What is causing bottoming out?

I Just installed my Koni Yellow w/ H&R Sport with my Bump Stop cut in half and after running it for about 30 miles there is a significant improvement over my illuminas but I still get bottoming out now and then but not much compared to the illuminas.

Right now I have the front on the lowest perch (only 2 for the front and 3 on the back) and I have the setting in the front for 1 1/2 turn and its still bottoming out.

I have the front about 1 finger gap. Do I need to set the front softer to compensate for the H&R sport which I think is soft.?

Thanks

 

If the damper rebound rate is too high for the spring rate then the spring can (possibly) get 'pumped down' over rougher surfaces, i.e. the spring isn't strong enough to quickly re-extend the damper after hitting a bump, then quickly hit another bump, then another...

Each time the spring compresses a bit more and the stiff damper doesn't allow it to de-compress (quickly enough), so the ride height becomes progressively lower and lower over each successive bump until the suspension bottoms out. Of course this happens less on smoother surfaces.

I had this problem with my rear suspension (CB7), and reducing the Koni stiffness by about 1/4 turn fixed it. May or may not be your problem...

 

I pretty much tried every settings on the Koni and still no luck.

So what do you think should I do. Replace the spring or put back the other half of my bump stop?

 

Raise the car up one notch front and rear on the Konis. That should give you more shock travel.

 

If I do that the car will look like stock.

either I get new springs or go with the GC setup.

 

There's the problem.

You're too low for your spring rates. The lower perch is meant for a mild lowering with stock springs. Using lowering springs with the lower perch, leaves the car too low for the rates and will cause bottoming out.

Put the perches on the proper mounts for use with lowering springs, and see if you still suffer from bottoming out. If you do still bottom out, then the springs are too low for their rate and H&R should be bitched at for selling incorrectly designed springs.

And Konis only adjust rebound. There is no adjustment that can be made that would reduce bottoming out. Only increasing the compression force could do this, which would use the shock as a pseudo-spring.

 

For a while I thought my front was bottoming out with a similar setup, but it was the side of the tyre wall scraping the inside of the quarter panel as it passed up into the well. It sounds similar, but isn't techncially bottoming out, as the top of the tyre is still clear of the wheel well ceiling at full compression. Just something to double check.

 

Listen to TunerNoob. Leave the shock clips on the notches they came on and with lowering springs, you should be fine. I'd be willing to bet you are tucking tire right now and think that having the car at a 1 finger gap height isn't 'slammed' enough for you.

Pretty much either raise the car up or deal with the horrible ride.

 

The car will not look like stock, at least not with the fronts on the top perch.

My original setup was H&R Sport on Koni shocks. I first installed them with the shock perches at stock height. The front was pretty low, but the back looked higher than the front (noticeable rake). So I set the rear spring perches to the lowest setting, which evened out the ride height, but the rear bottomed out. I knew this because when I pulled out my cut bumpstops a couple years later, they had pretty much disintegrated into dust.

The car was low as hell, too low for those "sport" springs' rate, even with the front shocks on the top perch. Eventually I sold them and got GC's.

Here's how the car sat on H&R Sports/Konis with the front perch at the top setting, and the rear perch at the lowest setting:



I had trouble with parking garage ramps even with "just" H&R Sport springs.

 

The thing is when I put the perch on the front to stock (upper) the car looks like a boat but no bottoming out yet coz. I have not tried it in the freeway only on the streets but Ilike the way it drives.

Its just the look of the car, that is why I put the front perch on the lowest setting and the car looks good but it bottoms out. Right now I have the front 1/2 from soft rarely bottoms out but it feels that the shocks are soft. its like your swaying, the back have no problem.

This is what I did I cut the bump stop in half and lower it to lowest perch, before I have full bump stop and on the higher perch but the car looks like a boat. its like its not lowered.

 

Are you sure you have H&R Sport springs? My Sport springs on the bottom perch of the front Konis would have been damn near undrivable, I think.

BTW, this is my car on stock GS-R springs with the Koni perch on the bottom setting. I don't have any problems bottoming out.

 

Yup, pretty sure that I have H&R Sport I got from Ebay, unless they make this fakes too like the Tein.

When I mention above the perch is on the stock I can put my whole hand in there and have more room.

 

u need stiffer springs, then

 

what color are the springs?

 

Doesn't the front koni have 3 settings? Mine do. Put it on the middle setting instead of high or low. Then put the rear on the top and you should be fine.

I'm pretty sure H&R sports are black, my H&R race springs are red.

 

I guess diff. cars diff. shock perch.

They are black, last time I checked and I would definitely needed stiffer springs.

 

I was bottoming my 2000 Si with KYB's and GC's (300# in front) after I lowered the car, but usually they were hard hits that caused it. My tire and fender were even. I ordered the GC tophats with fresh bump stops and it has stopped except for the stray bumps in the road that sneak up on me. I also have my KYB's on the softest setting.

 

Mine is not hitting anything, I still have 1 finger gap and I am using the stock tires/wheels.

Speaking of tires and wheels if I decide to upgrade them to bigger size will I have less shock/spring travel too?

 

Can someone explain what is bottoming out?

 

yea i was kind of wondering what bottoming out is as well, since im lookin for a good suspension build also.

 

ohhh wait I just realized you have an Accord. I was thinking you had an Integra for some reason. I guess my examples don't mean much then.

 

It depends on person for this.

Some say when car makes contact with street(scraping).

I say it is when strut can't compress anymore and upper and lower strut mounting areas either hit bump stop or each other(when removed(-bad idea).

Usually when run out of travel car will hit really roughly and try jerking to side bottomed out, you should be able tell different if scraping road...

Most of time tire rub can be solved by getting slimmer tires or a lower profile. From what I have seen most of time rubbing more **** to rear tires where with isn't that big of a issue to a point.