hit a pot hole like crazy today! noise was one of the loudest ive ever heard! rim and tire seem ok, but worried about my shock...they are brand new illuminas with H techs so they are even lower than normal. i didnt cut the bumpstops so hopefully that was what the noise was (only about 1-1.5 in of traval there).

its not leaking or bouncing excessively, any other signs to look for or anything else to check for???

 

I'm not sure if they're grease or nitrogen filled on the Maxima, but look for grease on the top of the end cap leaking out. Also the car will be bouncy and sound junky from the area of the suspected strut.

 

Sounds like you're fine.

 

I also wonder if a worn shock contributes to uneven tire wear.

Had my car's front end aligned and the inside edge of the tires are worn.

 

Usually not, the shock has vertical play but even when blown it doesn't have any lateral play as the housing is still mounted firmly.

My guess is you had low tire pressure.

 

it will bottom out really loud without cutting bumpstops. iv had a similar experience with h&rs before cutting the bumpstops. if the roads in your area are not very smooth, i would cut the bumpstops 1-1.5 inches.

 

I have had several lowered cars- 200o Prelude, 2002 WRX. You generally want to cut the bumpstops IF you use aftermarket performance struts with lowering springs. You would want to leave the stops intact if you chose to (foolishly) use lowering springs and stock struts. The stock struts were designed for a certain travel distance AND range; if you change the range, i.e. lower the car, you will dramatically shorten the life of the strut. Leaving the stops intact help to mitigate this. However, most performance struts are designed for use with lowering springs, so you want to cut the stops to get maximum suspension travel for a smoother ride (less bottoming out). Learned all this through trial and error!

Also, blown struts will add to uneven tire wear, but not on the inner edge. That is usually due to negative camber (tires bowing in on lowered cars). When struts need replacing, the tire will "bounce" during braking because the strut is not providing adequate damping for the spring oscillations. This results in alternating areas of high wear and low wear around the tire.

Wow,what a mind dump!

 

i have progress/illuminas right now and they have been making noises since day one. after my accident they make even more noises. i didn't cut my bumpstops and im not sure if they are blown or not, but the ride is really bouncy and there are plenty of different noises rattlings,clunking ball dropping sound all of the above.im thinking ill get two whole new struts for the front in the near future because the noises are getting rediculous