All This Shocks Talk...

TheNikeMan · June 9, 2008

All this shocks talk...has me wondering. I've never changed shocks in any of my vehicles before as I guess I never saw any reason to do so (and always get rid of them before they would need replaced due to wear). With my current truck, I do notice a few things when driving down the road that makes me wonder if shocks would benefit me or not. Based off of the couple things listed below, would new shocks (front, rear, both) help these things out?

- I drive on some country roads (hilly, curves) everyday where the speed limit is about 55mph (drive 60-62) and I notice in turns that my trucks sways a lot and does not corner too good.

- On interstates when I hit a bump, my truck feels like it dips down really low and springs back up really high...kinda feels like a mini rollercoaster; its smooth but somewhat annoying.

I do not want to do anything crazy suspension wise, just wondering what type of benefits I would gain with a good set of shocks (was checking out the Bilstein's).

Thanks!

geektoad · June 9, 2008

All this shocks talk...has me wondering. I've never changed shocks in any of my vehicles before as I guess I never saw any reason to do so (and always get rid of them before they would need replaced due to wear). With my current truck, I do notice a few things when driving down the road that makes me wonder if shocks would benefit me or not. Based off of the couple things listed below, would new shocks (front, rear, both) help these things out?

- I drive on some country roads (hilly, curves) everyday where the speed limit is about 55mph (drive 60-62) and I notice in turns that my trucks sways a lot and does not corner too good.

- On interstates when I hit a bump, my truck feels like it dips down really low and springs back up really high...kinda feels like a mini rollercoaster; its smooth but somewhat annoying.

I do not want to do anything crazy suspension wise, just wondering what type of benefits I would gain with a good set of shocks (was checking out the Bilstein's).

Thanks!

The first situation is a tough call in and of itself. There are two parts of cornering weight transfer. Transition and steady-state. Shocks effect transitions, spring rates control steady-state. The best example i can think of to illustrate transition states would be a salom. That is a series of fast transitions. If the truck feels sloppy as you first start into a curve/turn, then that could be an indicator of worn shocks, but if it's just that it leans too much in the corners, that's more a function of the spring rates and a high center of gravity.

The second situation is much easier. That is definitely a sign of worn out shocks. They're just not controlling the springs at all.

I'd be willing to guess that if you go over light bumps it feels like the wheels continue to bounce after you hit it too. You would definitely benefit from new shocks and the Bilstein HDs are a great choice for a stock or near stock truck. I can't get a set on my truck fast enough after a month of the stockers.

PS. If you want to get rid of some of the overall lean of the truck in corners/curves too, you could consider putting a rear sway bar on it.

TheNikeMan · June 9, 2008

Thanks for the tips LTZ!

It's probably not even the wear on the shocks, as my truck only has 20,000 miles on it; but more likely just crappy stock shocks. Suspension is definitely not my expertise, but I will research some rear sway bar options. I haven't researched this yet, but what's the avg. install time for rear / front shocks?

Thanks again.

geektoad · June 10, 2008

Thanks for the tips LTZ!

It's probably not even the wear on the shocks, as my truck only has 20,000 miles on it; but more likely just crappy stock shocks. Suspension is definitely not my expertise, but I will research some rear sway bar options. I haven't researched this yet, but what's the avg. install time for rear / front shocks?

Thanks again.

Not sure what the the average is, but i swapped the bilsteins into my 2000 in about an hour and a half. that wasn't rushing either, its easy to do.

TheNikeMan · June 10, 2008

Not sure what the the average is, but i swapped the bilsteins into my 2000 in about an hour and a half. that wasn't rushing either, its easy to do.

Cool, that's good to hear. The rear ones look pretty easy to do, just didn't know if the front ones were just about the same or not. Besides shocks all around and possibly the rear-sway bar, any other cheap/easy mods to do underneath there for either a little extra performance and/or a little lift action (would only be looking for a couple inches or so).

Thanks again.

C & A s Dad · June 10, 2008

Logan,

I am not taking anything away from Bilstien Shocks because they are a good product. Howver, you owe it to yourself to look into KYB's Mono Max or their std Mono Tube Shock. If you tow a significant amt I would go witht he Mono Max. It is a really high pres quality shock and are second to none in engineering and control.

geektoad · June 10, 2008

Not sure what the the average is, but i swapped the bilsteins into my 2000 in about an hour and a half. that wasn't rushing either, its easy to do.

Cool, that's good to hear. The rear ones look pretty easy to do, just didn't know if the front ones were just about the same or not. Besides shocks all around and possibly the rear-sway bar, any other cheap/easy mods to do underneath there for either a little extra performance and/or a little lift action (would only be looking for a couple inches or so).

Thanks again.

You could look at giving your current keys a little crank to level out the front of the truck. if you do it that way, it will increase the tension on the front bars and make the truck ride stiffer. The other more correct option would be to buy a leveling kit that comes with new keys. That would bring the nose up without making the front overly stiff and your ride too harsh. I personally went with just cranking the existing keys a little. i didn't mind the extra stiffness. It's a truck after all

2000DV4.8 · June 10, 2008

Not sure what the the average is, but i swapped the bilsteins into my 2000 in about an hour and a half. that wasn't rushing either, its easy to do.

Cool, that's good to hear. The rear ones look pretty easy to do, just didn't know if the front ones were just about the same or not. Besides shocks all around and possibly the rear-sway bar, any other cheap/easy mods to do underneath there for either a little extra performance and/or a little lift action (would only be looking for a couple inches or so).

Thanks again.

