rough dirt road suspension - what's best?

[MatthewArizona]

We just picked up a 2005, 2 wheel drive, Silverado Duramax; 115,000 miles. It ran tight on the highway - maybe tighter that our Toyota Tacoma. But when we got on our 9 mile dirt, rock, rough road I was dissapointed; was rough, some skittering, had to slow down to 10 mph. It has Monroe Reflex shocks but no telling how old they are. It is stock suspension - not lifted (Our 2006 Tacoma was beaten by this road even with cautious driving; engine mounts broken from frame, rear springs snaping apart.) I don't see a TAS button on the dash. Tire pressure is probably too high for dirt - but then we do also drive on pavement. I want the best suspension possible for this rough road - to keep the truck from breaking apart. We always had 4WD before this - maybe if I went back with 4WD the ride would be smoother on the dirt bumps, washboard road? Will different shocks, or putting on a TAS, make a difference? Is this duramax dieseal more fragile on the rough road than our previous gas Toyota? (the last two newer Toyota trucks we have been using are not the tough suspension and frames of the past - it is no longer a tough ranch truck). We went to this heavier Silverado hoping for a tough work truck.

 

[malibu795]

turn the torrsion bars up just enough to get 1/8-1/4" gap between the bumpstop and lower A-arm... and longer front shocks...
i was able to suckup 4-6" potholes with 35" tires on stock truck.. at ~30mph

 

[chevyburnout1]

If you don't haul/tow with it most of the time run the rear tire pressure around 35-40psi. Maybe throw some weight in the bed as well. Makes a huge difference on my truck when I'm not hauling anything.

 

[JoshH]

4wd will have the exact same suspension as the 2wd. It will just have more weight on the front tires. It won't change the ride.

 

[Ryan T]

a 4 inch lift and some shocks valved for ur type driving conditions.. king, fox , icon all make nice shocks for ur truck..also 35s on a 17 inch wheel.. chevy 1925 can help u out, he would know

 

[Chevy1925]

ill tell you right now matthew, you have to expect right off the bat, a 2500hd is not gunna ride anything like a midsized truck. your rear springs are gunna be MUCH stiffer, much more rigity in the frame, and these trucks were never ment for haulin balls down a dirt road.

are their things to help your issues? yes so heres my suggestions

first off, i would put a set of cognito upper control arms (UCA) on as well as a set of matching shocks to go with (could be bilsteins or foxes or others that will allow for the extra down travel you will gain with the new UCA). i also high suggest NOT cranking the trosion bars. leave them factory unless you want to level the front end some. your best ride will come from stock height though.

next id replace your rear shocks with something matching the front. again, if you talk to a knowedgable supplier, they should be able to set you up with a good riding shock for both conditions (pavement and dirt), dont expect it to ride like a caddy on the pavement though, its a give and take situation so pick which type of terrain you will be mostly on.

From there, drop that tire pressure. if you got 80psi in those back rear tires, its gunna ride like a brick on washboard roads. put them down to 50psi or so and adjust to your likeing.

a bigger tire will be more forgiving off road than the stock pizza cutters these come with. the sidewalls will flex more and the bigger size will roll over pot holes and objects easier than a smaller tire. putting a 22" rim on a 35" tall tire is not gunna help either though.

From there, well we can get into loosing leaf springs but then i recommend a set of axle wrap bars to keep that minimal.


i dunno what part of AZ your in but if you want, id be more than happy to go for a ride with you and see what your are talking about and even give you a ride in my truck to see the difference (if there is any).

 

[malibu795]

first off, i would put a set of cognito upper control arms (UCA) on as well as a set of matching shocks to go with (could be bilsteins or foxes or others that will allow for the extra down travel you will gain with the new UCA). i also high suggest NOT cranking the trosion bars. leave them factory unless you want to level the front end some. your best ride will come from stock height though.

i disagree at best ride comes at stock height

the reason why i said what i said, is mine had less then 1" up travel from the factory... going over a 6" speed bump was rough.. after i adjusted i really didnt need to slow down..

there SHOULD be up travel in the suspension... if it is riding on the compression stop then it WILL ride solid... IF you adjust too much up you are doing the exact samething at the other end of the travel.

i preffer ride hieght around 40%/60% on ifs setup...









but WTF do i know

 

[MatthewArizona]

These are some good tips. I appreciate all your comments.

We manage the Nature Consevancy Ranch outside of Sedona in Northern AZ. The road is rough and we dependend on the truck for work all day long. Money is tight but if these modifications make for a longer lasting truck and easier day - it will be worth it. Any more ideas?

