Suspension Help with 2005 Silverado

[milesp07]

Hey guys, So this is officially my first post. I've been a member for a while and spend my free time reading up on all the bad ass rides you guys have...they have served as inspiration for me and given me a direction for my truck.

Anyways, the reason I'm posting is to see what you guys recommend suspension wise for my truck. My goal is to build an all around truck for the street that's comfortable, handles well, stops, and hauls ass. Its a 2005 Silverado regular cab 2wd w/ a 4.8 and an automatic. I've already lowered it 2/4 with Mcgaughy's spindles in the front and a flip kit and lift hangers in the rear. I'm also running Eibach front and rear sway bars along with Bilstein HD shocks (relocated w/ adjustable mounts in the rear).

So here is my dilemma; the current setup doesn't ride that great. I have a feeling its related mostly to my shocks. I know they do make drop shocks for my truck but having them relocated pretty much ruins that plan and I don't think that they would satisfy me anyways. I may in the future lower it a an inch more front and rear as well as running slightly wider wheels/tires.

As I see it I have two options...



Option 1: double adjustable shocks front and rear, and if i still have wheel hop (which is a problem now) in the rear i can add Caltracs or assassin bars.

Pros: Less expensive. Simple.
Cons: Not easy to dial in spring rate ( I'm pretty much stuck with what I have.)
May not ride as well as with 4 link/ coilovers.
Cant run any wider wheels/tires than what I have now. I may want to run a wider rear tire in the future.


Option 2: parallel 4 link/ panhard bar and double adjustable coilovers for the rear. Double adjustable coilovers for the front and possibly new ridetech strong arms or build my own upper and lower mounts with stock control arms.

Pros: Potentially better ride quality/ handling. Adjustability. No more wheel hop. More clearance for wider wheels.
Cons: More expensive. If not set up right I could actually make ride quality/handling worse.

So what do you guys think? I don't mind going the 4 link/ coilover route but I don't want to spend 2X as much to gain 2% better ride quality. I'm just not sure if its worth it and it will be pretty hard to go back once I go the 4 link/coilover route. I also don't want to just change the shocks and be disappointed with the ride. Thanks in advance for the help and sorry for the long post....this decision has been bothering me and i just wanted to get it all out there. Also I've attached a picture so you guys can see what I'm working with.

[1truckguy78]

I personally like the ridetech idea. Im sure you'd see the most substantial improvement.

[milesp07]

Thanks man, After doing some more research I think that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to build some adjustable 4 link brackets for the rear so I can get it dialed in the way I want it. The ridetech arms in the front look awesome as well and seem to help with ball joint angles when lowered.

[milesp07]

So I've decided on ridetech single adjustable coil over front and rear. Since I'm starting from scratch how much travel would I need for a street driven truck? I'm trying to decide which travel shocks. I need for the rear. I'm mounting the shocks directly to the axle so I'm assuming my travel will be the same as my shock stroke if they are mounted vertically. Would 6" be enough travel?

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

ridetech shocks.jpg Views: 1917 Size: 11.5 KB" style="float: CONFIG" />Measure the center-to-center distance on your current shocks to get an idea for the ride height length. This measurement will help determine which shock length to go with. Their website lists the extended and compressed length for the sizes available, so try to keep your "at ride height" measurement somewhere in the middle. As long as you stay with at least 5" of travel in you shock stroke, you should be good on the truck. The ridetech shocks usually have more travel available when compared to other similar length shocks, so it should be pretty easy to find the shock you need. Hope this info helps.

[milesp07]

Thanks for the info. So if I run the shocks with 5" travel should be set up for 2.5" inches of compression and 2.5" of rebound? or 3" and 2"?

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

I like 3" of compression and 2" extension with 5" of travel, 3 & 3 if you go with a 6" shock. It's not much, but I like the extra compression for street driving, but I'm from Michigan, a.k.a. pot hole capital of the world. lol

[jerome]

Keep in mind that shock travel is less than wheel travel in the front because of the motion ratio, so you will have greater than 5" wheel travel. A good thing.

[milesp07]

Thanks guys...I calculated at the angle I can mount them and I should have roughly 5.5" of travel. Should be good to go. Thanks again for all the help...I cant wait to start working on it!

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

Good luck! It's a great looking truck, keep us posted.