Suspension
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by: CARiD

Which rides rougher?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Mar 6, 2014 | 09:18 PM
  #1  
dixielandelight's Avatar
Thread Starter
|
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Which rides rougher?

Which will ride rougher?? A body lift or a suspension lift?
 
Reply
Old Mar 6, 2014 | 10:07 PM
  #2  
F150redFx4's Avatar
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 162
Likes: 0
From: WNY
Suspension. Body lift doesn't change any suspension components or drive line angles
 
Reply
Old Mar 6, 2014 | 10:34 PM
  #3  
pizzaman711's Avatar
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 5,534
Likes: 0
From: Mechanicsville, VA
A true drop down crossmember suspension lift doesn't change suspension angles either. As for the ride, it can be more dependent on parts chosen. Some people find that it rides better than stock with the lift than factory.
 
Reply
Old Mar 6, 2014 | 11:04 PM
  #4  
KMAC0694's Avatar
Senior Member
Truck of the Month
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 6,677
Likes: 0
From: Houston and College Station, TX
^that

Body lifts create a lot of body roll though. Good lifts can actually tighten the front end up and make it more rigid (in a good way). But the type of shocks can affect the ride too. I would have to say that a suspension lift will generally ride rougher than a simple body.
 
Reply
Old Mar 7, 2014 | 10:16 AM
  #5  
Pockets's Avatar
Senior Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1,836
Likes: 1
From: NY
I would say that the suspension does not matter as much as we think, in fact I got better shocks aftermarket than OEM with a longer travel.

From what I was told shocks should be replaced like every three years, don't know if this is true or not but I believe it my stocks were like mush when I took them off. So theoretically any change in the shocks will be for the better if they are older than three years.

I would say the biggest change in "feel" of your ride is the TIRES. God almighty my load range E tires bounce me around so much I think there is parts in my truck that are just going to fall off. Plus the roads are so ****ty now because of the pot holes it's about 10x worse.
 
Reply
Old Mar 7, 2014 | 12:48 PM
  #6  
wandell's Avatar
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 28,203
Likes: 2
From: cairo,ga
Pockets makes a great point.
 
Reply
Old Mar 7, 2014 | 02:12 PM
  #7  
Galaxy's Avatar
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 4,293
Likes: 6
Except for his comment about shocks with longer travel affecting the ride. The length of travel has no bearing on how the performance of the shock will influence the ride. Also, the length of the shock does not (and should not) determine the amount of travel in a suspension. If the shock is the travel limiting factor, you've got issues; or you'll have issues soon enough.

The post that makes the most sense thus far is KMAC! Theoretically, with OTS suspension lifts, nothing that affects the ride is changes. Most lift retain all the stock springs; and that's the component that determines ride quality. But as KMAC said, after I installed my lift, I couldn't believe how firm, tight, and controlled the whole truck. Better than brand new stock by a factor of 5 at least!

The concensus is factory shocks are good for ~40,000 mile range, if that. A top shelf, quality aftermarket shock should at least get you 80-100,000 miles without any extremely noticeable drop off in performace.
 
Reply
Old Mar 9, 2014 | 05:07 AM
  #8  
KMAC0694's Avatar
Senior Member
Truck of the Month
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 6,677
Likes: 0
From: Houston and College Station, TX
Originally Posted by Galaxy
Except for his comment about shocks with longer travel affecting the ride. The length of travel has no bearing on how the performance of the shock will influence the ride. Also, the length of the shock does not (and should not) determine the amount of travel in a suspension. If the shock is the travel limiting factor, you've got issues; or you'll have issues soon enough.

The post that makes the most sense thus far is KMAC! Theoretically, with OTS suspension lifts, nothing that affects the ride is changes. Most lift retain all the stock springs; and that's the component that determines ride quality. But as KMAC said, after I installed my lift, I couldn't believe how firm, tight, and controlled the whole truck. Better than brand new stock by a factor of 5 at least!

The concensus is factory shocks are good for ~40,000 mile range, if that. A top shelf, quality aftermarket shock should at least get you 80-100,000 miles without any extremely noticeable drop off in performace.
MGD would get a kick out of this! Thanks haha
 
Reply
Old Mar 10, 2014 | 12:02 PM
  #9  
Galaxy's Avatar
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 4,293
Likes: 6
Yep, I know about his issues with his Bilsteins on the front. Perfect example; the shocks are too short, thus being the limiting factor of full front suspension extension. That was causing him some rough ride questions.
 
Reply




All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:50 PM.