Smoothest ride

[forestb]

On my 62 c10 I have a 77 front end with 2 inch drop coils and 2 inch drop spindles up front and a 4 inch drop coil and a one inch block in the rear. With new shorter shocks and shock relocaters all the way around and the ride is still pretty bumpy. I am considering going with bags without a compressor just to give it a soft ride. What do all think? Is there a better way? I have heard some say that bags are the softest smoothest ride you can get while others say you can get just as a good of a ride from coils. I don’t have low profile tires.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by forestb

On my 62 c10 I have a 77 front end with 2 inch drop coils and 2 inch drop spindles up front and a 4 inch drop coil and a one inch block in the rear. With new shorter shocks and shock relocaters all the way around and the ride is still pretty bumpy. I am considering going with bags without a compressor just to give it a soft ride. What do all think? Is there a better way? I have heard some say that bags are the softest smoothest ride you can get while others say you can get just as a good of a ride from coils. I don’t have low profile tires.

What springs are you using up front? What shocks? Is travel limited physically (bump-stops still in place)?
You shouldn't need shorter shocks in the front & they most likely are not helping your ride quality given your listed set-up.

Shorter shocks yield less travel. Ride quality is based on multiple factors. For those that are just driveway builders, the best option I've found is to keep it simple & keep the shocks as long as possible. OE replacement front shocks are short as is so I would not go shorter than them for sure. Use shock relocators to get @ least the factory travel dimensions.

[forestb]

There is nothing limiting the travel. The bump stops have all been trimmed. The rears shocks were relocated to get a better angle and because they were fully extended at ride height. The fronts were relocated when I installed the 77 front end. The springs are all from CPP. No coils cut or heated and the shocks are the CPP brand shocks. I don't know if the front shocks are actually shorter. They are the ones that they sent me when I just had drop spindles and the original 62 torsion bar front end. I will find out if the fronts are shorter or not.

[SCOTI]

Bags can & often do offer a better ride quality when compared to a spring that's not properly spec'd (you really need to know the coil springs rate for best comparisons). That being said, bags can also ride crappy if they're not @ their spec'd install dimensions & air pressure (too little air psi to achieve ride height can yield a bouncy ride; too much psi can yield a harsh ride).

Try to find out what you can on the CCP spring & shock specs. If they don't know (I'm betting they don't) you can @ least do some measuring on your shocks to see if there's a possible issue there.

Gotta' research/know your combo as thoroughly as possible or you're just guessing/throwing money @ it & hoping it works. The shock travel is an easy enough starting point:

* Measure the distance between the upper & lower shock eyes @ ride height w/the full vehicle weight of the truck on them (both sides) & write them down.
* Jack the front up until the suspension is fully extended & record the measurements again.
* Remove a shock. Fully compress it until it's bottomed out & record the dimension.

We can go from there.

[DjS71]

It's not on the road yet, but I have CPP springs on my project and they seem lighter duty to put it mildly. I probably go with ECE, Hotchkis or bags if I have the same issues when the ol' rust bucket sees the light of day.

[Mike C]

What wheel/tire combo do you have? What is your inflation pressure? 22" rims at 40 psi will ride a lot different than 15" at 25 psi.

It's hard to say what might be causing ride issues with so many changes and some of that has to come back to what you expect and what your experience is. If you want a ride like a 2010 truck you aren't going to get it.

[forestb]

275/50R17 up Frunt
275/55R17 in the rear

[forestb]

So I measured my shocks

11 1/4” with tires on the ground under full weight

13” front end jacked up with tires hanging

14” From hole in frame to hole in lower A arm with no weight on tires

8 3/4” shock fully compressed not on the truck

13” shock fully extended not on Truck

Looks like my shocks are limiting full extension. And I am only getting 2.5” of down travel before I bottom out that doesn’t seem like enough.

[54Caddy]

Get you some Belltech SP shocks on there and it’ll smooth up that ride a lot. I run them on all my personal trucks and any of my customers vehicles. Even stock height trucks.

[Spike 72]

I have the exact same set up with the same problem. I have regular shocks so i will try a shock like Belltech etc. You NEED to know that CPP springs are very light weight for the rear and if you put anything at all in the truck they compress. They make an HD version (Heavy Duty) rear 4" spring you can buy from summit. Just put them on last night and drove. I noticed immediately That the truck doesnt PITCH when under hard braking or roll as much. AS far as ride quality i'm not sure yet. Still rough. Taking it out again today. The suspension should take the beating not you! If corvettes and camaro's can accomplish a decent ride with limited travel so should we. Also totally agree with scoti on the air ride comment. Been down that road too. Hope this helps some.

[forestb]

Originally Posted by 54Caddy

Get you some Belltech SP shocks on there and it’ll smooth up that ride a lot. I run them on all my personal trucks and any of my customers vehicles. Even stock height trucks.

Does it seem like I need to get longer shocks and change the shock mount location? Or just get the same length with belltech sp shocks