Improved handling

[GrimsterGMC]

With where I live the plan is to maybe autocross the truck a little if I can, and twisty mountain roads. I agree the tires aren't ideal but it's the look I wanted so I just need to deal with that. Ideally I'm looking to stiffen the front a bit I added a rear swaybar which made the rear end really tight. It made the truck feel really darty and the front end felt like it would dive. I replaced the poly swaybar links up front and added rear shock relocation brackets which seemed to help. The plan is to add a solid front swaybar next and hopefully alleviate the front end diving a little bit. I know I'm not going to overcome the stiff rear as I've 5 leaf packs, and I want to maintain the load capacity. The goal is simply to continue building off what I have and hopefully make it better bit by bit if possible.

A set of adjustable shocks will help you dial in just the right amount of stiffness for each corner.

 

[BCChevyZ71]

My swaybar should be here Tuesday if I get it in during the week I'll update sooner otherwise it'll be next weekend and then if it's still diving too much adjustable shocks it is

 

[Alteca]

Do u mean the front diving during hard braking or just one side leaning because of body roll?

 

[11bravo]

If you are running the stock offset, it should be okay to put in 1/2" spacers to give you a slightly wider track. I don't know if that would cause the tires to scrub in turns, though. Just throwing out an idea.

 

[Alteca]

I believe the sway bar will help but not solve your issues. It will obviously help with the body roll(divey front end) and might help with dartiness by reducing oversteer. BUT I believe it will make your tire situation far worse by transferring more side to side load into your front tires. Overall I do think you will be happy with the upgrade but it will really make you want a new wheel tire setup to get the full use out of it.

 

[BCChevyZ71]

The best way to explain it is the back is really tight the front is looser then the back aside from shocks and poly swaybar bushings and links I've done nothing to stiffen the front. So I get a lot of oversteer which I don't entirely mind, but now the front feels like it likes to dive and body roll due to the front being so much looser then the back. So was kind of looking for suspension mods to tighten up the front, but also been going down this rabbit hole all day. I discovered that the front swaybar is only 30mm and it's hollow as well so as it stands I ordered a 30mm solid front swaybar in an effort to eliminate some of my front dive or body roll. I'd rather not eliminate all my oversteer so I'm ok with the front still being a tad looser but I wanna eliminate the body roll or dive to the front. As it stands it weight transfers hard to the outside steer tire and it feels as though the trucks going to break loose and plow which makes a guy a lot less confident in hard cornering.

 

[BCChevyZ71]

I believe the sway bar will help but not solve your issues. It will obviously help with the body roll(divey front end) and might help with dartiness by reducing oversteer. BUT I believe it will make your tire situation far worse by transferring more side to side load into your front tires. Overall I do think you will be happy with the upgrade but it will really make you want a new wheel tire setup to get the full use out of it.

Fair and ultimately if I keep down this rabbit hole it's inevitable I will eventually step up in rim diameter...I'm just hoping maybe to find that happy medium you know

 

[Alteca]

yeah I know how you feel, I was looking for a happy medium at one point and then down the rabbit hole I went… how is your steering? Have any play?

 

[BCChevyZ71]

Yeah I mean it's tough ultimately I know I'm trying to do something with a truck that was never designed at all for what I'm doing. The fact that it's a Z71 4x4 has been helpful in some ways and a major obstacle in others. I've also really just started breaking into the world of lowered trucks and understanding different handling characteristics. This is the first truck I've lowered and it's only been low for a month and a half ish...I literally leveled it bought brand new 33s and like less then a year later decided to do the complete opposite. So its a learning curve to say the least. The steering is pretty tight I just did a new moog idler and pitman and new TTX ball joints. I plan on doing the cunningham steering shaft eventually after the new front swaybar is in and TTX tie rods when needed as mine are still tight. My steering box feels pretty tight, and I installed a filter and synthetic power steering fluid a couple years back and regularly check and change if needed. That made a noticeable difference

 

[Alteca]

Maybe awd swap down the road? Seems fitting for your goals.