Tuff Country EZ ride vs. Skyjacker Softride

[burnin oil]

SpecialK is on the mark here. There is a way to make the springs ride better but the companies couldnt make money. You need alot of smaller leafs in the pack. Idealy they should be thin with the second spring being as long as the main spring. This method reinforces the main spring for wieght capacity but allows flex for ride quality. 10 thin springs in progressive lengths will ride way better than 5 thicker springs. The problem with this is you gain alot of spring wieght and material costs. When people look at upgrading they look at the cost and few would pay twice as much for double the leaves. Catch 22. Shocks should not effect ride quality if properly matched. There purpose is to control the springs rebound and not stiffness. In a perfect world cheap old red ryder shocks should be about the same as a set of bilsteins or ranchos. Let the leafs drop then control rebound.

Wheel base really is not the issue for ride quality as the wieght distribution. I put the exact same drivetrain from a blazer under a long bed pickup. The pickup bounced alot more in the rear and had alot less traction. Less wieght was exerted on the rear to plant it to the pavement. The blazer hardly ever needed the hubs locked and the pickup rarely got unlocked. This example had every piece of the drivetrain down to the shocks swapped under the two trucks.

[special-K]

As far as shocks go,it seems all lifts offer are pressurized gas shocks. These came about for SCORE/SNORE type racing where you're driving flat out,catching air,and shocks continually cycling over rough roads for 250-500 hard as hell miles. The race vehicles weren't hauling weight,built light as possible,with flexy springs. No one was expecting a pleasant ride . The purpose of gas shocks was to resolve cavitation and heat issues the occur with hydraulic (oil filled) shocks. Who drives like that? I had an '84 K20 I put 4" Superlift springs on. Back then all lifts were stiff. They offered Heco (Heckathorn) gas or Hydraulic. I went with the hydraulics and that truck ride nicer than any other lifted truck I had before It's true it's the springs that give the ride and the shocks are to control rebound,but stiffer shocks can resist spring compression. If anyone has ever run air shocks pumped up you know this. You can have about a rigid suspension. Gas shock valving has come a long way and I don't see hydraulic shocks offered,but properly rated shocks designed for the ride height you run is vital to a good ride