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06' Silverado beats me to death!! Rough ride. Need to make smooth.

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Old 06-11-2009, 06:09 AM
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Default 06' Silverado beats me to death!! Rough ride. Need to make smooth.

I have a 06' Silverado ECSB, and it beats the ever living **** out of me and my family. Granted, I live in Louisiana, and our roads are ****, but anyhow.
The ride is very stiff, almost 3/4ton like. No mush at all.


It has the optional suspension package (torsion bars on the front as opposed to coil springs) Also, it has the factory GM 20in wheels.


I originally thought it might have been the 20s, But the tire still has a ton of sidewall. Even so, I swapped them out for a OEM set of 17s with the factory sized tires on them. No help there.

Also, my father has the same truck I do, but without the optional suspension, and it rides MUCH better. Much mushier, and forgiving.


Obviously, I dont want to replace the front suspension setup, and driving around with 1500lbs of dirt in the bed just to get it to ride good is not an option either.


Shocks are about the only thing I can think of. The truck only has 45k on it, so the factory ones are not worn out. But I know they are stiffer than the regular ones.
Anyone know anything about the shocks these trucks come with?
Are there any shocks out there that would be worthwile replacing with?
Old 06-11-2009, 07:40 AM
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its gonna be a rough ride. i have the same setup, mine was, but i lowered it. it used to be a very stiff ride.. now its alot smoother. but if you use your truck to haul i would leave it. maybe some new shocks for sure. goodluck.
Old 06-11-2009, 10:06 PM
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weird, the shocks on my 06 were completely crap, but in the opposite direction. it felt like i was driving a 1970's Cadillac the front end would just bounce and bounce... for the front end ,try new shocks, or try letting a little air out of the tires, mine were at 44 lbs. and they didn't need to be, i lowered them to mfg.spec, the steering wasn't as responsive, but it was a smoother ride, or decrank the torsion bars a little bit to lose some preload, just have it aligned afterward. but for the back end the only thing i can think to change the ride besides shocks is go to a softer leaf spring, i've heard there is a comfort ride package that was available, and it basically came with v6 leaf springs. you might try to pm parke10 on here he has them on his 06 rcsb and says they're really soft.
Old 06-11-2009, 10:32 PM
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You might want to try some air bag helpers also.
Old 06-11-2009, 11:39 PM
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My truck is a V6 and my rcsb rides like a railcar around town and hops over everything with the SS 20's and 295's.....only seems to smooth out around 80
Old 06-12-2009, 12:23 AM
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The problem is your shocks. You need to replace them with large-body monotube designed shocks. Mine are KYB Monomax, and they have been working great for 3 years(with 20's and 22's, the wheels are VERY heavy), but there are several other brands available also.

If you had stock shocks with your 20's, they are shot. Mine were crap at 10,000 miles, in 2001.
Old 06-12-2009, 12:40 AM
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+1 on the shocks
Old 06-12-2009, 01:14 AM
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Did you buy it used? I'd check to see how much the torsion bars are cranked. The front jouncer should be slightly sitting on the lower control arm.
Old 06-12-2009, 02:17 AM
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I am the original owner, so negative on any adjustments.

I do use the truck as a truck, and pull a trailer from time to time.

I guess ill look into some new shocks.

Any recomendations?

I see KYBs, anything else I should look into? I dont need some uber-pimp $400 per set shocks. Just a solid shock that has more give than the apparent I-beams I am currently running.
Old 06-12-2009, 08:03 AM
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Originally Posted by black04
Did you buy it used? I'd check to see how much the torsion bars are cranked. The front jouncer should be slightly sitting on the lower control arm.
not on our trucks. i had about 2" of space between the lca and jouncer. they come lifted already that high.
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