Nearly losing control after hitting bump with left side only on Regula

[Marv88]

I have a 2016 Silverado regular cab short bed 2wd and figured it wouldn't have the best ride based on past regular cabs I've had however I don't think this is normal. On a street I drive regularly there is a manhole cover that sits more proud of the roadway than the others so I try to go around it when I can however when a car is parked to the right and another is coming the opposite direction I am forced to go over it on the drivers side at about 30mph. What happens is the left front tire seems to bounce numerous times like a bad shock/strut and when the left rear hits it literally bounces the truck so hard to the right that I have to grab the steering wheel to keep control (front tire seems to still be bouncing by the time the rear hits). I thought this might get better once I had some miles on it but it didn't so I took it in to be looked at. I took the service advisor for a ride over this exact bump and also ran over it on the right side showing that it didn't happen the same. His first comment was the 22" wheels/tires I installed were the cause but when I mentioned it has done this from day 1 even with the stock 17's he said it was normal for a short wheelbase truck. Since this only happens on the left side I have a feeling there is something wrong.

 

Any ideas on the cause or on what I can do to narrow down the possibilities? (I was going to drive another one from the lot but they only had a 4wd available).

 

For reference I went to a 305/40r22 tire which contrary to some belief actually rides better than the stock 17's overall and the rear has been lowered a bit by adding 2" drop shackles and removing the spacer block. Also, since day 1 the steering wheel was off center to the left and when I let go of it on flat ground the truck pulled to the right. I waited until the new tires were installed to have it aligned and they found it had a caster issue on the right side.

Thanks in advance.

[dorkweed]

literally bounces the truck so hard to the right that I have to grab the steering wheel to keep control (front tire seems to still be bouncing by the time the rear hits).

 

 

 

 

You should always drive with BOTH your hands on the wheel.

[Thomcat]

His first comment was the 22" wheels/tires I installed were the cause but when I mentioned it has done this from day 1 even with the stock 17's he said it was normal for a short wheelbase truck.

No wonder it bounces......short wheelbase and large solid wheels with rubber band thick tires sounds more like a setup for a Conestoga wagon than a truck!

[Silverado4x4]

I can tell ya your problem is the drop rear suspension of about 3 1/2 to 4" so your shocks are bottoming out and your hitting the bump stops for the axle results in no suspension travel when hitting a hard bump and the other problem is your low sidewall tires which have very little give if any to the tires when hitting bumps, no sidewall flex. Short wheel base trucks do bounce more from the get go in stock form compared to standard or long wheel base trucks. So your short wheel base truck when it was stock is going to bounce more and what you did to it will make it worse.

[MikeNH]

My 2003 regular cab had the same behavior over bumps as does my current Wrangler. I've leaned to back off the gas over bumps and just wrote it off as behavior of the short wheelbase.

[Marv88]

I can tell ya your problem is the drop rear suspension of about 3 1/2 to 4" so your shocks are bottoming out and your hitting the bump stops for the axle results in no suspension travel when hitting a hard bump and the other problem is your low sidewall tires which have very little give if any to the tires when hitting bumps, no sidewall flex.

Thanks for the actually useful reply!

 

I have had several regular cab trucks and fully expected a rougher ride than the longer wheelbase trucks however the issue I have is this extreme jolting only seems to happen when I hit a good size bump on the 'left' side of the truck (maybe I just feel it more since I'm sitting on that side?). Also, this was happening before I installed the 22's along with softer compound tires and they actually ride better overall than the original Bridgestone Dueler 17's (seems like I felt every pebble in the road with those).

 

In any case I just realized this didn't actually start happening until after the lowering which I did only a couple of weeks after getting the truck so it makes sense that the bump stops/shocks are the issue. I was already planning to add shorter shocks when I lowered it a bit more but I'll try shortening the bump stops today.

 

Thanks again for the help!

[Marv88]

My 2003 regular cab had the same behavior over bumps as does my current Wrangler. I've leaned to back off the gas over bumps and just wrote it off as behavior of the short wheelbase.

I've bounced around in regular cab trucks for some time so I usually slow or try to go around the bumps I know are there but sometimes it doesn't work out!

[Marv88]

Just did a quick measure and the bump stops only have 1 1/2" of clearance!

[Marv88]

I can tell ya your problem is the drop rear suspension of about 3 1/2 to 4" so your shocks are bottoming out and your hitting the bump stops for the axle results in no suspension travel when hitting a hard bump and the other problem is your low sidewall tires which have very little give if any to the tires when hitting bumps, no sidewall flex. Short wheel base trucks do bounce more from the get go in stock form compared to standard or long wheel base trucks. So your short wheel base truck when it was stock is going to bounce more and what you did to it will make it worse.

I cut about 2 inches off of the bump stops and it still bounces over bumps like a regular cab however it no longer pitches to the side like it did so I'm sure that was the main issue! (I still think it needs better shocks and struts so I'm going to replace those as well as get new shorter bump stops). Thank you once again!

[DeePa]

Get new shocks. You'll be amazed. Stockers garbage.

[Marv88]

Get new shocks. You'll be amazed. Stockers garbage.

Will do! Any recommendations?!

[DeePa]

Bilstein 5100s or 4600s

[qwank]

Bilstein 5100s or 4600s

Does bilstein have shorter shocks for the fronts also.

[twoheeldrive]

So, you re-engineered the suspension, changed the wheels and tires and are complaining that it doesn't drive "normally" ?

 

Change it back to "normal" and then see how it drives.

[SouthernSilveradoGuy85]

Just for reference and clarification I guess, should say short wheelbase (reg cab standard bed) and not just regular cab since there are regular cab long beds so those aren't short wheelbase.