I was looking underneath a new H3, and noticed that in stock form, the control arms are in full contact with the jounce bumpers. I looked at another one, and it was the same. Apparently, this is the way they were designed. Usually there is some clearance, so that the jounce bumpers make contact only after some suspension travel has been used up.

Does anyone know the reason for it making full contact prior to any bump, ie. is this typical of off-road vehicles?

Doesn't this severely degrade the ride?

Michael

 

yes i too have noticed this on mine. and no it deffinatley does not degrade the ride for some wierd reason. The ride is much better than my xterra actually. i have no idea why its like that.

 

Just a guess but won't too much down travel create stress on the CV joints?

[IMG]local://upfiles/542/470A5513D60E4A5D80F50B5BA03140BB.jpg[/IMG]

 

Everything has design limits, but CV joints have more travel in them then universal joints. That is one of the reasons they are used in front wheel drive applications and IFS four wheel drives. I would be willing to bet that the design limits of the CV joint are far from being met with the H3 suspension in full compression or droop, even with a mild lift.