Mitsubishi Evolution X Bilstein FCM Elite Stage 2 - front bump stop notes

There are two bump stops present on this Mitsubishi EVO X. One bump stop is a 29mm soft density stop that lives on the shaft of the strut insert and isn't viewable unless you take the strut insert out of the strut housing. I've never seen this style bump stop on any Bilstein strut except the Evolution X. It has a comparable density to the standard black soft density bump stop Bilstein sells in their catalog, p/n E4-B36-556A, Jounce Bumper, JOUNCE BUMPER,3RIB 40X32MM.

The second bump stop, which is visible resting on the strut, is ~77mm long and secures to the outside diameter of the strut insert. This bump stop also holds the dust boot in place and keeps the boot high on the strut tube. From driving observations (terminal understeer!), I feel the factory suspension travel on the Evolution X is is unnecessarily limited so additional bump travel up front will help smooth out the ride and reduce the understeer. With our Stage 2 revalve that has more 'rally style' damping profile, a slightly shorter bump stop will give more comfort on bigger road hits while still providing enough protection at full compression. I've tuned the damper to have more compression damping which resists bottoming out, and I've reduced rebound damping across the board to allow the tires to follow the ground better instead of the high rebound force causing 'jacking down' into the bump stops.

I'm going to trim the upper ~21mm section of the outer, longer bump stop to gain some additional suspension travel while still having the outer bump serve its function of retaining the dust boot. You never want to trim the lower portion of a progressive bump stop as that makes the bump stop spring rate increase quickly and leads to a harsher ride.