My truck has a decent ride on stock shocks from the factory. Bit on the spoungy side for me . . . but they do have 62K and nine years on them.

Opinion of ride quality is kind of relative to what you are used to, and what you like. What one driver thinks about the ride given by a particular brand of shocks could be radically different from what a second driver thinks in the same truck, doing the same test.

I've been considering getting some new shocks, and I also wonder what type to get. I wouldn't mind getting some that are a bit stiffer. I've not done a lot of research yet, but it should be possible to get some anecdotal advice about which shocks are most popular for our trucks, which will at least narrow the field a bit.

Buying new shocks is like buying boots online. You never know if they are going to fit you . . .

 

Love my rancho 5000's.

If you want adjustable go 9000's, then dial it in.

 

The truck is used as a DD to work, and trips to the grocery store, etc. It has always beat me to death, even before I put the Gabriels on it. I just want to find a shock that will give me a smoother ride. Looking at Bilsteins---what do you guys think?

 

monroe reflex do a good job, its a 2 way shock, meaning it has compression too not just rebound

 

Sounds like it is time for a car. My Z85 rode car-like before I messed it up. Since you are lowered, it will never ever ride like stock. Shocks are not the answer to correct a vehicle with modified suspension.

What air pressure do you keep in your tires?

Or take it to a front end shop and have them do an inspection. Perhaps there are faulty components like worn out bushing or ball joints. To be totally honest, that truck should ride very soft stock.

 

It never has had a soft ride. And lowering the truck had no effect on the ride----all I did was lower the back 3" with blocks and crank down the Torsion Bars to level it out. The front actually rode a hair softer after lowering it---but not much. And I run 30 psi in the tires. I had the front end aligned after dropping it---they said everything on the front end was good. :grin:

 

Must be an issue with taste in ride quality. Each person has a definition to describe what a harsh or softer ride mean.

Good luck with your shocks.

 

I installed a set of Rancho 9000's on my 2004 Taco CC, set # 2 for comfort, but then you get tire bounce (like a shock gone bad) on normal roads and wheel hop on hard acceleration. #3 was an ok compromise, didn’t keep the truck long enough to experiment more…had a set of Bilsteen's on my 97 Silverado, the comfort shock was too soft (probably because of the heavy Michelin tires 265/70/16's) and the heavy duty too stiff. i ended up going back with the comfort shocks and helper spring ... On my 05 Coly z85 I had stock shocks with a shortened Suzuki leaf spring clamped to the front side of the leaf pack, same idea as the hellwig helper spring. Worked excellent imo for over 120k miles. On my 12 Canyon z85, I have stock shocks and the rears are soft, anything but perfect roads and the back end is all over the place after hitting a bump and the dreaded tire bounce effect. So I replaced them with a set of Monroe Reflex’s, it has a stiff short bouncy ride, i thought after a few thousand miles they would soften up, but no luck. For now I dropped in a 60lb bag of sand, which helped tremendously, but messy :-? As soon as I can find a set, I’m going back to my Suzuki leaf spring and oem shocks … if your suspension is kinda stiff, go with a "softer" shock? maybe try oem shocks from a z85?

 

Problem solved---I ordered a set of Bilstein shocks and installed them yesterday---made a world of difference!! I can actually jump on the rear bumper and the suspension will give now---whereas with the Gabriels it was stiff as ****! I know the Bilsteins cost twice as much as the Gabriels---and are obviously a softer shock---but I am happy with the ride. :grin:

Anyone want a set of Gabriel Ultra's with less than 5,000 miles???