Ridiculously stiff springs

[ankarback]

My new truck (suburban K20 -77) rides so rough it´s hardly driveable. the PO installed superlift 6" liftsprings in the front and blocks in the back. It´s also got superlift shocks. The ride's so rough that if you go over a small bump in the road the truck almost bounces off track.

Is this normal for superlift springs? I´ve heard they're really stiff but this is extreme. Can it be that the shocks are too tall so they are compressed all the time? It looks like they are really tall for the liftheight.

Do you guys think I can make it a bit nicer just by replacing the shocks or are the springs the real problem?

 

[crazyhole812]

couldn't tell without seeing. did you try flexing it so you could see if the shocks are the problem? if the shocks are too long you could always extend the mounts.

 

[Greg72]

Remove the front shocks and drive it again.... if the ride doesn't improve it's a spring problem.

While the shocks are out, measure them fully extended and compressed. A few seconds with a calculator will tell you how much uptravel you have from your static ride height.

 

[ankarback]

OK, I´ll try that but it seems a bit unsafe to drive around without shocks.

Should the uptravel be equal with the downtravel? I've never messed with shocks before so this is new sience to me.

 

[spearchucker]

I wouldn't worry about it being unsafe, you probably won't even notice you took the shocks off. The springs are so stiff that the shocks aren't doing anything.

 

[3rdshiftdesign]

i've driven my blazer for a while without shocks. over 1 1/2 hours. it sucks, it's only bad if you hit a huge hole or something. not recomennded, but useful for testing things out.

 

[Greg72]

I'm not saying take the shocks off for good.....just drive around for a few minutes and see if you can feel a difference.

A simple way to pick a shock is to measure the distance between the upper and lower mounts and then compare that number to the specs from the shock companies. By looking at the max extended and max compressed numbers in their charts you can calculate a "mid" number (the average of the min and max)...if you buy a shock who's "mid" value is the same as your mounting points, you will know that you have equal amounts of travel in both directions (and half of the shock piston will be showing at static ride height)

It's not the best way to get maximum travel for offroading (which isn't really that hard either, just takes longer to explain....and longer for you to figure out!) but it would be a good way to doublecheck your existing shocks to see if they're way too long (or short) for your application.

 

[camiswelding]

My 6 inch superlifts were the nicest comfy ride I have ever had on a lifted truck... check which ones you have.... soft rides or heavy duty,,,
and call superlift....

and absolutely check those shocks!!!

 

[ankarback]

Thanks a lot for the help. Greg72, now I understand what you meant by using the calculator I'll try that. I didn't thought you meant that I should remove the shocks for good.

If the shocks are suppose to be nice riding it has to be something wrong with them but they are probably HD shocks since they are about 3" thick and the truck used to have a snowplow in the front. The text just says "superlift".

 

[Greg72]

Thanks a lot for the help. Greg72, now I understand what you meant by using the calculator I'll try that. I didn't thought you meant that I should remove the shocks for good.

If the shocks are suppose to be nice riding it has to be something wrong with them but they are probably HD shocks since they are about 3" thick and the truck used to have a snowplow in the front. The text just says "superlift".

Not a problem....just be sure to let us know what you find out. I'm curious to hear if the problem turns out to be the springs or shocks.