How have you improved your ride quality?

truckguy82 · October 4, 2019

3 hours ago, mcdavis said:

I'll give/agree with you on everything except, respectfully, speed bumps. Speed bumps serve only 1 purpose: to make you slow way down. They're basically only in high foot traffic areas (shopping malls, neighborhoods, occasionally office buildings, schools). And that's pretty much my point: I can't see any reason to let speed bumps be a factor in a suspension discussion. When I have hit a speed bump and the truck has reacted badly, I've always blamed my speed and never my suspension as I doubt suspensions are designed around taking a speed bump at speed.

Other than the several highly modified and lowered sports cars I’ve had, nothing takes a speed bump worse than the the k2xx with oem ranchos.

I hit like 10 speed bumps a day.

it is a royal pain in the ass to slow down to 3mph when now I can go 15mph. These are speed control speed bumps in 25mph zones that are supposed to reduce speed. With the ranchos my choice was crawl over them, or listen to what sounds like a sledge hammer hitting my dash. With my bilsteins I can slow down to 10-15 mph like every other vehicle on the road. I could even hit them at a full 25mph and the reaction of my suspension would be less dramatic than the ranchos at 5mph.

the ranchos are absolutely terrible

if you find them acceptable you probably live in some place with completely flat and paved roads. No way in hell anybody that needs some suspension travel on a regular basis would not agree with me.

DENALIHD66 · October 4, 2019

11 hours ago, mcdavis said:

Question: almost everyone I see post about new shocks, 5100's especially, say something like "it's so much better over speed bumps". How fast are you guys going over speed bumps? I slow down and take it easy, and expect to feel that bump.

And how much time are you spending going over speed bumps that it even matters? To me, how any vehicle handles a speed bump is a function of how fast the driver goes over it and shouldn't be a factor at all in changing shocks.

With the OEM sets, it was more like when you come off the speed bump, you feel it hard. With these shocks, you just moreso glide over the speed bumps. I slow down to go over them but it still made a HUGE difference. It was virtually unbearable going over them with the OEM shocks.

Snowcamo · October 4, 2019

With the OEM sets, it was more like when you come off the speed bump, you feel it hard. With these shocks, you just moreso glide over the speed bumps. I slow down to go over them but it still made a HUGE difference. It was virtually unbearable going over them with the OEM shocks.

Thats whats interesting about our factory shocks. Some K2s rideblike a brick while others have a out of control "float" to them. Either way the factory setup sucks. I keep hearing king is the way to go in terms of getting the tuned setup you want.

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DENALIHD66 · October 4, 2019

I'd had loaners with smaller rims and rancho shocks and they ride much softer over bumps. Not necessarily "better" but softer. I just think overall based on this thread, a progressive rate coil spring could be utilized in the front and potentially in the rear with varying leaf spring rates. That's why I got the sulastic shackles to basically add an extra level of "spring/travel" for unloaded bumps and what not. The factory should have something similar to the shackles to improve unloaded ride/handling. I can't tell as much of a difference with the shackles, but the day I drove it away from the garage I had them put on in, and I hit a bump, it was a huge improvement instead of feeling a slamming sensation when going down a dip into a bump.

At this point I think its mostly a result of my tires/PSI. Having 20" rims its hard to find larger tires without getting an E-load tire range. The Toyos I have are super heavy and tough, but are probably suited better for a heavy duty truck.

Since they are E-load tires, what do you think the LOWEST PSI you could run for them? 32 in front and 35 in rear is the sticker recommendation in the door for factory tires. I prefer to run the same PSI in all 4 instead of staggered. If anything, the fronts should be higher than the rears because there is more weight being applied to the front axle anyway.

Edited October 4, 2019 by DENALIHD66

Snowcamo · October 4, 2019

I'd had loaners with smaller rims and rancho shocks and they ride much softer over bumps. Not necessarily "better" but softer. I just think overall based on this thread, a progressive rate coil spring could be utilized in the front and potentially in the rear with varying leaf spring rates. That's why I got the sulastic shackles to basically add an extra level of "spring/travel" for unloaded bumps and what not. The factory should have something similar to the shackles to improve unloaded ride/handling. I can't tell as much of a difference with the shackles, but the day I drove it away from the garage I had them put on in, and I hit a bump, it was a huge improvement instead of feeling a slamming sensation when going down a dip into a bump.

