Velvet Ride shackles

gnutruk · March 31, 2004

Hi All :

Just got off the phone talking with Steve Brockman at the Lord Corporation about the Velvet Ride shackles his firm makes.

The news is not good for us NBS ½ ton truck owners: they do not currently have an updated shackle in production. He made clear that all they’re doing is “talking about it.”

Mr. Brockman seemed quite knowledgeable about the various brands and models of trucks, and he and I discussed many aspects of vehicle geometry, ride comfort, etc. His interests had more to do with marketing the product, and he asked me many questions about what type of consumer might be interested in purchasing a product such as the Velvet Ride shackle, how much they would be willing to pay for it, what their concerns would be, and how to go about reaching the mass market consumer. In short, Mr. Brockman seemed to be more of a marketing guy. I think he is the Executive V.P. of the Lord Corp., although I overlooked asking about his position during our phone call.

He stated that the current problem is twofold: (1) that GM has too many different configurations and variations in the rear shackle/leaf springs of the ½ ton trucks for Velvet Ride to be able to assure compatibility with their product. I don’t know about these issues myself, but Mr. Brockman – even while sitting at his desk – described the shackle/leaf spring set-up of the ½ ton trucks perfectly, so obviously he and his company are clear about the factors involved. Mr. Brockman even said that he had been out to a Chevy dealer recently to look underneath the 2004 model trucks, so they’re doing their homework. (2) That the primary issue which prevents them from listing compatibility for the ½ ton trucks is bold-head clearance with the bracket at the rear shackle. This has to do with the bracket that is riveted onto the frame, and which the rear shackle is bolted into. Evidently, GM has used more than one configuration for this bracket ever since they began producing the Silverado and Sierra NBS ½ ton trucks, and the Velvet Ride shackle appears to be compatible with some of them, but not compatible with others. However, Mr. Brockman, specifically and pointedly, did not officially claim compatibility with any of them, possible because of liability issues, etc.

Well, that’s all I found out. For those of us GM ½ ton truck owners who were interested in this product, it seems we’re sol. If it's any consolation, the new Dodge trucks also cannot install a Velvet Ride, since Dodge completely flipped the shackle/leaf spring assembly upside down in their new trucks. Perhaps the only option currently available is to go with Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks, or some other brand of adjustables, and hope they will give some improvement.

gnutruk

JimG · March 31, 2004

Wow,

Gnutruck - thanks a lot!! Very informative .. but I guess we are SOL. That really annoys me, I know it's not Lord Corp.'s fault for this. And I definitely understand why he's not actually stating they're compatible. Guess I'll be buying new shocks or anti-sway bars instead. Thanks again.

- Actually, it hurts Lord because they're losing a decent size of the market b/t the NBS GM trucks and the Dodge trucks. Hope they can find solutions to overcome these problems.

hvac1000 · April 1, 2004

I have the velvet rides on a 1999 NSB and also on a 2002 4X4 Silverado Ex CAB and have had NO problems with the fit or operation!

moregrip · April 1, 2004

did the shackles make a noticable difference?

lrymal · April 1, 2004

Wow! I guess the GM Shackle gods are smiling on me. I have had zero problems with mine, even under heavy loads and lousy roads. My '03 must have the "standard" design in the back in which the Velvet Ride shackles are compatible.

It is an amazing product. Take all the hard edges off of bumps, just as if you had several bags of sand in the back. I have had these on my '03 nfor over a year.

97whitez71 · April 1, 2004

Did any of you that have installed them notice a decrease in the ride height? There website says it is normal for some vehicles to drop 1/2" - 2". Mine is a '97 Z71 Ex-cab. Thanks.

JimG · April 1, 2004

Hey lrymal,

What's the build date of your truck? Any chance you could snap a few pics of the shackles and related areas of the truck frame? Want to compare to my 03 and see if I can find any difference.

hvac1000 · April 1, 2004

The Velvet Rides are great. Now the front of the truck is level with the rear. I did not measure the rear drop so I do not have a measurement for the drop. I have been using Velvets for over 20 years. They have been around for a long time. The ride is just great in my 4X4 with the stock shocks and velvets. I also added a rear sway bar and that really improved the way the truck takes a turn. Overall I would not own a truck with out them. NOTE: I do not do much off road so I cannot say how that would be. One of the best and cheapest up grades around.

lrymal · April 1, 2004

Hey lrymal,
What's the build date of your truck? Any chance you could snap a few pics of the shackles and related areas of the truck frame? Want to compare to my 03 and see if I can find any difference.

Build date is July 2002, according to the door stamp. Below this message is a photo of the driver's side shackles of a 2001 GMC and a photo my '03 Z71 shackles. The picture really doesn't help because I'm not at the same angle and my '03 doesn't have as much room for a camera due to a hidden hitch and wheel well covers. You have GOT to account for the different viewing angle to compare the two photos.

However, I felt of the top of the shackle on both, where the leaf spring attaches and the clearance is about the same, I think about 2 inches--I'm guessing--but I did have plenty of room to pass my hand over the attachment area. The shackle mounts appears to be the same design for both. Again, I'm not at the same angle when I took the photo.

The photo does show a tighter clearnance for the Velvet Ride shackle toward the frame. The photo exaggerates this tightness. You will see a bolt head close to the shackle mount for the Velvet Ride. I looked as best as I could, getting really close and the bolt showed no scaring, and the mount has no scaring, assuming the bolt head is rubbing. In my case, it is NOT rubbing.

As I mentioned earlier, I had a 300 pounder (or is he 350???), get in the bed and bounce up and down. Nothing rubbed. Nothing touched. Uh, he didn't break the tailgate cables either. grinnn

This truck is bounced quite a bit on some really nasty pasture roads, so I'm sure there is a lot of articulation, probably to the maximum. There are no scars or rub marks.

Below is the photo:

JimG · April 2, 2004

lyrmal,

Thanks, you rock! We got color laser printers at work for a project - think I'll be testing them out tomorrow and print your photo. Then crawl under my truck and take a look. Thanks again for the info.

lrymal · April 2, 2004

lyrmal,
Thanks, you rock! We got color laser printers at work for a project - think I'll be testing them out tomorrow and print your photo. Then crawl under my truck and take a look. Thanks again for the info.

I appreciate that and it always fun to try the new toys at work. But honestly, therse are not good photos for comparison. Definitely need identical angles. I'm too far to the right and too low with the '03 Z71 photo. I may try again, but it is really tight there with the hidden hitch and fender well covers.

The bolts in the photos should not look the same because they are not. The bolts for the Velvet Rides replace the factory OEM bolts.

I'd like to repeat, though, that the shackle mount for both trucks felt totally the same, and had the same clearance at the top.

Yelf · April 6, 2004

I have to ask because I really want an improved ride on my truck, but if these things work so good, why doesn't GM install them on the trucks from the factory?

lrymal · April 7, 2004

I have to ask because I really want an improved ride on my truck, but if these things work so good, why doesn't GM install them on the trucks from the factory?

Well, GM, like any other company, creates a basic design, builds on top of it. Aftermarket companies will find ways of improvements in certain categories. SEMA is good case in point. Just where would General Motors begin including aftermarket improvements into the basic design, would be the question.

One will find that a company will phase in certain aftermarket designs after a considerable period. I'm sure the Velvet Ride, or something even better will be incorporated in the future as the suspension for trucks improve in design.

And finally, any company has to walk a fine line with the aftermarket folks. Both depend on each other for market reasons. For example, notice how General Motors is selling the Corsa exhaust system in its truck pro shop, for example.