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      04-22-2019, 11:01 AM   #77
FaRKle!
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Drives: 328d Wagon, M2 Comp, i4 eD35
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Bay Area, CA

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All of the bump stops (OE and "Dinan") should be thought of as secondary springs. When the car/damper are loaded into them that's how they act, as stiffer springs. Some have linear spring rates, and others (conical in shape like our OE rear ones) have progressive spring rates. Therefore, how soft/hard a bump stop is should absolutely be considered when using/changing them as it will affect how the transition feels once they start getting loaded

Damper travel before bump stop engagement is also important to know. If you have relatively soft springs, but a hard bump stop, the transition will feel more abrupt and less smooth once the bump stop starts to get loaded. When testing how much damper travel I had before bump stop engagement I realized that for the rears, I was sitting on the OE bump stop at static ride height (with my Eibach springs). The F3x OE rear bump stop is 3.5" in length, fairly hard, and progressive. The E60/"Dinan" rear bump stop is 2.5" in length, and softer. Switching from the OE one to the E60 improved my rear ride comfort when hitting bumps due to more damper travel before engagement, and also a smoother transition between the rear spring and the bump stop.

Bump stops basically turn your linear springs into progressive ones, once they engage. Some vehicles are meant to ride on the bump stops very early on and that's how the mfg controls body movements (such as reducing body roll). Those are typically progressive in nature, and don't have quite as stiff of an initial engagement.
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