What shocks for performance driving?

[kyotey1693]

I posted this in the shock thread but it doesn't seem to get much attention. Can you all shed some light for me?

I'm pretty new on the lowered truck subject. I just got an 89 c1500 with a 4/6 drop. It has dropped spindles in the front (no clue what shocks) and leafs in the rear with a C notch in the frame and air shocks. I plan on using this as a work truck (I run a swimming pool business so it will carry a very light load). I am not sure what the truck needs regarding shocks. I read all 4 pages of this thread but I dont see what shocks work best for different applications. Or do they all have pretty much the same rates? I am a little worried about the air shocks in the rear. Isnt that sort of a bandaid or redneck solution for a dropped rear? I dont imagine they have very good rebound or damping rates.

Overall the trucks seems to ride fairly decent. Nothing about the ride is harsh but I do notice it skips sideways across bumps. Kinda like it's in an earthquake. Does that make sense? I realize some of that has to do with the hockey pucks I have for tires but I imagine most of it is due to the shocks.

So what can I go with to keep the truck planted?

 

[sewlow]

On my blue truck, (2/4 drop) I have the Doetsch Nitro Slammers. They're just O.K. Compression rates aren't too bad, but the rebound is not the best. Too fast. Kinda bouncy in the front. Not really a 'performance' shock.
My black truck has Belltech Street Performers. I like them much better. Compression & rebound are more in the ballpark of what I have been looking for. They are also quite a bit beefier in size.
The ultimate shocks that are on my future mod dream list, are the Steeda QA1's. They make 2 models for GMT400's. A single adjustable (rebound only) style, which I have seen used on 1st gen. Camaros, that are pulling close to, or just over 1G in the twisties. Not even considering those, as they also make a double adjustable shock (compression & rebound) for our trucks. But, & it's a big 'but', the damn things, by the time they get to my door, are (ready?) $375.00! EACH!!!
Yea! $1500.00 for 4 shocks! Like I said. On my dream list!

The air shocks are a band-aid solution. Not the best for anything other than helping when carrying a load. You're better off with a set of helper bags. I have a set around here that I'll sell if you want, but they would need brackets fabbed up, & an air line kit.

You may want to consider relocating your upper rear shock mounts. When a 4/6 drop is done to these trucks, the shocks with the stock upper mount positions, don't work very well due to the angle that they are laid out at. Relocating the mounts closer to the rear end housing makes a big dif in the handling. The shocks work the way that they are designed to.
With the Belltech street performers, decent sway bars front & rear, full urethane suspension & body mounts, according to my 'G'-tech Pro, I've pulled .98 of a 'G'. How accurate that is is debatable. I figure that that number is closer to .92. The limiting factors are my tires & shocks.

I've posted pix of the rear suspension mods on my '98 before, (Really have to start a build thread!) but if you want, I'll post them up again. That'll be later, cause I really have to get to work & produce something today!

Is the crossmember on your box above the rear end pumpkin notched?

 

[kyotey1693]

Thanks for all the info man. I appreciate the offer on the helper bags but I dont really want to add an air system to the truck. Not unless I have too. My upper mounts were never changed. They are still in the stock location. At least they appear to be to me. The shocks are at a pretty aggressive angle to the rear end. Is there a relocation kit for doing this or am I looking at some cut and fab work on my own (not affraid of doing it, just dont have place to tear into something like that right now)?

Did you mean the bed cross member? It is notched but they didnt fill it back with a plate. The frame is C notched. It looks to be tough enough but it's not the prettiest and not how I would have done it. Would a rear sway bar help things any? If so, which one?

Any input on the easiest way to relocate the shocks? Does hotchkis make good stuff for out trucks? I know they are pretty good for some of the auto-x guys in cars.

Thanks again for your input. I really appreciate it.

 

[sewlow]

This is a mod that is easier to do with the box off. As far as I know, there is not a kit available for this.
Pic of the stock upper shock mount. At this point, the new custom c-notch is installed, & the frame in behind has been boxed.

