Smooooth Ride

[billygoat]

I have a case of shaken baby syndrome. My 2006 crew cab z85 really beats me up. I have 20" wheels with 275 55 goodyear ls2 tires. I have had them road force balanced with results of 10,11,14,15. The trucks back end shakes usually from 55 mph on up. I have seen were people have changed to z71 bilstien shocks with a small improvement. I'm a chevy giy but I'm getting pissed. Dealer says truck rides as designed. What can I do? Need help.

[mmmikkke]

Tires and wheels are such a headache. Nobody wants to take responsibility.

 

But I assure you that your truck can ride smooth as silk on smooth pavement, all the way up to 90mph and beyond, if:

 

1) the tires are round

2) the wheels are round

3) the tires are balanced

 

Usually it's the first one that's off. That's if you didn't change to aftermarket wheels. If you changed to aftermarket wheels, depending on how much you paid, #2 becomes the problem. I've seen aluminum wheels way, way out of round. Did you check them with a dial indicator? For $50, you can get what you need:

 

1) Dial indicator

2) magnetic mount with a couple joints

 

Then jack up a corner of your truck, stick the magnet to something rigid like maybe a safety stand, and put the dial so it measures the lip of the rim. Then slowly rotate the rim and observe how much the dial indicator moves. It should be less than 1/16". Often it's 1/8" or more with aluminum wheels.

[TEE]

A 1/16" ?

That's alot!

If you have any that's .030 or worse...they can be a problem.

Sometimes you can rotate the tire 90 degrees and see if that helps....