How to Choose The Right Bump Stop for Overlanding: Timbren vs. Sumo Springs vs. Toyota

0:26 Bump Stop Basics
1:00 Making Bump Stops Complicated
2:42 Timbren Active Off-Road Bumpstop impressions
3:05 Sump Springs Impressions
3:27 Stock Tacoma Bump Stop
4:44 Stack Height Comparison
5:17 Timbren Details
6:16 Timbren Compression Test
7:35 Sumo Spring Detail
8:48 Sumo Spring Compression test
9:03 Compression Comparison
9:34 Sumo Spring Is Softer
10:36 Sump Spring Front Bump Stop
11:51 Conclusions

PRODUCTS TESTED
Sumo Springs for Toyota Tacoma: https://amzn.to/3wlbpU4 [PAID LINK}
Timbren Active Off-Road Bump Stops: https://amzn.to/4bBaij9 [PAID LINK]
Toyota Leaf Spring Bumper: https://parts.camelbacktoyota.com/oem...

BUMP STOP BASICS

1. You definitely need bump stops
2. Bump stops are a piece of rubber that prevents metal-on-metal contact when you hit a REALLY big bump with your car or truck.
3. Your vehicle comes with these from the factory.
4. Unless you’re getting really extreme, or you just like making things complicated, your stock bump stops will work just fine.

If you want to move forward to making things really complicated, here’s what you need to know.

Our Tacoma has Old Man Emu’s BP-51 suspension, including shocks and springs. So it sits about 2.5 inches over the factory ride height.

WHY YOU MIGHT NEED DIFFERENT BUMP STOPS

Many lift kits come with a spacer that moves the bump stop closer to the axle. This is to prevent the shocks from bottoming out because the collapsed length exceeds the clearance of the stock bump stop. This would cause the shock to bottom out, which might be bad, depends on the shock.

The Old Man Emu kit does not require modified bump stops. The instructions do not require or recommend modifying the bump stops. The specifications state that it is compatible with 0 lift and the collapsed length of the shock is only about an inch greater than the stock shock.

So If you like to keep things simple, you can stop here and keep using your stock bump stops.

TIMBREN ACTIVE OFF-ROAD BUMPSTOPS

https://amzn.to/4bBaij9

I installed Timbren Rubber bump stops a few years ago to help with that, and you can check out the video where I talk about that. The short story there is that even though Timbren markets these bump stops as softer than stock, they are not. When the truck hits them it’s jarring and bouncy and I don’t love it.

Sumo Springs

https://amzn.to/3wlbpU4

A few months ago Super Springs came across my video and asked if I wanted to try their Sumo Springs Product. Sumo Springs are a bump stop made from micro-cellular Polyurethane foam. They come in three different densities depending on the weight of your vehicle. Some sump springs can be used for carrying constant load, like an overload spring, but for my purposes, it’s just a bump stop.

TOYOTA LEAF SPRING BUMPER

https://parts.camelbacktoyota.com/oem...

So let’s compare. The stock bump stop is short and made of very hard rubber because it’s meant as a last resort padding in case of big impacts. It’s about 61mm of rubber.

The Timbren bump stop is made of a similar black rubber, but it’s hollow inside and has a bellowed structure to allow it to be softer than solid rubber. It’s much taller at 95mm and is designed to impact earlier in the travel to spread the harsh stop out over a greater distance and time.

The Sumo spring is taller still at 139mm and is made of a completely different material micro-cellular polyurethane designed with less bounce to soften harsh rebounds, the exact thing I was looking for.

DISCUSSION

I’ve been driving around with sumo springs on the driver’s side for about a month and Timbren bump stops on the passenger side. I definitely notice that the bottom out is harsher with the Timbrens. Semi-quantitatively, the sumo springs are 1 cm thinner when fully compressed and compress over a longer distance, so they are noticeably softer and theoretically allow more axle up travel when hitting bumps.

The Sumo Spring really delivers and I’m definitely glad to switch. while it’s a little taller, it interacts over a greater distance, making its effect a lot more subtle. Plus, the material doesn’t rebound as fast and makes for a much better experience.

When it comes right down to it, neither the Timbren Active Off-Road Bump Stops nor the Sumo Springs are actually bump stops; they’re overload springs. They are there to augment the leaf springs when you put a load in the truck so that you don’t get excessive sag.

If you need the extra load-carrying capacity, then that may be a tradeoff you’re willing to make.