At this point I think its mostly a result of my tires/PSI. Having 20" rims its hard to find larger tires without getting an E-load tire range. The Toyos I have are super heavy and tough, but are probably suited better for a heavy duty truck.

Since they are E-load tires, what do you think the LOWEST PSI you could run for them? 32 in front and 35 in rear is the sticker recommendation in the door for factory tires. I prefer to run the same PSI in all 4 instead of staggered. If anything, the fronts should be higher than the rears because there is more weight being applied to the front axle anyway.

Nice! Gotta link to said shackles?

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flyingfool · October 4, 2019

i found after switching over to the z71 tahoe rims the speed bumps became less abusive, the ride was horrible when I had the stock 20" wagon wheels which wher pumped to 40psi, and bounced over speed bumps like a ball

DENALIHD66 · October 4, 2019

9 hours ago, Snowcamo said:

Nice! Gotta link to said shackles?

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http://www.sulastic.com/truck-shackle-suspension-sa-04

Yondu · October 5, 2019

I've gone through the same thing as you and I finally got my truck riding pretty good. 2018 crew, 4wd, z71

I have Bilstein 5100s, 1.3" front lift

Had 275/60r20s, p range, that I was running at 32psi and felt the ride was harsh. Changed out for the same model tire (Cooper At3 4s) but in a 285/70r17. At first the ride felt barely softer. But I've put some miles on it and I like it now, firm-ish but no longer harsh.

If you want to keep the 20s the first thing I would do is go to a P metric tire, they still meet max tow requirements. Nitto makes a 305/55r20 if that fits your truck, standard load. Check out the g2 tires. I've not used them but notice they offer some bigger non LT sizes.

The next thing I'd do is ditch that hellwig rear sway bar. A firmer rear sway will form up the ride noticeably.

Do you have any static bed weight? I'd imagine my tonneau cover, bed mat and 40lbs worth of straps and tools I carry in the bed helps. I also need a larger spare now and am thinking of getting a LT spare just for a little more bed weight.

If my 17s didn't soften up my ride enough, I was thinking about Rough Country N3 2" lift struts over my Bilsteins. I'm happy now (I think)

mcdavis · October 5, 2019

On 10/3/2019 at 8:58 PM, truckguy82 said:

Other than the several highly modified and lowered sports cars I’ve had, nothing takes a speed bump worse than the the k2xx with oem ranchos.

I hit like 10 speed bumps a day.

it is a royal pain in the ass to slow down to 3mph when now I can go 15mph. These are speed control speed bumps in 25mph zones that are supposed to reduce speed. With the ranchos my choice was crawl over them, or listen to what sounds like a sledge hammer hitting my dash. With my bilsteins I can slow down to 10-15 mph like every other vehicle on the road. I could even hit them at a full 25mph and the reaction of my suspension would be less dramatic than the ranchos at 5mph.

the ranchos are absolutely terrible

if you find them acceptable you probably live in some place with completely flat and paved roads. No way in hell anybody that needs some suspension travel on a regular basis would not agree with me.

On 10/3/2019 at 9:41 PM, DENALIHD66 said:

With the OEM sets, it was more like when you come off the speed bump, you feel it hard. With these shocks, you just moreso glide over the speed bumps. I slow down to go over them but it still made a HUGE difference. It was virtually unbearable going over them with the OEM shocks.

I totally understand what both of you are saying. However, my experience has not been like yours. I have a 2016 CCSB 4wd Z71 that doesn't show NHT code on the tag in the upper glove box. I bought it used with 64,000, now has 102,000 on what appears to be the original Ranchos running stock size tires with no suspension mods. I have a neighborhood I'm in frequently that has speed bumps, and I take them around 10-15 and think nothing of it. The truck handles them well enough that I wouldn't consider spending a dime on suspension because of speed bumps. My expectations might be different, my shocks might be set up different, I don't know. I just know speed bumps aren't a factor in my mind due to how my truck already handles them.