Driver side.

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This where the U.S.M is relocated to.

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The U.S.M. does need to be modded, as the frame is narrower as it goes to the front, so you can see that we had to do a little bit of slicing & dicing to get it to fit.
From the factory, the shocks are not an even distance from the r.housing. The driver side was the side that was done first. In the first pic, you can see the pre-existing hole that the mount was moved forward & bolted to.
The passenger side was a bit more of a bear to do 'cause we had to drill some holes in the frame in order for the shocks to be the same distance from the housing.

I have rear sway bars on both my trucks. Some people don't like them, 'cause in certain situations, they can make the truck a bit 'tail-happy'. Stutter bumps, & railroad tracks, if encountered at speed, makes the rear want to come around a bit. It's really not too bad. I find that rarely happening, but it's good to be aware of that. 99% of the time, they are an advantage. Makes the front & rear of the truck feel much more connected to each other. The rear bar actually keeps the front from diving in the corners, &/or lifting the rear inside tire. Posi helps.
My '97 has a Denalli/Escalade/SUV sway bar modded to fit. $50.00 from the wreckers. This is an easy install. It can be done with the box on. Just make sure to get the brackets & the bolts. The nuts that the factory uses for the mounts are specific. They have a key on them that prevents them from turning by locking up against the side of the frame. These are very important to get, as you cannot get a wrench or socket in there. There are rivets in the frame right where the brackets mount to the frame. Instaed of removing 'em, I drilled a hole in the brackets so they could saddle up over top of the rivets.
The trucks that came with sway bars, have mounts on the rearend housing that are not removable. For this I used 3" H.D. long muffler clamps. They fit in between the shock mounts & the r.e.housing. One faces forward, the other towards the rear.
Before I installed this, I replaced all the bushings for the bar with urethane. Had to go to the parts store to go through their selection to find the ones that fit. Cheap!

My '98 has modded sway bar mounts & shock extenders. The sway bar is an aftermarket one, also a wrecker find. Had to make some frame mounts for this one, as the donor vehicle's were welded to it's frame.

The '98's sway bar set-up.

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The sway bar mounts we made. These were a couple of pieces for 'something' (don't know what) that I had around. Some angle iron with a couple of slots in 'em. Cut off the corners, & we came up with these evil looking things!

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The finished mods.

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Hope this helps!

 

[kyotey1693]

Wow! Thanks man! Looks like I have a lot of work to do on this thing.

 

[stroker52]

i kinda did what sewlow did but with a twist lol... i just cut all my shock mounts off and started over lol.. this was on my LS swapped 96.. i boxed all my frame from the cab back to stop the twist of the frame then got me some PRO1 race shocks with a 6/6 valving to start with.. i loved the way the truck handled..

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[sewlow]

Stroker, that's the first time that I've seen your boxed frame. When I put my new box on, along with a couple of suspension changes, that's what I'm doing to mine. Can't wait to see how that improves the handling.

 

[stroker52]

not sure if you ever notice on these trucks while driving.. when you go over bumps at speeds or rail road tracks kinda fast the bed jumps around on the frame.. well thats not the bed it the frame twisting or what i call high speed shutter lol.. mine didnt do that anymore after i boxed it in..

 

[sewlow]

Both my trucks have a vibration. On my '98 I spent a bunch trying to find it. Motor mounts, tranny mount, balanced the driveshaft & the wheels, replaced the drums, changed the wheels. Changed the axles. Rebuilt the rear end including changing gears from 3.42 to 3.73. Nothing cured it. Then, I found out that G.M. was aware of this problem. Their cure? Throw 500lbs. of 'ballast' in the box! WTF??? Boxing the frame seems to be the right & proper fix!
500lbs of 'ballast'? Thanks, G.M!

 

[ChrisAU]

A full tank of gas and a toolbox full of heavy sh*t has the same neutralizing quality lol. It can be scary in a completely unloaded truck though.