easy for the average dude, no welding just need a sawzall and a drill.

 

So surface area and better heat dissipation was not a thought? I'd think seriously on going a 2.5 with a remote res before sinking money into air/hydro bumps.

 

http://www.radflo.com/choose.htm


simple and to the point of shock sizing vs. vehicle weight and intended use.

 

As a whole I am very happy with them, the only thing they are lacking right now is good recovery from very hard landings which causes me to need to look for extra solutions. I spoke with Sway Away directly and they indicated that if I am happy with them but need help in one particular area, then further compression damping assistance is needed. They suggested I go with a EBS bump stop from Eibach. After doing some research, I found the best fit would be a PN 770021 EBS stop. It would fit inside of the coilover on the bottom of the shaft itself. So at this point I would have assistance from not only the wheelers Superbump on the control arm portion, but I would also get additional assistance at the Coilover shaft itself.

he stated that it would be a cost effective solution at the expense of some labor. If I was still not happy with that, he then stated that only then should I seek assistance from a hydraulic bump stop.

It was a great answer from their end that I never thought of.

 

I don't think it was a great answer at all. It is a cheap answer, but not great. I don't think you would see any improvement at all, you would just bounce higher on hard hits.

My front suspension evolution:

1) stock bilsteins (ok for stock, mushy offroad, clacked a lot on extension and compression)

2) Icon 2.5's (far superior to stock, but offered no bottoming protection to speak of. Threw the stock bumps a beatin')

3) Timbren bump stops (far better in corners and low speed, bounced on hard hits, sucked at high suspension speed)

4) Lightracing jounce shocks (I thought it was a trophy truck. Jumped it, railed it out, beat the piss out of them. They work so well you bend shock towers and shear off lug nuts because you can't feel it bottom out)

5) TC long travel with Icon coilovers and 650lb/in eibach springs (blew my mind what the truck was now capable of, still bottomed out on hard hits though!)

6)King 2.5 secondary bypass with the last stage tuned as a bump zone. I have to do something really stupid to bottom it out now. Dual 2.5" shocks in the front, single 3.0" bypass in the rear with 2.5" diameter 4" stroke bumps. I would still like more travel in the front, but it's hard to bottom it out. Really hard.

The moral of the story is that I wasted a lot of time and money figuring out what works over the last 8+ years of owning this truck. Don't fuck with those little foam dealios. They might help in corners on a lowered car, but won't do shit for us. Get real bumps from your favorite shock company, even 2" stroke 2.0's valved right will help some, or go with LR jounce shocks and enjoy your truck. If you can't afford hydraulic bumps, you can't afford to be jumping. I assure you, even with bumps you will break shit.

 

From the sounds of it, titanium lug nuts are a good answer going with hydraulic bump stops. What I will probably end up doing is retrofitting a pair of the polyfoam bumps into the shocks for extra cushioning from hard blows, hydraulic bumps for even further bump stoppage action, titanium lugs, and shock bucket reinforcement somehow. Any suggestions on which size hydro bumps to go with? 2.0/2.5?

I can afford the stuff without doubt, I'm still in the experimenting stages though which is why I want to get as much input as I can.

Nice huckagge by the way

 

At what point is hydraulic bumps needed/wanted on front and rear? Do they do much for rock crawling? I am thinking about installing some in the rear. I don't intentionally jump the truck but I do rock crawl and a little high speed stuff.

 

Great tips. I am prepared for breakage for sure. What I meant by nothing insane was super high or super far jumps. Nevertheless the jumps I'm taking right now are still harsh on landing for the truck, and for my face. Lol. I'll have to start hanging out in the MT/LT threads. Thanks Doording.

definitely!

 

Titanium lug nuts would not help the wheel stud strength, and titanium has poor sheer strength and would be a bad choice. I went with ARP's.

http://www.jegs.com/i/ARP/070/100-7718/10002/-1?CT=999





Think about your squishy foam thingies like this, it takes 4,544 pounds of force to fully compress your 650lb/inch springs. Is adding another 500 pounds of spring rate the end of the shock stroke going to matter? Seems like it might help, in theory, but the timbrens are rated at 7500 pounds, and you can clap through those like they aren't even on there. It seems counter intuitive, but slowing down the suspension frequency (the maximum shaft speed) with valving is much more effective at controlling the weight of the truck dirt darting into a landing than just adding more spring. The other negative effect of adding more spring is that it will pogo stick. It will make your current valving even less effective than it already is! I know what you are thinking, well, I'll just revalve the shocks I have. That will certainly help, but a 4500 pound truck landing on one tire at even a modest velocity will require some fairly stiff valving. So stiff in fact that you can bend shock shafts, not to mention the heat that will build...and foam up the shock oil... Better to have moderate valving in the shocks and a hydraulic bump for the last bit of uptravel. Jounce shocks are adjustable in both rebound and compression with the turn of a screw...way easier for a n00b than tearing down a standard bump and revalving it in the desert....just sayin'.

 

If you are bottoming out all the time, bumps help a lot. They don't limit articulation at all, and it's hard to find a rock buggy that doesn't have hydraulic bumps.
See-
http://youtu.be/ar7iJbWbiRU