Ride quality

[special-K]

These trucks always rode great. They are known for it. Lowering always ruined that. But these days we buy products to lower, as opposed to altering original, and the whole point of that dollar spent is to maintain a close to original ride. I wonder just how bad these trucks are actually riding. If a company is selling dropped springs that are not progressive rating, they may be using stiffer shocks to compensate for reduced travel to prevent bottoming or they are selling springs that are stiffer.

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

Definitely invest in a quality shock. I'm currently running single adjustable QA1's, thinking of upgrading to Ridetech single adjustable. KYB's are decent affordable shocks. I believe the CCP shocks are cheap, offshore brands. My buddy recently purchased some and they were leaking right out of the box.

Also, I'm running the Hotchkis 2" drop spring with ECE 2.5" Drop spindles in the front and a custom coilover setup in the back similar to what Ridetech offers. Comes out to about a 4.5/6 drop. Rides and handles great.

[67chevemall]

Air Bags, front and rear sway bar, GOOD shocks! toss CPP in the trash

Will ride like a Caddy

[sneakyfast]

Originally Posted by joewell80

I have a 70 C10 short box lowered 3/5 with CPP kit. I think it rides ruff, It bounces all over the road and can feel every crack. My wife does not like going for rides because of the ride quality. Is there something different out there that will improve ride quality?

Maybe it's time for a new wife...(whistling and looking around)

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by special-K

These trucks always rode great. They are known for it. Lowering always ruined that. But these days we buy products to lower, as opposed to altering original, and the whole point of that dollar spent is to maintain a close to original ride. I wonder just how bad these trucks are actually riding. If a company is selling dropped springs that are not progressive rating, they may be using stiffer shocks to compensate for reduced travel to prevent bottoming or they are selling springs that are stiffer.

Man,... I have to disagree with that. Kinda.
I've been driving lowered trucks since 1986.
I lowered my brand new '86 Silverado swb,... 2 weeks after I purchased it.
I used a Stull brand lowering kit that added a alignment spacer in the front upper a-arm shim area, cut coils (per the instructions.ha), and a flip kit with shock extenders in the back.
Even that crappy set up didn't ride that bad.

We've come a LONG way from those days.
Drop spindles and tuned shocks, with good sway bars makes these trucks ride and handle good.
But you have to get them off the bump stops, and c-notch the back if you are that low.
(and we're not even talking coilover shocks or air ride)

For the other truck owners with extremely low profile tires:
And you can't throw in rubberband tires when you are talking about suspensions and how they ride.
That's the owners tire choice, and they will ride rougher on a stock vehicle.
So lets not add that into the mix.
Ride on some 235/75-15's if you want a cushy ride.
Just my opinion,...

[michael bustamante]

what i do know is that cpp lowing springs for the rear are actually a chevelle rear coil spring and cannot handle any kind of load whatsoever. if you look in the cpp catalog you can see the same part # is used for the chevelle and the rear coil lowering spring

[67 chevelle]

i think it depends on the components as far as ride quality , get a good kit , obviously myself and others have had issues with the cpp kit , once I overcame and replaced their bad components my truck seriously drives excellent very smooth and straight

I forgot to mention that after the cpp rear spring install one side was an inch lower than the other , I put a 1 inch spacer on the drivers side to even it

[special-K]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Man,... I have to disagree with that. Kinda.
I've been driving lowered trucks since 1986.
I lowered my brand new '86 Silverado swb,... 2 weeks after I purchased it.
I used a Stull brand lowering kit that added a alignment spacer in the front upper a-arm shim area, cut coils (per the instructions.ha), and a flip kit with shock extenders in the back.
Even that crappy set up didn't ride that bad.

Yeah, not apples to apples there. I lowered my '78 SWB in '82 using a Rancho kit, yes Rancho. It consisted of axle-flip, directions on cutting front coils, and part numbers for shocks of a correct length and I assume travel. It rode just fine, though tighter in the front. I think an axle-flip helps the ride in the rear.

But when you cut or heated all four coils, no adjustable panhard bar, no shock relocators, and shocks not made specifically for a truck it made a noticeable difference from the cushy stock ride. I liked that, didn't bother me a bit. Back then a low-rider rode on hydraulics if your were lucky and if you weren't you might have rode rigid on wood blocks. We have come a long way since I first lowered a '71 in the '70s. But these trucks have a ride unknown to trucks at that point and many years since. Lowering the old ways compromised that, which is what I meant by ruined. The point of lowering springs, etc. was to give a better ride (close to stock as possible) than old methods,since you could lower these trucks w/o buying anything. Surely by 2015 a truck with hundreds of dollars in new suspension should ride better than my truck did in the '70s. If it were me I would yank the shocks and watch the stiffness go away. Then buy good shocks that have been recommended here