Hey guys,

I really dont understand this whole dust boot thing when dropping the max. Some say its perfectly fine to use the stock ones, and other say you must use the kyb.

They say kyb you gain 1 in of travel? I dont understand what that is suppose to mean?

Can you please say if you used stock or kyb dust boots when you dropped and why.

Thank you, and hope to get many responses.

 

cuz i'm cheap.

 

I used the KYB dust boots..... my stock ones were destroyed by running S-techs on the stock struts for a few mths.... I think the travel gain you are talking about... is the diff in the KYB bump-stop.... from the stock bump-stop..... you really don't gain travel .. since most springs list how much to cut off the stock bump-stop..... the KYB does not need to be cut down..... I would rec replacing the dustboots when you do the struts... it offers some protection for your new struts

 

from what i understand the dust boot and the bump stop are two different entities....i am stil using my stock DUST boots...but i need to get new ones....from what i know the dust boot helps protect the shock from dust dirt...etc etc...if i'm wrong please correct me. =D

does that help?!?!?

 

I guess my main concern is that I am dropping very soon and my boots are all torn. I am dropping it with gr-2's and maxspeeds.

I want to know if i will be fine just using oem boots rather then kyb.

I hear so many member saying you have to do this or that, and I just to know what the basic stuff is I need to do. I am not trying to have top of the line anything, I just want a basic drop and decent ride.

( I work at a stealership, so i get the stealership discount)

 

the KYB dustboots have a bump-stop built in....... the stock set up has a boot and a bump-stop as 2 diff parts..... the other advantage of the KYB units is the boot fastens to the strut body at the bottom with zipties....so the strut is more protected than the factory setup

 

I have no dust boots or bump stops, and my front AGX have not blown.

 

hmm mew to i wan tot do drop soon.. yea the dust boot is ****ed on mine.. .. well pretty ****ed up.. form runn gstock shocks that were shot to hell... now i have to replace my front struts cause the mounts went bad and runined the shocks.... so imma drop it at the same time..

 

That used to be true but is no longer. I recently went and bought new OEM boots from the dealer thinking I could use my existing cut bump stops. No chance. Apparently Nissan changed the design of the boot since production. Now the stop and boot are integrated. Therefore the bump cannot be trimmed independantly from the boot as is possible with the OEM setup.

Me too.


Homer, spake fxckign ingles...

 

hmmm...I recently dropped. The OEM dustboots (which too were torn) on my 99 SE-L and the bumpstops WERE integrated. They were not separate. So I don't know what u guys were talking about.

 

having intergrated bump stops all depends on when your vechile was produced. There was a split in design in early 97 or late 96 and some of the things on the car changed. The dust boot thing is one of them.

Anyway think of the orginal question like this...
if the shaft of the replacement shock or strut is lets say 10 inches long. In this example, you will have 10 inches of travel. Of course this is simplieifed because I didn't take into account the weight of the car on each strut etc. To prevent the valves on the inside of the shocks/strut of slamming into the bottom of the unit, you install a bumpstop. Lets say that the factory bumpstop is like 3 inches long. 10-3=7inches of travel. The bumpstop is designed to protect the innerworking of the assembly on some REALLY BIG HITS. If you trim the factory bumpstop down by one inch, you have access to one extra inch of suspension travel. You are not gaining travel, because it was allready there, you are just gaining access to it. 10-2=8 inches of travel.

Hope that helps you out. From what I've been reading, the kyb dustboots don't hold up as well as the factory ones. If you are concerned about the amount of protection, hit up home depot and get some zip ties (2) and fasten them to the bottom of the dustboot. That'll hold them on there and give you that "extra protection". I'm about the replace my suspension when the weather warms up around here and I just bought the oem ones and cut the bumpstop down. My car was produced before the "split". If you work at the dealership, you should be able to have the parts guys look this up and order the ones that are 2 seperate peices.

 

That is correct.

The new dust covers with integrated (molded) bump stops really cannot be trimmed. If you cut the top ring off, you can't mount it up into the spring perch and you can't trim the bottom because it's molded onto the dust cover.

On a lowered setup your much better off going with the KYB units.
KYB P/N's SB108 for the front and SB103 for the rear.

 

I still have stock, it's been 2 years now and I've had no problems. You really don't need any if you live in an area with little dust and you don't drive on dirt roads. However it is always good to use protection. You know, just incase.

 

Yes, I said, "Apparently Nissan changed the design of the boot since production." Let me clarify. Since production of my car. My car was produced 5 years prior to yours. So, some time in that span the boots were changed. We have established this was sometime in the 96 or 97 model year. Why is beyond me. I mean why would Nissan spend more money to develope a new mold when the old one worked just fine.