Not saying the Ranchos are great shocks, just wanted some input (that has been given, thanks!) as to why I keep seeing speed bumps mentioned in these threads.

Edited October 5, 2019 by mcdavis

DENALIHD66 · October 5, 2019

17 hours ago, Yondu said:

I've gone through the same thing as you and I finally got my truck riding pretty good. 2018 crew, 4wd, z71

I have Bilstein 5100s, 1.3" front lift

Had 275/60r20s, p range, that I was running at 32psi and felt the ride was harsh. Changed out for the same model tire (Cooper At3 4s) but in a 285/70r17. At first the ride felt barely softer. But I've put some miles on it and I like it now, firm-ish but no longer harsh.

If you want to keep the 20s the first thing I would do is go to a P metric tire, they still meet max tow requirements. Nitto makes a 305/55r20 if that fits your truck, standard load. Check out the g2 tires. I've not used them but notice they offer some bigger non LT sizes.

The next thing I'd do is ditch that hellwig rear sway bar. A firmer rear sway will form up the ride noticeably.

Do you have any static bed weight? I'd imagine my tonneau cover, bed mat and 40lbs worth of straps and tools I carry in the bed helps. I also need a larger spare now and am thinking of getting a LT spare just for a little more bed weight.

If my 17s didn't soften up my ride enough, I was thinking about Rough Country N3 2" lift struts over my Bilsteins. I'm happy now (I think)

Well these trucks don't come with any rear sway bars, so by adding mine on it helps a lot keep the weight on the inside wheel in the rear end when cornering hard (and it makes a huge difference when unloaded AND loaded).

I have not seen any 295/55/20s in any other load range than E. 295's will rub my front sway bar at full lock, so I can't go any wider. If anything I would switch to 285/60/20s to get some more rubber and hopefully clear the sway bar. I'd rather scrub a bit of the inner felt than rub the metal sway bar.

Yondu · October 5, 2019

That rear sway may help you corner but it's making the rear stiffer, guess it's your call.

275/60r20 would also work too, which is a 33" tire. I don't think 285/60r20 will do anything for you being another LT tire.

The Bilstein's are rough too. A lot of things working against you, one or more has to change to get worthwhile improvement

truckguy82 · October 6, 2019

4 hours ago, mcdavis said:

I totally understand what both of you are saying. However, my experience has not been like yours. I have a 2016 CCSB 4wd Z71 that doesn't show NHT code on the tag in the upper glove box. I bought it used with 64,000, now has 102,000 on what appears to be the original Ranchos running stock size tires with no suspension mods. I have a neighborhood I'm in frequently that has speed bumps, and I take them around 10-15 and think nothing of it. The truck handles them well enough that I wouldn't consider spending a dime on suspension because of speed bumps. My expectations might be different, my shocks might be set up different, I don't know. I just know speed bumps aren't a factor in my mind due to how my truck already handles them.

Not saying the Ranchos are great shocks, just wanted some input (that has been given, thanks!) as to why I keep seeing speed bumps mentioned in these threads.

Gentleman's bet that can’t feel them because they are blown

mcdavis · October 6, 2019

13 hours ago, truckguy82 said:

Gentleman's bet that can’t feel them because they are blown

Actually, they were just checked 1,000 miles ago during the 100,000 mile service and I was told they are fine, no reason to replace. And, respectfully, given how many vehicles I have owned/driven, and that I maintained our construction company's fleet of trucks for 25 years of my life, I'm pretty sure I'd know if I was riding around on blown shocks. Reality is, and I've seen this posted here by other people, the Ranchos probably are not the best shock that could be used in the Z71 package, but they do serve their purpose just fine for some people. For others, they are total trash. I respect that.

Praedator · October 6, 2019

A big part is the standard big rim, little rubber look that's in style these days!

I have a WT model with 17" rims and lots of rubber! Helps a lot!!!

I know it's not the popular look on these trucks these days, but it sure helps with my LT E rated tires. I run them at 35 psi and the ride is smooth!

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