 

[Chevy1925]

i disagree at best ride comes at stock height

the reason why i said what i said, is mine had less then 1" up travel from the factory... going over a 6" speed bump was rough.. after i adjusted i really didnt need to slow down..

there SHOULD be up travel in the suspension... if it is riding on the compression stop then it WILL ride solid... IF you adjust too much up you are doing the exact samething at the other end of the travel.

i preffer ride hieght around 40%/60% on ifs setup...









but WTF do i know

so how in the world were you getting stuck at 1" of up travel from stock ride height? Cause i dont know of any stock truck that only has 1" of up travel. that yellow bumpstop is part of the suspension design from factory and really is not a bumpstop untill almost fully compressed so saying thats the main cause of the rough ride is not true.

 

[malibu795]

so how in the world were you getting stuck at 1" of up travel from stock ride height? Cause i dont know of any stock truck that only has 1" of up travel. that yellow bumpstop is part of the suspension design from factory and really is not a bumpstop untill almost fully compressed so saying thats the main cause of the rough ride is not true.

came that when i bought the truck.... it rode with stock yellow bushing roughly compressed ~50%.. you messure the gap between the frame mount and A-arm i had ~1/2" at a 2:1 travel ratio thats ~1" of up travel at the wheel. a 6" speed bump was big enough to creep across it or you got bounced hard... after i adjusted it no problems... rear on the other hand was a different story

i raised the truck till i have 1/8-1/4" gap between the yellow bushing and A-arm fixed the rough ride problem on the front.

on a suspension that has say 10" of total vertical travel. having the ride height are 80% compressed leaving 2" or less of up travel would create rough ride on a rough road... setting the system at 4-5" of up travel would greately smoothen out then ride..

i attatched the pictures of my truck when i bought it had a 6" rake forward... the picture is 4" rake forward with 315/75/16 on PYO
yes the bumpstop is part of the system...there should be a gap in there at static ride height.

 

[arneson]

How in the hell was there a 6in rake? Mine came with 2.5 stock brand new, ordered in for me. Not sure how there was 6in, and i even ordered mine in the 3500 springs. This would be a new one for me to see 6in rake.

 

[Chevy1925]

came that when i bought the truck.... it rode with stock yellow bushing roughly compressed ~50%.. you messure the gap between the frame mount and A-arm i had ~1/2" at a 2:1 travel ratio thats ~1" of up travel at the wheel. a 6" speed bump was big enough to creep across it or you got bounced hard... after i adjusted it no problems... rear on the other hand was a different story

i raised the truck till i have 1/8-1/4" gap between the yellow bushing and A-arm fixed the rough ride problem on the front.

on a suspension that has say 10" of total vertical travel. having the ride height are 80% compressed leaving 2" or less of up travel would create rough ride on a rough road... setting the system at 4-5" of up travel would greately smoothen out then ride..

i attatched the pictures of my truck when i bought it had a 6" rake forward... the picture is 4" rake forward with 315/75/16 on PYO
yes the bumpstop is part of the system...there should be a gap in there at static ride height.

Ok so then your truck was not at factory height when you bought it. and no, the ratio at where the bumpstop is 4:1, where the shock mounts to the LCA is closer to 2:1. So you didnt have 1" of up travel but i wouldnt doubt you were almost blowing completely through the allotted factory up travel based on the amount of sag you said was in it.

where you set it at is not far off from stock and much better than where it was originally. Stock is little to no gap between the yellow bumpstop and the LCA.

 

[malibu795]

Ok so then your truck was not at factory height when you bought it. and no, the ratio at where the bumpstop is 4:1, where the shock mounts to the LCA is closer to 2:1. So you didnt have 1" of up travel but i wouldnt doubt you were almost blowing completely through the allotted factory up travel based on the amount of sag you said was in it.

where you set it at is not far off from stock and much better than where it was originally. Stock is little to no gap between the yellow bumpstop and the LCA.

then that makes sense.. why mine rode so darn rough when i got it. and i do have a pair of destroyed yellow stops

 

[malibu795]

How in the hell was there a 6in rake? Mine came with 2.5 stock brand new, ordered in for me. Not sure how there was 6in, and i even ordered mine in the 3500 springs. This would be a new one for me to see 6in rake.

i was able to get almost 8" of rake when i took the bumpstops out for 2wd sled pulling and the rear was blocked at empty ride height. then i got ~2" more by running 35" in the back and 245/75/16 up front

 

[JoshH]

then that makes sense.. why mine rode so darn rough when i got it. and i do have a pair of destroyed yellow stops

Those are not bump stops. They're jounce bumpers. The suspension is designed to rid on them. At stock height, the LCA should be touching them a little. I de-cranked my torsion bars on my truck. It rides on the jounce bumpers very hard, but the front is still very soft.

For the OP, I would suggest a set of Z71 jounce bumpers. There's a thread on here with part numbers and a brief description of why they're better. I'll dig it up for you.

Here's the thread with the P/N, but there isn't as much info there as I remembered. www.duramaxdiesels.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41097

 

[x MadMAX DIESEL]

Mine still sits about 2.5 inches lower in the front too with the torsion bolts out and no bounce pads. I even have 3 inch lowering shackles in the rear, which I would guess would be really 1.5 inch.

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