I've been following this forum since I bought a new 2014 4x4 double Cab Z71 in Nov.. At 500 miles this truck didn’t feel right. . . My truck has been in for road-force at least 5 times with probably 8 different tires in 10K miles. It had the Ring and pinion replaced and the steering wheel shake under de-acceleration went away, but I agree these trucks are very-very inconsistent. There are times my truck is like glass, then there are times it’s a pile of garbage, I drove at least 8 new 2015 1500 in the last month looking for a smooth one on the highway. and now that I’m looking for it . I’m Still looking for one with a smooth ride. some shake the wheel, some shake the floor some shake the seat some do all three,.
In my opinion, the problem is in the new cab body mounts, too stiff of a seat and headrest, and Stiff rancho shocks (too much high speed compression and rebound dampening)all coming together for a problem and annoying ride. Maybe the use of “high strength steel” in the cab structure shifted the resonance of the truck cab too. I’m sure the marketed high strength steel term wasn’t used in conjunction with equivalent metal thickness to give us a stronger cab than the past designs but instead used with thinner sheet metal to reduce weight and cost with the intent of having similar strength. The fact that the 2500’s have similar issues knowing they use the same cab, cab mounts and seats but different frames, engines, axles and tires and rims seems to hold some merit it’s not drivetrain vibration but ineffective vibration isolation from normal driveline and road vibration.
The fact that GM is making the dealers roadforce balance tires to less than industry standard specs. To minimize excitation, really solidifies the fact the isolation in the body mounts and cab is garbage.. In theory, if the new hydraulic ( compression and rebound ) body mounts and vibration control (based on all the marketing hype) are in fact better shouldn’t we be able to allow a higher level of tire imbalance and achieve a similar ride to the old body style truck??. My truck shakes when cruising at high way speed 70-75 down the highway on sweeping turns and then the annoying vibration seems to stay.. I really think these body mounts don’t isolate the higher frequency road stuff out and this new lateral mount is allowing a strange shifts in cab to frame alignment. It seems like the longer the highway trip the worse the vibration.. My 2014 in V4 mode is significantly more noticeable than the 07 truck at highway speeds and low speed. Again pointing to the body mounts, shouldn’t the active fuel management V4 mode be even less noticeable then previous designs if the cab isolation control has improved.
[From the GM marketing bulletin http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/chevrolet/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2013/May/Silverado-May-5/0505-silverado-body.html
Shear-style body mounts enhance comfort, smoothness New, shear-style body mounts on the 2014 Silverado significantly improve stiffness and contribute to a smoother ride. They also provide a more secure and consistent attachment of the body to the frame, for greater build quality and improved safety performance.The new body mounts are bolted to the frame and provide dampening in both compression and rebound, meaning the tension generated during compression is released in a controlled manner, similar to a shock absorber. The previous hydraulic body mounts worked in compression only. In addition, the new shear-style mounts are significantly stiffer than the mounts used in the previous truck, helping to reduce vehicle shake.]
It’s actually comical to watch the chevy marketing videos on their website regarding the frame and body mount design and testing and, to hear all the BS about road comfort and vibration isolation improvement. The NVH group dropped the ball. I wish I could get the ride quality and consistency of my 07 extended cab z71 had.
I don’t want a truck that requires absolute perfection in tires, rim mounting, tire balance , prop shaft balance, pinion angle , force vectoring, to keep my water bottle, coffee, pant leg, fingers, Dorito’s bag, iphone cable, computer bag, grocery bag, tool bag, cup holder change and my kids head from that annoying shake, perfection in mass production doesn’t exist but this truck design clearly didn’t take into account variation in the design and mfg process.. I’m not a fussy person just pissed this truck is a worse riding experience than my older Silverado’s.
