Common Causes of Shock Absorber Bottoming Out
How to diagnose a hard stop at the end of stroke before simply moving to a larger absorber.
Direct answer
Bottoming out usually means the absorber is reaching the end of its stroke before the energy has been controlled. The cause can be insufficient stroke, underestimated impact energy, excessive drive force, high cycle heating, wrong adjustment setting, side load or a mechanical stop interfering with absorber travel.
Questions this page answers
- Why is my shock absorber bottoming out?
- What causes a hard stop at the end of absorber stroke?
- Should I choose a larger absorber if bottoming out happens?
Required inputs
Review steps
- 1
Confirm full stroke is available
Check whether the machine allows the absorber to use its rated stroke or whether another stop is contacted first.
- 2
Recalculate the energy case
Review mass, speed, gravity and drive force. A small velocity increase can create a large energy increase.
- 3
Inspect installation and heat conditions
Side load, high cycle rate and incorrect adjustment can produce bottoming symptoms even when the nominal model looks close.
Common mistakes
- Replacing the absorber with the same model without checking whether the application changed.
- Assuming bottoming out always means the product is defective.
- Increasing damping adjustment without checking whether the machine frame can accept the higher force.
Technical notes
- Bottoming-out diagnosis should review sizing, duty and installation together because the same symptom can come from several different causes.
Move from answer to model shortlist.
Use the sizing tool when you have the inputs, or send the application data for engineering review.