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Just want a better ride

Jnrcarson said:
We’ll just saying it like it is. Guess that’s an issue for you. My 2500 rides better than my buddies 1500 Chevy and smoother and quieter than the wife’s newish Honda CRV. Sorry if that offends you
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Don't be sorry. Comedy doesn't offend me!
 
Modern HD Trucks ride a lot better than older ones. I feel if people want that car feel ride, then should go with the GM HD as they have an independent front suspension, they're all fairly similar in the rear [ 3500 SRW /350 models]. Tire pressure will play a HUGE role both loaded and empty. I believe that the more air in the tires equal a bumpier ride. One big mistake is not to go too low on-air pressure, or the tire may run hot in the summer heat and burst.
Try to find a happy medium, also read the tread pattern as tire wears adjust the air, accordingly, is how I manage it.
 
My experience, highest bang for buck to lowest:

1) Air pressure adjustment
2) Thuren front springs with shocks
3) Thuren sway bar
4) Carli add-a-packs (rear) and shocks

My stock shocks had life left in them so the move to bilstein 5100s wasn't entirely necessary, except to get better lengths for the spring changes. More custom (expensive) shocks would do better for unloaded ride quality but I want to stay fairly stiff to control travel trailer see-saw. 2.5" kings setup by thuren would likely be the happy place. I'm also experimenting with a set of Rancho 9000xl on the rear that I can turn up when towing, but aside from the adjustment they don't perform as well as the 5100s.

CJC will be a good source of info for you.
 
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F2830 said:
Your front end weight will be more than my 2024 6.4 Hemi Crew Cab 4x4 6’-4” bed truck but my 2 cents is this:

From the dealer my truck rode like a cement truck. Hoping to come as close as possible to the rise of my previous 2016 Ram 1500 crew cab 4x4, I’ve done the following and am satisfied with the results:
Thuren +2” front springs, +1” soft rear springs, front sway bar, front & rear track bar, front track bar bracket, rear LCS Boogie Bump stops.
I tried the Fox 2.0 shocks but replaced them with Rancho 9000’s to get a more compliant ride.
Expensive for sure, but it’s changed me for cursing my truck to liking it.
The LCS bumps stops can be changed in less than a minute, allowing me to take advantage of a big gap between the bump pad and axle when unloaded and then utilize the taller bump stop to supplement the soft rear springs when loaded. If pulled a 13K loaded dump trailer using. WD hitch with satisfactory results.
Hope this helps.
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What was wrong with the Fox 2.0's??? I'm about to pull the trigger on the Thuren leveling kit with 2.0's for my 6.4.
 
Atchison5 said:
What was wrong with the Fox 2.0's??? I'm about to pull the trigger on the Thuren leveling kit with 2.0's for my 6.4.
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Fox shocks from Thuren (or Carli) will be valved differently than those that you get from Fox, listed for the truck. Call Thuren and speak with Zeb. Call CJC and speak with them too. Add boots to help them last longer but again, the Fox's that come from Thuren or Carli will be valved appropriately to enhance ride with their springs.

Check CJC's open box inventory listing for good deals. Looks like they currently have some Carli commuter (fox) shocks, Carli rear coils, a few adjustable track bars, etc. DDP Motorsports sometimes has good stuff in their clearance bin. as well. In fact, they currently have Thuren/Fox fronts for your truck.

My gripe with the Rancho 9000s is that the adjustment only addresses (adds) compression dampening. For a cheap shock, it is what it is. It's better than having no adjustment. It would be nice to have low speed rebound (and potentially also compression) control for towing.
 
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My adventure here has been similar to others. When I bought the truck, the tires were aired up by the dealer to the pressure listed on the sticker. 80 PSI up front, 65 PSI in the duals in the back.
Without having yet rolled across scales, and knowing I had a lighter gas engine up front, I aired down to 70 up front, and 55 in the rears.

We took off on our first trip in the truck to visit family in Bakersfield CA - and that stretch of I-5 from the oregon/ca border to Bakersfield (joke, but yes, all of CA I5 sucks) was brutal. To the point my wife was suggesting we sell the truck and trailer. Our poor dogs were getting sick in the back seat.

