[lackskill]

1. Can I trim my bumpstops without removing the struts?
2. If I have to remove my struts to trim the bumpstops, how can I make sure I can go a couple months atleast without getting an alignment?
3. How much should a good alignment cost?
4. If I have to pull my struts is there any reason I shouldnt use these part # 9.6111?
5. Is there anything I'm not considering?

TIA

[Rootus]

Originally Posted by lackskill

1. Can I trim my bumpstops without removing the struts?
2. If I have to remove my struts to trim the bumpstops, how can I make sure I can go a couple months atleast without getting an alignment?
3. How much should a good alignment cost?
4. If I have to pull my struts is there any reason I shouldnt use these part # 9.6111?
5. Is there anything I'm not considering?

TIA

1. Nope.
2. Mark the camber bolts before you remove them.
3. $50-75

Someone else can weigh in on 4 and 5, I've got no strong opinions on #4.

[lackskill]

Originally Posted by Rootus

1. Nope.
2. Mark the camber bolts before you remove them.
3. $50-75

Someone else can weigh in on 4 and 5, I've got no strong opinions on #4.

1. I didnt think it would be that easy, but I had to ask...
2. Thats easy enough...
3. I had figured it would be in the tune of 2-3x that much, if its that cheap I can write it off as maintenance to the ball and chain...

Thank you sir, you are a gentleman and a scholar...

[BoostJunkie]

^^True but I disagree on #3. A good alignment costs more than $50, more like $150 from a place that I would trust.

[lackskill]

Originally Posted by BoostJunkie

^^True but I disagree on #3. A good alignment costs more than $50, more like $150 from a place that I would trust.

Thats more inline with what I was thinking. Ill call around later today, or tomorrow...

[Rootus]

Originally Posted by BoostJunkie

^^True but I disagree on #3. A good alignment costs more than $50, more like $150 from a place that I would trust.

I'm guessing it varies somewhat depending on location. And I guess I should qualify that when I say alignment, I mean a "regular" alignment. For $150 I can get a highly respected local shop to do a corner balance too.

[BoostJunkie]

Damn, things sure are a lot cheaper out there. In my area a good alignment is $150-200 and a corner balance doubles that cost.

[Rootus]

Originally Posted by BoostJunkie

Damn, things sure are a lot cheaper out there. In my area a good alignment is $150-200 and a corner balance doubles that cost.

Ouch, that's pretty steep. I have no idea why the prices would be drastically different, but it's not the first time I've seen big cost discrepancies between this end of the country and yours.

[lackskill]

when I go to the alignment shop I should ask for max negative front camber and 0 toe all the way around, correct? Anything else?

[CGMDan]

Les Schwab is $75. I had a place my buddy suggested quote me $100 for a "competition" alignment. YA right.
The guy who does it for me will play with things just to see what happens. That's how I found out about the major toe changes with the camber adjustment. If I have a question he'll not just tell me about it, he'll do the change then tell me why I may or may not want that.
All that plus if I have any issues with the alignment, even if I just don't like it, they'll redo it for free within 30 days.

[stretch]

1. Can I trim my bumpstops without removing the struts?

No- you'll have to remove the struts, remove the springs, and then remove the nuts on the bottom of the struts to pop the sleeve off. The bump stops aren't hard to get to, but it's not exactly quick, either. You may need an impact wrench to get that bottom nut off- the shaft, internally, will try to spin with the nut, and there's no way you can hold it. I don't think I needed one though.

2. If I have to remove my struts to trim the bumpstops, how can I make sure I can go a couple months atleast without getting an alignment?
3. How much should a good alignment cost?

I did my own alignment using nhluhr's guide. This only works for correcting toe (which I set to zero), and I maxed out the camber bolts up front. I might not have equal camber left-right, but I took what I could get.

I know the shops can be junk, but I am tempted to get one of those lifetime alignment contracts for this car. They run $150 or so (I think a few shops do them, like NTB and Bridgestone/Firestone), and I figure I can always check the alignment myself and have them do it again if I'm not satisfied. It just seems like an easy thing to do if you're like me and take your suspension apart often.

Like Rootus said, though, if you mark your camber bolts you should be able to put things back together just the way they came off.

4. If I have to pull my struts is there any reason I shouldnt use these part # 9.6111?

Those will work or 9.6110. The stock struts take a bump stop up to 1.5 inches wide, and the shaft is 10mm (just under half an inch). I'd go with the 9.6111- it's probably a little softer (since it's narrower) and since it's narrower, it won't rub all the grease off your strut when you install it.

Since they're cheap, you might consider order two 9.6110's just in case the 9.6111's are too hard to get on. There's a cap they'll have to stretch over at the end of the shaft- shouldn't be a big deal at all, but since you're the first person (I think) to try this, I'm just trying to predict any possible snags.

5. Is there anything I'm not considering?

Have some grease ready to relube your struts. They'll need it. I used Valvoline Durablend because that's what I had lying around. It's worked very well, but I'm sure something better exists out there. Don't use too much but I'd say better too much than too little!

Also, while the stock bump stops apparently can be pulled off, I found it much easier to cut them off. Hopefully the new stops will slide on pretty easily.

One last thing- I'm not sure if you were planning to, but I'd do front and rear. The fronts may have the reputation as being the worst, but I'm pretty sure the rear rides on or near the bump stops too. In the rear, at least you don't have to worry about the alignment!

[lackskill]

The rears use a different bumpstop, no? Arent the rears on a significantly shorter stop already? Which one would you recommend in this case?

pic of bumpstops courtesy of sebtarta:


Is one F & one R, or is one just trimmed? If they are the same all the way around I am definitely doing all four.

[stretch]

Yes, they're different, but that longer stop is used in the rear. That's why I think the rears ride on or near the bump stops despite having more travel. I'd install the same Energy 9.6111 bump stops front and rear.

I'm actually currently running without bump stops in the rear (didn't plan ahead when installing Konis), which makes me nervous, but there's so much travel back there that I haven't felt the car bottom out even where my wife's Camry clearly does.

If you tow things or find yourself routinely with four passengers and a full trunk, then- and only then- would you want to keep a longer bump stop- just to keep the rear from sagging from the weight. In that case, I'd recommend installing your uncut front bump stops in the rear (or just cut one progression from the rear).

[CGMDan]

Stretch- not to hijack, but have you measured the spring rate of the bump stops? How much stiffer are they than the springs?

[lackskill]

Originally Posted by CGMDan

Stretch- not to hijack, but have you measured the spring rate of the bump stops? How much stiffer are they than the springs?

In his cutting the bumpstop thread he measured that they reach near infinity quite quickly.