Rough Riding, New Teeth Required

chevyagogo9 · March 17, 2004

Hi all. Like many of you with 2500 HDs, I installed the Chevy green keys to level out my truck which makes the vehicle look great. I also have MT Classic Lock rims with MT 285X16 Baja Radials.

I finally got to take the truck for a couple interstate trips, about 800 miles, and must say this truck is rough riding. For those of you that have leveled out your rides, have you done anything to soften the ride a bit? I do not see where my tire combo would be causing a real rough ride, but any thoughts would be appreciated. Or is this characteristic of the HD? I had a supercrew lifted by torsion bars as well on 305s that was smooth riding compared to the 2500HD.

1BADHD · March 17, 2004

Its due to the torque rating on your bars. If you want it to ride a bit smoother, just give it time to break in. Or go buy a set of lower rated bars. Thats about all you can do.

03GMC2500HD · March 17, 2004

What psi are you running in the tires? I have mine around 53-54psi and my ride is actually pretty good. Same as about 3-4 turns on the stock bars. How much did you lift the front?

heavyduty guy · March 17, 2004

dont have the green keys but i did crank the stock keys about 3/4 inch and installed bilsteins and added a set of 285 75 16 yokahama geolanders on factory wheels and my ride changed very little i figured it would be a big difference but in my case it wasent i was going to change my keys so my tires would clear but after i installed my tires they cleared just fine and the only reason i cranked mine was just to try and level it off a little as you did

jelisfc · March 17, 2004

Adding green keys does not effect the load placed on the T-bars. They are just reindexed. Any differences is negligable.

Tire pressure makes a difference. I run 35 psi on my BFG 315's. 40 makes it really rough.

Your main problem is shocks. If you have factory shocks the lift has moved them out of their sweet spot making the ride feel like no suspension. I went the cheap way and fabed spacers. See my pics. Most people bite the bullet and get Bilstens or Ranchos that are longer. I'm running 2 1/4" to 2 1/2" lift due to the keys.

1BADHD · March 17, 2004

Better shocks or not......if you crank or use keys its gonna get firmer and stiffer. Your right it does re-index on the bar, but your still adding more spring rate to the bars.

Shaners · March 17, 2004

Take a few turns out of the T-bars and lower the air pressure in your tires a little.

Air pressure makes a huge difference in ride quality.

chevyagogo9 · March 18, 2004

i cranked them about 1.75 (i think). the truck is level.

i will check the tire presure

regarding shocks, on the ranchos or bilstiens, what model/size is the best for this truck?

chevyagogo9 · March 19, 2004

any suggestions on the aftermarket shocks?

chevyagogo9 · March 21, 2004

my tires are rated at 65psi cold. reduced pressure to 51lbs cold and that made no difference.

then i lowered the torsion bars aprox 3/4 inch on right and left. HUGE difference. It is amazing to think that simply doing this makes such a difference. I love the truck again.

I also have rancho 9000X coming. That should make it even better.

Thanks all.

Shaners · March 22, 2004

I'm glad you are finally making some progress and that you are starting to smile again!!!

(BTW, my tires are rated at 80 psi and I run them at 50. I had them at 55 psi when I had them mounted, and within 5 miles I was sitting in a parking lot airing them down!!!)

masterp2 · June 2, 2004

then i lowered the torsion bars aprox 3/4 inch on right and left. HUGE difference. It is amazing to think that simply doing this makes such a difference. I love the truck again.

It is the shocks that are the problem. The reaon you like the truck again is because before you lowered it, you were riding with the shocks topped out, no downtravel=50% reduction in cycle absorbtion. On a stock truck, downtravel is 2.5". Lift it 2.5" and it is zero.

YES, the shock limits downtravel, not the structure. Put about 1" of washers in the top of the shock to shim it down, and you will like it even more. Takes 5 minutes.

snoman · June 2, 2004

Its due to the torque rating on your bars. If you want it to ride a bit smoother, just give it time to break in. Or go buy a set of lower rated bars. Thats about all you can do.

The factory optional HD bars in my 2000 K3500 have never "broken in". They ride just as nasty now an they did new and have never sagged either even after carring a heavy 8 ft Fisher plow the last 5 winters too. Those keys can change bar cam angle in some settings that can make it feel a lot stiffer yet.

masterp2 · June 2, 2004

Snoman, not one person here has a 3500 or a 3500 problem. Reread my post, I have been all through this, what you said is irrelevant, trust me. Apples and Oranges.

SHOCK TRAVEL LIMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

snoman · June 2, 2004

Snoman, not one person here has a 3500 or a 3500 problem. Reread my post, I have been all through this, what you said is irrelevant, trust me. Apples and Oranges.

SHOCK TRAVEL LIMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quippy arn't we. The 2500 HD uses stock K3500 bars in it duh...

P.S. They are rated at 4500 lbs per pair too. The 1500 HD's are 4250.