When I got home, I researched and ended up with the Thuren parts mentioned above... 1.5" soft rate springs up front, Fox 2.0 IFP shocks all around, sway bar, track bar, and airlift springs in the back.
I also weighed the truck with the trailer attached... And found my tire pressures were still way too high...

I've set my rears to 45 psi (I could go lower still, I have about 5300 lbs on the rear when loaded)
I've set my fronts to 65 (I could go lower, I have about 4200 lbs when loaded)

I've also found the pressure I set my Continuum hitch has an impact on ride quality. The lower pressure I set the hitch to, the better the ride quality (more weight on the rear, less on the front of the truck)

Does the truck ride like butter? Nope. Is it better than it was? Yeah. I5 in CA (and 680 through San Jose) are still a rough ride, but it's at least manageable.
To some extent, it's a bit of a diminishing returns problem going after better ride. I wish I would've gone with the Fox 2.5's for some adjustability. I tend to get a bit of a 'floaty' ride in the back sometimes that I think an adjustable shock might fix.
 
jharp said:
I tend to get a bit of a 'floaty' ride in the back sometimes that I think an adjustable shock might fix.
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A cheap experiment with a set of Rancho 9000s might give you more options. Overall less capable shock than the Fox 2.0s, but the ability to set them stiff when towing might be worthwhile. I think I have less than $120 in my pair (ebay) and it's a 10 minute job with the cordless impact to change them out.
 
New tires ( softer than the OEM Firestones), air pressure, shocks and no sway bars helped mine.
 
Ritchie_Rich said:
New tires ( softer than the OEM Firestones), air pressure, shocks and no sway bars helped mine.
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Sidewall firmness is likely more important for ride than tread, and I’m not sure I want anything softer than that the OEM Trashforce tires. The OEM tire sidewall stiffness is a joke at best. The tread is definitely hockey puck hard, which is why traction sucks.

Air pressure is by far the most important factor.
 
AH64ID said:
Sidewall firmness is likely more important for ride than tread, and I’m not sure I want anything softer than that the OEM Trashforce tires. The OEM tire sidewall stiffness is a joke at best. The tread is definitely hockey puck hard, which is why traction sucks.

Air pressure is by far the most important factor.
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They are 10 ply load range E, same as the Firestones.
 
Ritchie_Rich said:
They are 10 ply load range E, same as the Firestones.
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Not all LRE tires are created equal and there is a wide variety of sidewall stiffness even among tires with the same size and load index. 10 ply is the rating, they are likely 2 or maybe 3 plays on the sidewall.
 
Medgas24 said:
did you find the solution? I’m in the same boat
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Yeah the solution is if your not willing to spend coin for a good aftermarket suspension and inflate your tires a bit....

Trade it in for 1500 or buy a Cadillac. Its a HD truck, ment/built to do HD things, and its going to drive like one. Its not ment to be a pavement princess to drive to office jobs and get groceries. Otherwise dont complain.
 
AH64ID said:
Not all LRE tires are created equal and there is a wide variety of sidewall stiffness even among tires with the same size and load index. 10 ply is the rating, they are likely 2 or maybe 3 plays on the sidewall.
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I don’t care if the sidewalls are softer. Still has the same load index and a better ride. Plus I can still pull the TT without sway and no WDH.
 
Ritchie_Rich said:
I don’t care if the sidewalls are softer. Still has the same load index and a better ride. Plus I can still pull the TT without sway and no WDH.
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What tires have softer sidewalls than the trashforce?

If tires are causing sway and requiring a WDH something is severely wrong.

There are definitely plenty of tires that ride better than the OEM ones.
 
AH64ID said:
What tires have softer sidewalls than the trashforce?

If tires are causing sway and requiring a WDH something is severely wrong.

There are definitely plenty of tires that ride better than the OEM ones.
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You obviously aren’t reading my posts. I don’t have any trailer sway and don’t use a WDH. SMH
 
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