1Willy1

Ive been asking this question for a while in various threads and haven't really gotten any answers.

Is it possible to just remove the wheels, cut off the dust cover and then cut off the bump stop without even removing the shock?

Ive seen guys here running with no dust covers and no bump stops, I need to figure something out before I lower my car

Thanks in advance

zdeckich

Im sure you can but i never tried it. You just trying to remove bump stops completely? I don't know how safe it would be. You can lower your car on the stock shocks and will be fine. Or get some shorter body shocks.

1Willy1

I lowered my last car on the stock shocks and it completely destroyed the ride

The ride improved over time after the car continually smashed into the bump stops, rendering them useless, for all I know they fell off after a few weeks.

Also the theory of swapping in shorter shocks has been disproved, there is no shorter shock for the C5, not bilstein, or koni, or the C6 etc...



Yea I know they are there for some cushion, but there have been a few people who have removed the stops completely and claim they have had no problems

If I knew how to remove the bump stops , I was planning to cut them maybe 60%, but I can never get any answers on how to do it

so im wondering if I can just lift up the dust boots and cut them off completely,

worst case scenario is I ruin the shocks and then have to go coilovers

zdeckich

Thats not true at all, i posted a long time ago that my Bilstein shocks are shorter than stock. Ill see if i still have the pic of it as its been a year or 2 ago. But it was shorter.

Not my pic but one i found. It is shorter

s

1Willy1

SEe if you can get some measurements, ive been following all relevant threads and so far no one has proved any shock is shorter then the stock and will help on a lowered car

This thread sizes up some bilsteins and he claims they are the same ..

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ng-the-c5.html

zdeckich

I can measure mine tonight but i dont have stock ones to measure so you would have to do that.

73Corvette

I LOWERED our car about 1" ... trimmed the front air dam 2"... and put on C6 Z06 shocks... wife and I (I weigh 240ish) and the car LOADED with travel stuff... and I have NEVER bottomed out and we have had LOTS of chances to do that at all different speeds...
IF I was going to cut the bumper stops like I have on our 87 4runner... I did it with a hack saw...

1Willy1

1 inch is fine, that's pretty much factory specs but I need to go down 2+ inches or its not even worth it.

Im thinking the same thing though, Im gonna get a mini hacksaw and see if I can go to town on it today or tomorow

73Corvette

I think I used a little WD-40 to keep the blade from getting gunked up and stopping... Good luck

MAD Matt

That guys thread about the Bilsteins being the same length IS wrong. I put the sports on my Z and they were in fact shorter. Bilstein even suggest they are for lowered cars. I can't find my pics, however, I did see and read the thread you posted before I made my purchase. When I started my install I set them side by side and DID confirm they are shorter. I used the Eibach bolts (F&R) along with the "Sport" Bilsteins. I cut the bump stops /jounce bumpers in half as well. My car is lowered about 2" front and rear and rides fine. I did this almost 2 years ago and it still rides good. I have not had any issues/noises/clanking/banging....you get the idea. To cut the bump stops properly, you do need to remove the shocks. I would not remove the dust covers and leave them off....but that's me. It's your car...do with it as you will. I have an old hot rod proverb I will pass on....Do it nice or due it twice! Enjoy the ride!

1Willy1

Thanks man

im not doubting you but in at least two threads ive sene people say that it is not true, that they have measured and they are the same, both uncompressed and compressed , they are almost identical

Id love to see some real measurements , hopefully someone can chime in

v8srfun

But for billstein prices you might as well go with coilovers

MAD Matt

Not sure where you're coming from as I bought brand new Bilstein sport shocks from Corvette Central for $369. At the time they were even running a special with free shipping. If you know of a place selling brand new coilovers for $400 bucks, I'll buy every set they have!

v8srfun

I guess I should have done more research b4 opening my mouth. When I priced them thru Autozone they were over 200 a corner.

neutron82

even at 200 each that's about half of what coilovers typically cost... I would rather have coilovers personally, I don't like the transverse leafs

1Willy1

So I figured out how to do it, was a lot easier then I thought

Bit of a hack job but I managed to do it without taking the shocks off

I took the wheels off , used a razor blade to slice a straight line through the dust cover , then used a flat head to pull down the bump stop to the bottom of the shock, where I cut it off with the same exacto.

Then I used a heavy duty cyanoacrylate with accelerator to close up the dust boot , and keep it functional

Next week when I get around to lowering the car ill give the dust boot a quick sanding, cleaning and ill layer a little resin and fiberglass cloth just to make sure it stays doing its job over the long run.

Rob 02

When I took my old fronts off, I dropped one. The dust cover came off and there was a long yellow rubber biscuit inside. Not much holding it together.

You can cut to your liking. It isn't hard to remove the shocks. What part in particular are you confused about?


On the rear shocks, there is a bracket on top on a threaded shaft. If you remove the bracket then you can slide the dust cover off.

If you are trying to do it with the top of the shock installed then why??? It wont save time!

nsogiba

Cutting the dust boot is butchery at its finest, it only takes about 10-15 minutes to remove the shock from the car, then the top bracket comes off and the bumpstop can easily be trimmed.

1Willy1

Meh, just a temporary solution till I go coilovers

I took my car into a mechanics last year with my black frc, and he took the shocks off and couldn't figure out how to get the top hat off the shock to cut the bumper, so im done messing around

Got 2 done last night, gonna do the other 2 tonight, and ill be ready to lower the car once I purchase a 7 inch rear , grade 8 bolt

nsogiba

Seriously? Hold the flat of the shock shaft with an open end wrench/vise grips/whatever and loosen the nut. I literally changed out the top brackets on all 4 new shocks last night in 30 mins...find a new mechanic.