Dust is not the issue. Rocks hitting the piston is what can cause imperfections in the surface. These scares will chew away at the valving because they have a bitting sharp edge. So, if you drive like any sane car enthusiast you will be fine without boots. But if you feel the need to go rallying daily then yes you need boots.

 

Thanks for all the information, anyone else have an opinion?

 

I got dust boots and bump stops from Napa and they ride fine.No problems yet.I have AGX's sitting on Eibachs.Been a year and no problems.But then again,I avoid all bumps and potholes.

 

10char

 

Having no dust boot leads to nicks/scrapes/pitting in the strut piston which leads to a leaky strut. Having no bump stop leads to too much piston travel which leads to busted struts. Why would you guys spend $600 on a new suspension and cheap out on the dust boots?

 

I am by no means not getting dust boots, i just want the opinions of others, on what i can and can't do. And weither its ok to have stock or if i have to get Kyb boots.

 

No they're not. They both have the bumpstops built into the boot. That's why you cut half the bump stop from the OEM boot to regain the suspension travel.

 

some OEM front boots have a removable bump stop

 

Hmm, I'm sure the rears are 1 piece. Both my 96 had 1 piece front and back. Weird.

 

In my book its not cheaping out. I drive my car as a hobby/weekend toy. I plan to do less than 4K miles this year and a majority of that will be on Sunday drives. I do not drive through construction zones or debris littered roads. Gravel roads; forget it. I view it as simplifying the install and cleaning up the look of the suspension. Dust boots are ugly as hel!.

Come on Dave. We've already established that some OEM pieces had seperate bumps and boots. Obiously Z32 drifter had the OEM two piece design while you had the OEM one piece design. Having the one piece design would necessitate getting KYB boots because trimming the bump on this design is not possible without glueing it back together or something.

 

<- one year, no dust boots, no bump shocks

Act the same since day one.

 

do you use the pull and pray method at home too? I'm just saying what can and will happen. premature strut failure. I dont care what you say broaner, racing will shoot debris on your pistons.

 

Yeah, I don't really like 'em anyway. I'm getting JIC's within two years. Why do coilover systems not have boots? Because they realize the people that buy them know not to drive on nasty surfaces. I'm that type.

 

don't be sooo cheap.. I spent over a 1000 bux (canadian) on my suspension and there is no way in hell that I'm not going to spend the extra 50 on some insurance (dustboots).

just driving around kicks up all kinds of crap onto the body of the car... can you imagine what your shock pistions look like. Probably all gouged up and leaking and crap.
That's not for me.

 

maybe, but i think that there is no room for one since the diameter of the spring is not much bigger than the diameter of the strut itself.

 

Where are you guys buying your KYB strut boots from?

 

Calling people cheap is not cool. I also spent a large sum on my suspension. Why is it so difficult to understand the amount of junk kicked up onto the piston will be equal in a Coil over or Spring/strut setup? Also, why is it so difficult to understand that I do not drive this car in snow, rain or any other sort of inclement conditions including rock strew roads? Don't call me cheap. I do things right the first time. Look at my cardomain for evidence of this. FYI, I am holding my struts in my hands and they look like the day I put them on. You do realize that only about two inches of the piston are exposed while driving; don't you?

It is true that a conventional dust boot could not be used on a coilover but I have seen many a rally car suspension that employ some type of dust gaurd device. Weather it be on the outside of the whole system or a much smaller boot beneath the spring, they do exist. I imagine the premier suspension manufacturers don't include the boots for the reason I mentioned previously. Plus they want to keep the price minimal and the product as clean and maintenance free as possible. In the instance that a dustboot which is firmly attached at the bottom rips it must be replaced otherwise it will hold harmful material in right next to the piston.

 

Hey Alphonse- the wheels are looking sweet these days!

 

I hereby revive this thread and add some info:

We have a 96 (Dave Sz) with OEM 1-piece front and rear dust boots, and a 99 SE-L (Armani) with OEM 1-piece dust boots. But it seems that most people have the 2-piece setup. I have a 99 (date of production: July '98) and I just did my front bumpstops and they are 2 piece. So there seems to be no rhyme or reason to this!

One thing we do know is that all replacement OEM boots are 1-piece so you can't buy new ones at the dealer if you want to cut bump stops.

 

Thanks for the recap Tom. That bout sums it up.

 

Thank you, I have my AGX's Along with my Tein S techs no dust boots almost a year no problems, my stock strut boots were torn for over two years and those struts are still good...
Cause dirt or dust will not get in there disks inside the strut that keep the dirt out there is no way it will get in, but you have some here that think just because they come with a dust boot its a must, wrong did you ever notice the opening at the bottom of the dust boot. So there is really nothing to worry about.