You could look at giving your current keys a little crank to level out the front of the truck. if you do it that way, it will increase the tension on the front bars and make the truck ride stiffer. The other more correct option would be to buy a leveling kit that comes with new keys. That would bring the nose up without making the front overly stiff and your ride too harsh. I personally went with just cranking the existing keys a little. i didn't mind the extra stiffness. It's a truck after all

The aftermarket keys do the exact same thing as cranking the stock ones. All they do is twist the torsion bar.

geektoad · June 10, 2008

Not sure what the the average is, but i swapped the bilsteins into my 2000 in about an hour and a half. that wasn't rushing either, its easy to do.

Cool, that's good to hear. The rear ones look pretty easy to do, just didn't know if the front ones were just about the same or not. Besides shocks all around and possibly the rear-sway bar, any other cheap/easy mods to do underneath there for either a little extra performance and/or a little lift action (would only be looking for a couple inches or so).

Thanks again.

You could look at giving your current keys a little crank to level out the front of the truck. if you do it that way, it will increase the tension on the front bars and make the truck ride stiffer. The other more correct option would be to buy a leveling kit that comes with new keys. That would bring the nose up without making the front overly stiff and your ride too harsh. I personally went with just cranking the existing keys a little. i didn't mind the extra stiffness. It's a truck after all

The aftermarket keys do the exact same thing as cranking the stock ones. All they do is twist the torsion bar.

huh, didn't realize that. if that's the case, then what's the value of the aftermarket ones?

2000DV4.8 · June 10, 2008

Not sure what the the average is, but i swapped the bilsteins into my 2000 in about an hour and a half. that wasn't rushing either, its easy to do.

Cool, that's good to hear. The rear ones look pretty easy to do, just didn't know if the front ones were just about the same or not. Besides shocks all around and possibly the rear-sway bar, any other cheap/easy mods to do underneath there for either a little extra performance and/or a little lift action (would only be looking for a couple inches or so).

Thanks again.

You could look at giving your current keys a little crank to level out the front of the truck. if you do it that way, it will increase the tension on the front bars and make the truck ride stiffer. The other more correct option would be to buy a leveling kit that comes with new keys. That would bring the nose up without making the front overly stiff and your ride too harsh. I personally went with just cranking the existing keys a little. i didn't mind the extra stiffness. It's a truck after all

The aftermarket keys do the exact same thing as cranking the stock ones. All they do is twist the torsion bar.

huh, didn't realize that. if that's the case, then what's the value of the aftermarket ones?

They are re-indexed to let you crank further (Which isn't a good thing. Tons of extra stress and wear on parts). Most of the time, you can get enough "lift" out of the stock keys, but sometimes on older trucks the t-bars will be worn out and sagging, and in this case, the aftermarket keys would be a temporary fix, but the bars would just sag again.

There is really no advantage to the aftermarket keys. Yes, they can "lift" the front of the truck higher, but in doing so, there is way too much stress on parts like CV's, Ball Joints, Tie Rod Ends, Pitman/Idler arms, swaybar endlinks, etc. If any of these fail when you're going down the road, it's not going to end up well for you, the truck, or anybody else in your way.

TheNikeMan · October 13, 2008

Just an update to this thread...

I ordered some Bilstein shocks this weekend, with the hopes of fixing this non-stop bobbing effect that is my current stock setup. I will be doing quite a bit of "rock road" driving over the next few months down at the lake, and I don't think I can stand anymore of the bottoming out, mushy ride.

This has definitely got to help though...will post my results when I get them installed.

Ordered from www.shockwarehouse.com using the GMTRUCK5 code for 10% off entire order!

Front shocks

Rear shocks

TheNikeMan · October 18, 2008

Got my new shocks delivered yesterday and hope to get them put on tomorrow. I may have access to a lift to do them on, otherwise i would do them in the driveway with jack stands. I want to have all the wheels off so I can rotate them while im at it. Any tips that would beneficial to my installation? I have never done shocks before so any info would be very helpful and the instructions are mostly in German

...thanks!

2000DV4.8 · October 18, 2008

I just put almost the same set on my truck (slightly different for 4wd/2wd). It's REALLY self explanatory once you get under there and look how the OEM ones are mounted. Shouldn't take more than hour if you're taking your time, especially with access to a lift. To get the fronts out though, you'll probably want the truck on the ground so you can reach the top of the shock in the engine compartment.

TheNikeMan · October 18, 2008

I just put almost the same set on my truck (slightly different for 4wd/2wd). It's REALLY self explanatory once you get under there and look how the OEM ones are mounted. Shouldn't take more than hour if you're taking your time, especially with access to a lift. To get the fronts out though, you'll probably want the truck on the ground so you can reach the top of the shock in the engine compartment.

So, do I not have to worry much about the coil spring that the shock goes through..meaning, will it stay in place and I won't have to do anything special to it?

2000DV4.8 · October 18, 2008

I just put almost the same set on my truck (slightly different for 4wd/2wd). It's REALLY self explanatory once you get under there and look how the OEM ones are mounted. Shouldn't take more than hour if you're taking your time, especially with access to a lift. To get the fronts out though, you'll probably want the truck on the ground so you can reach the top of the shock in the engine compartment.

So, do I not have to worry much about the coil spring that the shock goes through..meaning, will it stay in place and I won't have to do anything special to it?

That, I'm not positive about, I've never worked on a 2wd. The shocks aren't what hold the suspension together though (there are bumpstops that limit the downtravel of the upper control arm), so there should be no reason for any kind of issue to come up.

Hopefully someone with a 2wd will chime in to confirm.