Suspension honest opinions

MaverickZ71 · July 31, 2019

1 hour ago, bshort said:

It's an off-road package and it's supposed to be stiff.

Which the rest of the industry and a tiny pocket within GM has come to realize is back-a$$wards thinking and engineering. The best off-road packages should have suspensions like the Raptor or Colorado ZR2, or even the Power Wagon and Rebel to some extent, which have been made to run at high speed over rough terrain. The Z71s and AT4s bounce and chatter until you're in the ditch.

Grumpy Bear · July 31, 2019

Another horse long dead still getting whipped. TO MUCH SPRING RATE. These are feather weight half ton trucks with one ton plus spring rates.

14 minutes ago, MaverickZ71 said:

GM's ride stiffer than Rams rear coil springs/air springs

The new GM trucks ride stiffer than previous generations

4WD's are stiffer

Z71's or AT4's or equivalent are stiffer than that

Low profile tires are stiffer than that

Bridgestone tires are stiffer than that

Higher than recommended air pressure in tires is stiffer than that

When Car & Driver magazine tested a new 2019 Silverado High Country 4x4 against an equivalent Ram 1500 and Ford F-150, it said it was a "$70K kick in the nuts" compared to the other 2 trucks, and that the Chevy's suspension pounded and bounced over road imperfections that were hardly noticed in the other 2 trucks.

Nailed it. Yet people keep complaining. The public wants a 1500 that hauls like a 3500 but want it to ride like an El Camino.

Bikeman · July 31, 2019

coming from a 16 cc z71 to 19 rst z71, I think the ride is much better, one of the selling factors. Running tires at 44 (mainly because to lazy to let the air out from last tow)

econometrics · July 31, 2019

9 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Another horse long dead still getting whipped. TO MUCH SPRING RATE. These are feather weight half ton trucks with one ton plus spring rates.

Nailed it. Yet people keep complaining. The public wants a 1500 that hauls like a 3500 but want it to ride like an El Camino.

Doesn't the F-150 have a higher payload than the Silverado? Pretty sure it does. Yet it rides better... so, this argument lacks soundness.

econometrics · July 31, 2019

25 minutes ago, MaverickZ71 said:

Which the rest of the industry and a tiny pocket within GM has come to realize is back-a$$wards thinking and engineering. The best off-road packages should have suspensions like the Raptor or Colorado ZR2, or even the Power Wagon and Rebel to some extent, which have been made to run at high speed over rough terrain. The Z71s and AT4s bounce and chatter until you're in the ditch.

This is spot on.

An "off road" suspension that cannot handle rail road tracks at 40 mph. Very impressive, GM.

OnTheReel · July 31, 2019

3 minutes ago, econometrics said:

Doesn't the F-150 have a higher payload than the Silverado? Pretty sure it does. Yet it rides better... so, this argument lacks soundness.

Not in this particular test in question. They were comparing the High Country with the F150 Limited and Ram Limited. The F150 was down over 400 pounds on payload and the Ram was down 600 vs the Chevy. Denali would have been a fairer comparison test against the two, but that doesn’t change the fact that the ride could certainly be better.

MDSilveradoGuy · July 31, 2019

I have a non-Z71 RST 4x4 on 22's.

It's like riding in an ox cart. I'm not gonna gripe about it because I knew what to expect with the 22's. It's smooth at highway speeds now - my worthless dealer didn't balance the LPO wheels before they were installed and I had to have them fix that on one of its many trips back to the dealer for other garbage they didn't fix right.

That said, it is the roughest riding truck I think I have ever been in, and definitely the roughest I have owned... but it looks so good with the wheels that it is worth it to me.

bshort · July 31, 2019

59 minutes ago, MaverickZ71 said:

Which the rest of the industry and a tiny pocket within GM has come to realize is back-a$$wards thinking and engineering. The best off-road packages should have suspensions like the Raptor or Colorado ZR2, or even the Power Wagon and Rebel to some extent, which have been made to run at high speed over rough terrain. The Z71s and AT4s bounce and chatter until you're in the ditch.

Off-road doesn't mean highway speeds in dirt.

Wiggums · July 31, 2019

When it fishtails and loses control, that's not a trivial issue.

My RST Z71 handles well on dry road without debris. That's for sure.

