Bouncing off my bumpstops

[Rob.]

So my Caddy Maxi has a flipped axle, set on the highest setting. When I lowered it, I cut 1 notch off the bumpstops.

Just a loaded it up with 2 adults, 2 kids and some standard camping gear (12v coolbox, tent, chairs etc). It's slamming on every bump, and feels like it's bouncing off the bump stops! I pulled over to check, so took the attached photo. Is this normal, or is something up with my leaf springs?

[Handyandy]

Maybe you need a bit more cutting of the bump stops to give you a better ride. Now that you flipped the axle they are a lot closer to the spring than originally tendered

[Reign180]

My Caddy while carrying a decent amount of weight in the back (400kgs) sits exactly the same as yours and the ride is horrible! Slamming on the bump stops on every little bump in the road. My rear axle isn't even flipped.

I'm currently looking into somehow upgrading the rear leaf springs and also the shocks. I'm pretty sure Pedders in the UK do an upgraded leaf spring for the Caddy.

[Rob.]

I just cut the bump stop down to the last ring and took it for a quick spin. It's helped a tiny bit, but even with the van almost empty, the ride is still horrendous.

Could it be the shocks? I fitted Bilstein B4s when I had the van lowered, and they're 3 years / 40k miles old.

https://ebay.us/m/4aodFo

[STP]

I could be wrong but those look like knock-offs? The Bilstein ones should have the name stamped into the body do they not, and the badges and logos are much bigger? (The badge / sticker logo is usually vertical up the shocks I'm sure, and pretty big letters too.)

Too cheap as well for a full genuine Bilstein kit and the seller has only one feedback for that particular item.

Anyway it could be the shocks are knackered as they sound like they aren't damping at all.

[Rob.]

That was just to show an example. I got mine from DPM Performance, who certainly look like a legit shop!

https://www.dpmperformance.co.uk/car-pa ... uy/dampers

[Rob.]

That was just to show an example. I got mine from DPM Performance, who certainly look like a legit shop!

https://www.dpmperformance.co.uk/car-pa ... uy/dampers

[Andrew5]

Maybe the b4s are not the best when lowered think they are for standard height

[Gary.8]

Have you checked the rear drop links....
faulty drop links can lead to reduced effectiveness of the anti-roll bar, causing the suspension to travel further and potentially bottom out, hitting the bump stops.

[STP]

That was just to show an example. I got mine from DPM Performance, who certainly look like a legit shop!

https://www.dpmperformance.co.uk/car-pa ... uy/dampers

Sorry mate, point taken. Those look more like it, price wise too lol.

[SnoWhite]

Provided the rear of the van is sitting level, then the crashing over bumps etc which you are experiencing is indeed an unavoidable downside of altering the suspension. If its down on one side then inspect for a broken leaf springs.

If the ride is still too jarring then perhaps cut that bump stop down a bit further - but remember it serves a purpose so probably not a good idea to remove entirely.

Obviously the minimal cost solution would be to revert to the normal suspension set-up.

If you prefer the lowered look you could replace the leaf spring with a heavy duty version (extra load) - these were options provided to some major customers who needed their vans to cart around a lot of extra load. Thicker leaf springs should reduce the suspension flex and the frequency of bump stop impacts.

[gazza31112]

Not sure if it's any help but iv just had to replace my 4 year old BC racing shocks as they failed MOT. I knew they were gone as they were horrendously bouncy.
Brought some bilstein b8s from darkside, and I wish I did it sooner. The ride is transformed, I really didn't notice how bad they got!
Mine were completely shot by 4 years old so that might be your issue, (probably did around 60k in that time)

Plus I think b4's are meant to be a direct OEM replacement, so presumably designed for standard height.



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[Rob.]

The place I got the B4s from definitely said they were for lowered vans. I only had the MOT a couple of months back and nothing was mentioned (though it was a garage I hadn't used before, so maybe they weren't as thorough as some)

I went ahead and ordered some Bilstein B8s. Just needs to find some time to fit them now!

[gazza31112]

B8's be the way to go


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[Rob.]

So it looks like fitting the Bilstein B8s has sorted it. The B4s they replaced took about 30 seconds to extend after pushing them in. Quick test drive and no more crashing, though I can really hear the ARB bush squeeking now!