If you've ever bottomed hard...

[Bullet Ride]

...Like hard enough to smash your oil pan, or bend a rim, or just hard enough that you smash off the bump stops, it's worth while to pull the shocks out of your strut assemblies to make sure that they aren't damaged.




That's what mine looked like when I pulled them a couple weeks ago. I knew last year that they were damaged but drove on them anyway because I didn't have replacements at the time. They weren't in as bad of shape last year, they weren't split or leaking, the bodies just had a shallow kink in them and they still 'worked'. However a summers worth of hard driving and auto-x just crumpled them, the one on the right actually had a hairline split in the body and was oozing shock fluid.

So yeah, I just wanted to pass that on. If you bottom hard, although everything may look OK, your shock bodies may actually be damaged so make sure to inspect them.

[T.Dot_E30]

Damn that's brutal.

Did you get the same replacements? Should look into shortened housings or something...

[Bullet Ride]

Originally Posted by T.Dot_E30

Damn that's brutal.

Did you get the same replacements? Should look into shortened housings or something...

Yeah they are custom valved konis from GC so I got the replacements through them. My housings are shortened 2".

[El Gato Liso]

i've bottomed out so many times and blew out my old shocks, just like yours

i've smashed my oil pan open, just like you did

i've also converted my bottle cap into a 90 degree rim

ahahhahaha


...but ya, thats brutal.

[e30_kid89]

My old shortened billies also suffered this fate.....

[InfiniteDice]

Maybe you guys should use some beefed up bump stops. lol.

[e30tOny]

My suspension still A1-

[T.Dot_E30]

Damn, didn't realize they were already shorten.

I wonder how low your car is compared to my old e30.

[Bullet Ride]

Originally Posted by T.Dot_E30

Damn, didn't realize they were already shorten.

I wonder how low your car is compared to my old e30.

The ridiculous thing is that I still have a spacer in the bottom that is at least 2" (somewhere between 2-2.5" I'd say). That means that if I wanted I could have shortened my housings another 2". With a 205/15 tire at full droop there would be like no gap between the top of the wheel and the fender... and at full low I'd be tucking a ton of tire. I'd need oodles of camber, stretch and fender roll to not be rubbing every second I'm driving... then there's the fact that the oil pan would be about 1.5" off the ground and a mere pebble would probably destroy it.

[e30_kid89]

Originally Posted by InfiniteDice

Maybe you guys should use some beefed up bump stops. lol.

Billies have internal bumpstops.....

see sig that was my e30's ride height.

[mr ilia]

You guys do rally car jumping or something?

[e30_kid89]

Originally Posted by mr ilia

You guys do rally car jumping or something?

nope, just drive (rather drove) my e30 the way it was ment to be driven

[biotek]

Originally Posted by mr ilia

You guys do rally car jumping or something?

or just driving in toronto

[E30M42cab]

One day they'll pave the roads out in Guelph for you. Maybe. (This post of yours brings to mind that bump on on Wellington Rd 124 leaving Belfountain after the e30 cruise in the fall where the pavement stepped up like two inches out of nowhere. I felt it in my spine in my vert, but there was no time to warn you (driving behind me). I can only imagine what that felt like in your car knowing that your shocks were already totalled.)

I've got a lot more tire to take up some of those kinds of hits when I'm on the Ronals, and driving out here in Milton means that I'll stick with the higher profile tire for a while.

[egye30]

Originally Posted by e30tOny

My suspension still A1-

ahh i knew you seemed very familiar.. the sig made the connection for me, and your car.. welcome back lol