improving ride

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Hi Guys,

I would like some opinions on improving ride quality. My old back has been giving me trouble lately and the constant jarring of the ride of my 4X4 is causing me pain. I have changed wheels to 16 X 8 and tires to Bridgestone duelers 265/75/R16. I have airlift airbags on the rear and Rancho RS9000 shocks. Experimenting with shock settings I find 5 on the front eliminates front end hop and 1 on the rear with air bags at 12/15 psi. gives the best ride. This is a 91. 5 W250. The truck runs so great now with the turbo, injector and exhaust mods I don't want to get rid of it if I can help it. I bought it new and I only have 36,231 miles on it. It is better than when brand new. However it is now my daily driver and I need to do something. I have considered Kelderman air suspension or maybe complete new springs from National Spring built specific for my needs. What do you think? Sorry for the long post but I wanted to give you all the info on the truck. Thanks

Jerry

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91 W250 4X4 LE, ARE Campershell, stainless running boards, Grill guard, K&N, A/R Nitro 16X8 wheels, Bridgeston Deuelers, Air Bags, 16cm2 turbo BD performance injectors, BD 3. 5" exhaust, tweaked pump

 

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Can't add much to what you have done, but you may want to reduce the air pressure in the tires if you are running them at maximum. I always find that my truck rides a heck of a lot better if I carry a load. It seems to me that a couple of weeks ago there was a post dealing with tire pressure. You may want to do a search.


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92LE,Cummins,Tach,4x4,5spd,3. 54,Borgeson steering shaft,

 

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Al

I have looked at tire pressure and played with that also, but without much notable improvement. I would like to get as much mileage from the tires and as good fuel milage as possible. Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe I am to picky. Now a quadcab, shortbed, 2wd, posi, with all the goodies may fix the problem, but then I read the 2nd gen site too. Don't tell anybody but I think our 1st gens are better. LOL

Jerry

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91 W250 4X4 LE, ARE Campershell, stainless running boards, Grill guard, K&N, A/R Nitro 16X8 wheels, Bridgeston Deuelers, Air Bags, 16cm2 turbo BD performance injectors, BD 3. 5" exhaust, tweaked pump

 

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Hey Jerry!

You might want to consider going to a set of the Skyjacker 2 1/2" front springs to improve the ride. Also set of "D" rated tires can improve ride if you don't haul heavy loads or a camper often. Are your 265's "E" Or "D" rated? I think you're probably already at a "D" rated tire with a 265/75/16. I feel that the Skyjackers made the greatest improvment in the ride, even over tire choice.

Check out the post near the top titled "front springs" for details & part numbers!

My buddy that sold me the truck says, it rides better now than his 2000 QC dually 4X4 offroad.

Just a thought... ... . Keeno

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1992 W250 5spd. 3. 54 gears, LSD, JRE enhanced VE Injector Pump, BD High Output Injectors, Banks "Stinger Plus" consisting of a 14cm2 wastegated housing, 3 1/2" JRE modified exhaust/muffler, pyro/boost gages, K&N, Skyjacker 2 1/2" front suspension lift to clear 305/70R/16 Goodyear MT's, Mag-Hytec, Amsoil

[This message has been edited by KEENO (edited 08-08-2000). ]

[This message has been edited by KEENO (edited 08-08-2000). ]

 

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Keeno,

Thanks for the feed back. This past Friday, matter of fact, I went to our local Desert Rat off road store and inquired about Skyjacker soft ride springs front and rear. I told them I wasn't to interested in raising the truck but did want to improve the ride. They told me the soft ride springs would not ride any better than stock, only better than other lift kit springs. I remember seeing ads in Four Wheeler for 0"-1" Skyjacker soft ride springs and I was thinking about getting
them. I appreciate your input, I was going to post and ask for feedback on lift kits and ride. A guy hates to spend money hoping something will work, but with more input from people who have, been there - done that, you can hopefully make a better decision. My Bridgestones are actually C rated, but I have Michelens D rated on extra wheels if I need to do any heavy pulling. I don't haul anything in the bed and I am in between RV's right now. I have even thought of dual shock setups. Any ideas out there?

Jerry

 

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Hey Jerry!

I believe that much the ride quality comes from the degree of 'arch' in a set of springs. There's a significant difference even between the Skyjacker 2 1/2" springs vs. the Skyjacker 4" springs in arch. I disagree with what the desert Rat folks told you about the 2 1/2" SJ springs, they do unconditionally ride better than the front OEM springs in every situation. I realize that they do have more arch over the OEM springs but are constructed using teflon insulators between the leafs & polyurethane bushings. These differences allow for a better riding spring even with more arch.

I like them so much that if I was planning on lifting my truck further I would utilize the 2 1/2" springs and modify the front attachment bracket and use extended, beefier rear shackles to maintain the ride & articulation over the Skyjacker 4" system.

Any other opinions out there for Jerry?... ... Keeno

[This message has been edited by KEENO (edited 08-09-2000). ]

 

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Jerry, send an e-mail to Bob Connor (aka "Mr. Bob") at mrbob@frazmtn.com and ask him about the "Roadmaster" active suspension kit he sells. I have a set on the rear of my '97 2500, and they work great. In a nutshell, they're a set of coil springs laying flat on top of the rear leaf springs, and they hook over the shackle end of the spring, pulling on the end of the spring to keep it in an arc. Visualize pulling on a sawblade to bend the blade. When hitting a bump, the leaf spring wants to flatten out, but as it does the Roadmaster spring gets stretched and forces the spring back into its normal arc. I don't know if I'm explaining it right, but all I know is my truck rides a whole lot better with them on! This is a product that really works. They were originally made for ambulances in South Africa. Roy at Mag-Hytec raved about them and told me I have to have them.
Andy

 

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I just found another thread that covers the same topic, you might want to check it out on the 2nd generation forum: https://www.turbodieselregister.com/ubb//Forum17/HTML/000367.html
Andy

 

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The lift kit works, because the standard truck has from an inch to 2 inches before the axle hits the bump stop in the front. Raising that gives you much more travel, resulting in far less "jarring" on relatively smooth road. Also, using very solid shocks and softer springs will improve your ride. Use softer springs in front and firmer in back (most "ride" kits do this), and good firm shocks all the way around.

IF you have a good place to do it nearby, you could have your springs re-arched, to raise the truck 1-2 inches, and make the springs more slowly progressive than stock. This means there's less arch in the shorter leaves and more in the longer ones, giving more travel before the high-rate secondary leaves kick in. If you don't carry heavy stuff, you can remove some extra leaves in the back, too.

 

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You might want to try a suspention seat like the bostrum. It worked for my back. See "soft ride" a few lines down, and good luck. Mike.

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92w250 club cab auto 16cm 3. 5exh. 50gal aux. k+n 30+psi boost 4 guages

 

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Hey Guys

Thanks for all the feedback. You have given me a lot of research to do. I will look into all of your suggestions. Thanks again.

Jerry

 

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A couple things that may help. First if you have the room between the axle and bumpstop, have a leaf taken out of each spring pack. Some of the first gen trucks have a lot of extra spring. Also if you don't need the air bags, get rid of them, they will add to the roughness of the ride, even with 15 psi. I've got a buddy with a 91. 5 and a bad back and he hauls a thousand pounds or so around just for the ride. I wish you luck on you problem.