[Mike Bradbury]

I have been of the opinion that bags are great for looks but not so good for handeling. The reason I think this way is because I rarely see any auto crossers running bags. The tech is getting better and some guys have tried but still industry standard suspension is steel springs. I bought my 2.5 lowered springs off of a board member that couldn't stand the way his truck rode and was converting to bags. Since I put them on in addition to very nice mono tube Bilstein shocks it handles great. It rides a little rough, but it is all a matter of what you are expecting of your suspension. With a lowered truck you get about 3" of travel out of the suspension, and you have to arrest the inertia of a 5000 pound vehicle in that short amount of time. Sports cars are about half the weight and have an easier time absorbing the bumps. I would much rather have a slightly rough ride but know that my truck handles great, than a truck that has a soft suspension and gets loose when I need it most.

I have found that one of the most important and often marginalized components of the suspension system is the shocks. If the shock cannot effectively control the rebound of the spring (weather steel or air) then the ride is going to be subpar. Invest in a good set of mono tube shocks and it will make a world of difference. Think of the spring like Drews rubber ball metaphor, the harder you bounce it the harder it wants to rebound. With ineffective shocks the suspension is acting like a kids paddle ball game, it will bounce up and down and the tire will not have adequet friction on the road surface throughout the travel of the suspension. That is just the handling aspect, the ride is effected as well. When you hit a pot hole or speed bump the shock has to control the energy contained in the spring, if it doesn't then you will get that jarring feel as the wheel rebounds from the compression.

I think the best thing for New Type's suspension set up would be a new set of wheels so that the truck can get a full range of motion. I know we have discussed this before on your build thread but I really think that until you get the right wheel tire combo, you are just going to be throwing good money after bad. Either that or you need to remove your inner fenders and get a custom made set so the wheel can travel up into the well further.
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