DNRCustoms

Ok, the ride in my truck is killing me.. So I took the rear shocks I currently am running off.. "10 yr old Black Diamond" IT was a little bouncy, but the ride was 10 times better on the expansion whoops... Then I stopped at a place and threw them back on, went down the same road and was wishing I had a kidney belt on!! Get this, the state police decides to pull me over in the parking lot after I just finished installing them... What a joke!! So, the question is what shocks should I get.. I put the Bilisteins 5100 on my mega cab and wasn't impressed at all.. Those were 300 bucks I heard the Rancho adjustable's did wonders for ''Big Stinky's Rig"

apwatson50

How many leaves in your spring pack? Ever thought of loosing 1 or 2?

DNRCustoms

Well, I have 5 and big one on the bottom.. Just took them all apart and did the poly install.. I guess if I took two out, I would have to machine up a little block to compensate for the ride height..

apwatson50

You could experiment and take one out, just to see how it rides and how much height you loose. Then if the ride is better, but not good enough loose another one and add the spacer.

I added a spacer when I took 2 leaves out, just used some cold rolled flat bar. I think it was 3/4 or 1" thick. Can't remember for sure.

I would start with the shortest leaf. I took the shortest, then skipped on and took the next. So like 1 and 3 leaf from the bottom. I think i'm going to put #3 back in though, as these spring packs were worn out to begin with and I lost ride height. But I also put the 4.5" lift blocks in at the same time.

Anyways, sounds like you've got time to do some experimenting.

Aaron

pulltilbroke

If I were you, I would lose the thick bottom leaf and the second leaf down in you spring pack and then machine a block about an inch or so thick

DNRCustoms

Ya... I guess that gives me something to do next week..lol I just keep thinking about pulling it.. But maybe I can find an old leaf pack somewhere I can throw in for pulling... But..I do need some better shocks... I want to make this thing fun to drive, I don't really need it to tow anything... Just want to be able to have the wife drive and have her feel safe...

DNRCustoms

Why would you lose the bottom one, I really don't think it does much for the ride... Looks like I can't count, I have 6 plus the bottom one!!

ccab85

We do a "second stage kit" where you remove the factory thick leaf and replace it with three of four thinner leaves arched to match the springs you have currently, makes a big difference. I think three .323 or .360 leaves would make a lot of difference in your ride. Add to that a good set of shocks and wow. I have Edelbrocks on one truck and some white bodied ones on another and what a huge difference. Fox would be my preference but at 250 a corner not many people coughing up the dough. I run Fox on all my snowmobiles and would never go back to stock. You might also look into "velvet ride" shackles, I have a set on one truck and it rides really nice. As a side note, never sell something unless you are replacing it with something better. My wife tells me to finish my projects to 98% only because I always sell them when I am 100% finished. (Or when someone scratches them the day I pull them out of the paint booth).

rcurrier44

But it does a whole lot to keep down axle wrap and keep your springs from W-ing.

Basicly a "soft" spring pack has lots of long thin leafs; so you would be better starting off pulling bottom leaf springs not the overload.

Check these guys out for good shocks. They do a lot of custom shocks for race rigs so I'm sure they can set you up with a set of shocks that will work best for what you are doing. Rancho 9000's are nice because they are adjustable but they are still a cheep shock and will not last long.

EDIT: forgot the link

http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/home.php

Here are some Fox shocks for superdutys @ 150$ each. They specify lengths so you could find one that will work on your rig...

PapeCAT

What did the state police say to you.

DNRCustoms

I told them I was putting my shocks back on and they were like ***!! Then I explained the road was real rough so I was doing a test to see the difference.. They just looked at me weird... Then ran all my stuff and stared at my truck while they were in the squad car.. Like trying to look underneath, it was really weird.. There was two younger guys... Then they told me there was alot of breakin's at the place I was stopped... I was like, well it is my cousins Dance studio.. So there isn't much I want in there!!... I wanted to say, if i was gonna break in in the middle of daylight... I wouldn't be parked in front of the building!! I thought I was gonna get a ticket for a loud exhaust or something.. I was gonna let loose if that were the case!! It was something to laugh about...

tcs 91

i lost the 2 bottom ones. dropped the truck abt 2.5". 3.25 60 18's still clear in the back. great diff in the ride. miserable, before as you know. now it's better than my buddy's 6.o ford. lower is faster. tc

stinkindiesel

I just flipped my two bottom springs over, so they're kinda arcing downward (not bad, no danger of hanging up or grabbing anything). That way, they're still present and accounted for if I ever want to put them back and I didn't have to put in any spacers. The ride is way softer, but our 1400-lb cabover camper makes it a bit mushy.

Jim Lane

Anybody who is thinking about removing leaves from your spring pack, here is a write up on what I did before I installed my Polyurethane Spring Tip Isolators.
Jim

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...ht=softer+ride

DNRCustoms

Jim,

I'm thinking a nice new set of shocks and 2 less leaves and I will be golden.. Just by removing the shocks the ride was instantly 10 times better... At this point, I'm not realy worry about payload.. I just want it to ride good, I may find an old leaf pack I can swap in an out for when I want to pull it.. With the flip shackles it is real easy to get them off...