On dirt roads, it doesn't do that very often, but the back end has fishtailed a few times. Thanks to my teen years drifting cars, I was able to handle that but I don't think the average driver could.

I drive on dirt roads daily to the ranch so I seem to get more of that. Inexcusable, if GM doesn't address this, I am going back to Ford. Very disappointed here.

Edited July 31, 2019 by Wiggums

Skidpuppy · July 31, 2019

I just got out of a loner RST 4x2 while my Z71 LTZ 4x4 with Rancho shocks was in the shop for a bad idler pulley....

The RST rode much better. My LTZ Z71 bounces over everything like a friggen pogo stick. Hate it. As soon as Bilstein's become available I'm ditching the Ranchos!

Wiggums · July 31, 2019

Do NOT get the RST with Z71, that's my biggest regret. The Z71 in RST is twin-tube, not single.

HondaHawkGT · July 31, 2019

21 hours ago, rmkmb said:

Guys I know there is some threads on suspension but let's be honest here.

I come from three Rams in a row.Just bought a 2019 SLT x31 package. I simply cannot believe the harshness of the suspension on it,which is my only regret so far.Today my truck is at dealer and the lend me a 2018 SLE.

WOW.... the ride is so smooth ,almost comparable to the Ram to a point I almost want to keep the 2018

My truck is Bone stock with the a/t Duellers with 36 psi

To you guys that come from the K2 to the T1 is there that much difference in the suspensions? or is it these Rancho shocks that are that bad?

What were the GVWR's of the trucks you test drove? Did they have 22" wheels by chance? The firmness or softness of a truck's ride is greatly affected by:

GVWR of the truck and its curb weight

wheel choice (22's ride very harsh)

shocks (twin tube are particularly known for their harsh ride quality)

Every truck is going to feel like a firm ride if you're coming from a Ram with a coil spring suspension. Ram sacrifices payload capacity for a softer ride. Put 1500 lbs in the back of the GMC and it'll ride close to level. Put that same weight in the back of a Ram and it'll look like a dog dragging its ass across the lawn.

Edited July 31, 2019 by HondaHawkGT

jlong1984 · July 31, 2019

5 hours ago, econometrics said:

Doesn't the F-150 have a higher payload than the Silverado? Pretty sure it does. Yet it rides better... so, this argument lacks soundness.

The F-150 has a higher max payload, however, in many configurations the GM trucks have a higher payload than Ford or Ram. Particularly when it comes to high-trimmed Crew Cab 4x4s.

jlong1984 · July 31, 2019

My X31 SLT GMC rides harsher than my K2 non-Z71 LTZ that I traded. I noticed it during the test-drive and was okay with it. The ride is on-par with the Fords I've had in the past. GM trucks used to be known for having the smoothest ride out of the big-3, that's not so anymore.

HondaHawkGT · July 31, 2019

5 hours ago, MaverickZ71 said:

GM's ride stiffer than Rams rear coil springs/air springs

The new GM trucks ride stiffer than previous generations

4WD's are stiffer

Z71's or AT4's or equivalent are stiffer than that

Low profile tires are stiffer than that

Bridgestone tires are stiffer than that

Higher than recommended air pressure in tires is stiffer than that

When Car & Driver magazine tested a new 2019 Silverado High Country 4x4 against an equivalent Ram 1500 and Ford F-150, it said it was a "$70K kick in the nuts" compared to the other 2 trucks, and that the Chevy's suspension pounded and bounced over road imperfections that were hardly noticed in the other 2 trucks.

You're overlooking the fact that the Ram had a 7100 lb GVWR and a PATHETIC 990 lb payload rating. Most Chevy Colorado's have a higher payload rating than that tubby POS. So much for its 10k lb tow rating. It barely has the payload capacity to handle the tongue weight of most bigger trailers. Or you're left choosing between pulling the trailer or hauling the family to the vacation spot.

The F-150 rode soft because it only had a 6,750 lb GVWR. The Silverado had a 7100 lb GVWR, a 1,590 lb payload rating and was riding on 22" wheels. Of course the Chevy was going to stand out as the roughest ride.

Do you want a TRUCK or do you want an overweight, truck-shaped car? Because the Ram does a better job as a car than a truck.

Edited July 31, 2019 by HondaHawkGT