Ride Quality of Chevy 2500LT... with off road suspension versus without

Workdog · March 27, 2022

Looking at buying a 2022 Chevy 2500 LT. Which would you say has the smoother on the road ride... a truck WITH off-road suspension, or, without. 18 or 20 inch tires?

MTU Alum · March 29, 2022

The ride is the same between off road and base suspension. The 18 and 20 tires are similar as well. I know the gas trucks were tuned with 18 in tires and the diesel trucks were tuned with 20 inch tires. In general, all you mentioned are all similar in ride performance.

#iworkforGM

Workdog · March 29, 2022

Much appreciated, MTU.

Another JR · March 30, 2022

When I test drove the trucks, I could definitely feel a difference in the stiffness of the ride and transmission of road roughness between 18” versus 20” tires. Of course, this was on empty trucks with max tire pressure. I chose the 18s for the smoother ride. Both tire sizes are smoother if you set tire pressure appropriate for the actual weight.

Workdog · March 30, 2022

The reason I asked... Here in my area of NE Ohio it's not possible to compare new truck rides. No dealer has even a single 2500.

With my current Chevy 2500, with 18" tires, I run 60 psi front/70 psi rear full time and tow a boat in summer and fall. What are the lowest tire pressures i can run during the off-season for the smoother ride?

Edited March 30, 2022 by Workdog

sheath · March 30, 2022

1 hour ago, Workdog said:

The reason I asked... Here in my area of NE Ohio it's not possible to compare new truck rides. No dealer has even a single 2500.

With my current Chevy 2500, with 18" tires, I run 60 psi front/70 psi rear full time and tow a boat in summer and fall. What are the lowest tire pressures i can run during the off-season for the smoother ride?

On my 3500 w/18" rims, gas, CC/SB 4x4, Snow Plow/Camper package, I dropped the rear pressure to 60psi, (fronts were already 60psi) and the TPMS still shows green. The ride is night and day different. Truck is so much smoother over sharp bumps. The steering feels more connected, and the truck seems to "wander" less.

When I tow it's a heavy load, and run fully inflated per door placard.

Edited March 30, 2022 by sheath
add tire size

Another JR · March 30, 2022

2021 3500hd slt cclb srw, gas, camper springs (one step lower than plow pkg springs),18 inch stock wheels and stock Michelins. Unloaded my front axle weight is 4440 and rear is 3260. Unloaded I run the front at 55 and the rear at 63. At 62 my tpms alarms. When I have my 1800 lb camper on I run the rear at 67. Almost all the camper weight is on the rear axle so my rear axle weight goes up to about 5000.

The ride is significantly stiffer than my 1/2 ton suburban, but is really quite smooth and not at all objectionable for such a heavy truck. On the highway it is a pleasure to drive. With my camper installed I still am not on the overload springs so the ride should be the same as a 2500. Payload rating is 4054 so I’m only at about 1/2 load. I did not need the front camper springs option I ordered, and I plan to install the base springs in May or June to soften the front a little. It’s fine with them, but the front is slightly stiffer than the rear with the camper on, and I think the suspension will be ideal for my camper load with the base springs.

Edited March 30, 2022 by Another JR

Workdog · March 30, 2022

Lots of good info from you guys. The ole back is hurting worse and every bit will help.

Workdog · April 2, 2022

On 3/30/2022 at 3:49 PM, Another JR said:

2021 3500hd slt cclb srw, gas, camper springs (one step lower than plow pkg springs),18 inch stock wheels and stock Michelins. Unloaded my front axle weight is 4440 and rear is 3260. Unloaded I run the front at 55 and the rear at 63. At 62 my tpms alarms. When I have my 1800 lb camper on I run the rear at 67. Almost all the camper weight is on the rear axle so my rear axle weight goes up to about 5000.

The ride is significantly stiffer than my 1/2 ton suburban, but is really quite smooth and not at all objectionable for such a heavy truck. On the highway it is a pleasure to drive. With my camper installed I still am not on the overload springs so the ride should be the same as a 2500. Payload rating is 4054 so I’m only at about 1/2 load. I did not need the front camper springs option I ordered, and I plan to install the base springs in May or June to soften the front a little. It’s fine with them, but the front is slightly stiffer than the rear with the camper on, and I think the suspension will be ideal for my camper load with the base springs.

JR,

What's involved with changing out the front springs?

Another JR · April 3, 2022

3 hours ago, Workdog said:

JR,

What's involved with changing out the front springs?

I have not done it before, but there are youtube videos showing the process. Jack up the front to unload the suspension. Use torsion bar clamp tool to unload the torsion key bolt and remove the bolt. Slide the torsion bar free of the front arm (may need to be hammered if stuck). Remove torsion bar cross member so torsion bars can be moved free of the frame. Installation is reverse of this. I’m hoping if I set the height exactly the same I won’t need an alignment, but we’ll see.