There is one of these at the back of each rear wheel arch near the coil springs. I was undersealing the car and took these off. They are in bad shape, the rubber part is seperating from the metal piece. I need to get a new set if I am going to replace the originals but I don't know what is the purpose of these, Anybody know?

 

I am just taking a shot in the dark, but i believe it to be some sort of bump stop thingie.

What i mean is, i think it prevents certain parts under you car from coming in contact. I could be wrong though.

 

You're not

 

Yes, that's what I was thinking but it seems to be far away from everything. For it to touch anything the coil spring would have to be fully compressed and that's not going to happen in normal driving. I don't think its that important so I will leave it out.

Thanks.

 

I would put them back in, they're there for a reason. They are in fact bumpstops for when you bottom out your suspension, and if you look on the drivers side there is a brake line that will get crushed if you bottom out without that in place.

Please return that to it's correct location.

 

good idea to replace those with new parts if they are in bad shape. I decided to jump my 92 RS once, got like 3 feet of the ground and when I landed I blew both of those bump stops out. When they arnt there or broken, you get tire rub when hard cornering.

 

WTF?! why would you want to jump your car man...thats just sounds so bad for the car...

 

They have nothing to do with the tires rubbing (in normal driving circumstances).
They are there to prevent the axle or the a-arms (in front) to keep from slamming into the frame (suspension overtravel) and causing serious damage.

 

speaking from experience here man, I broke em, I did donuts, I rubbed

as for why did I jump the car.....*shrug*.....It was pretty damn cool looking and fun. I ragged the crap out my RS, but I baby my Z28

 

The above pictured part is to prevent suspension overtravel, period. Lay under your car and look at where they are positioned (and completely unattached from the suspension) and explain how it does anything to prevent side to side rear axle movement.
If you're cutting donuts or whatever you feel to do to rag your heap, tire rub is not because of the above pictured part.
The main piece that holds the rear of the car in position is the trackbar (panhard) bar. In factory form, it has a s--tty rubber bushing at each end. Over time it becomes worn and even breaks (sometimes the bar itself will bend causing unreasonable flex) apart causing the rear to have excessive movement in relation to the car (chassis/body whatever) causing tire rub and excessive unpredictable rear movement in a turn.

If you would like to question this more, take a read on Energy Suspensions website about the upgraded parts they make to replace factory components...
http://www.energysuspension.com/prod3.html

Trust me.. I've done some suspension work before. I know what they are there for and they are not exclusive to f-bodies. This is my old suburban which had similar stops and I can tell you, they had nothing to do with holding the axles in place....

 

I guess I should replace them a They are there for a reason and I may need them some day.

Thanks.