Best ride quality challenge

I have been reading the endless post about suspension modifications for 4WD that much improve the ride quality for trucks that are lifted and trucks that are not. My truck is a box stock TRD Sport Access Cab with 11000 mi. So what can I do to improve the ride without lifting or adding oversize tires. My wife uses it from time to time as a mall crawler. and feels it rides to rough over parking lot speed bumps. She reminds me the lease on her Escape is almost up, and we should decide which we should keep.
So is there a better shock option ?

 

My '16 Off Road rides so much nicer than my friends '16 Sport. By "nicer' I mean much softer on pot holes/speedbumps. The sport is tuned be firm for better on road handling. So maybe just get a set of OEM Bilstein shocks that someone is selling from their Off Road. There is certainly no shortage of them with all the suspension mods people do, and they're pretty cheap so if it's not what you're looking for you could just resell them.

 

16" rims, so that you have taller side walls on your tires will give you a more compliant ride.

 

Just head to the for sale section and grab some billy's someone has pulled from their OR.

 

Do shocks really make a difference? All they are doing is dampening the spring return. right?(asking, I have no real idea) I think it has to be the 16" wheels or a spring difference personally.

 

No, they dampen both the rebound & compression stroke.

To the OP, to keep stock items get all 4 OR shocks (cheap option), or pro front struts and rear shocks (more expensive). You should be able to get some OR shocks for next to nothing used, just to try them out.

If you want to see what 16" wheels will feel like, drop the psi in your 17" to 25 maybe 20 psi. Obviously don't drive like that for long as you'll overheat the tires.

 

I am not disagreeing, by any stretch, and I understand they "dampen" but aren't the springs what actually hold the vehicle up and shocks reduce/increase the reaction? I've never had shocks change the ride of anything, unless they were completely shot. I mean I can move them by hand, albeit with some force, but the truck weighs 5,000 pounds+. I am having a hard time believing a shock swap makes that big of a difference in the ride. I've nothing to base that on, just discussing. (basically I can't defend anything I am saying )

 

Yup agreed with the above. Get the OR shocks. I have a set sitting in my garage but not ready to sell yet.

 

WTF?

Forgive my response are you serious?

 

As a heart attack. I'm asking in all seriousness. I get they slow the "bounce" but don't understand how they can soften a ride.

 

Yes the springs are what holds the truck up, but shocks change the speed of how the spring moves up and down, they do this by valving. Moving a shock slowly (by hand) you won't feel a masive about of resistance on a shock designed for a light vehicle like the Tacoma, but try to move it quickly, and you will feel a huge amount of resistance, so much that you won't be abke to do it with your weight/strength.

 

If you noticed that the ride changed when the shocks were "shot" does it not make sense that shocks can ride differently if valved differently?

There are progressive and digressive shocks with different valving. Shocks can be valved to be super squishy and soft and vice versa a stiff shock is valved to be stiffer often this is better road handling manners.

Here's some light reading.

http://www.buykingshocks.com/king_shock_valving.html

 

This I understand. Thank you sir.

 

This is what I understand, I have never gotten how it slows the down process enough to smooth a harsh hit, but I can see as force increase the fluid doesn't compress and a shock becomes a resistance. Just never thought about until this thread

 

Is she braking as the wheels go over the bump?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MsKf1lIYI0

Long video but worth a watch, kind of explains how they work and different shocks.

 

When I went to Bilstein 5100s on all 4 corners. I couldn't believe the difference it made. Night and day. I was also under the impression that shocks didnt make a big difference but now I know. If they didn't, people wouldn't spent 500 bucks on a pair.

 

Ride quality is all about shocks. I can write a big long technical explanation if you want but... shocks are the answer. Listen to the feedback above. Get a used or new set of Bilsteins if you want a softer ride.

 

Shocks will make a big difference. I changed the shocks on my Limited from the Hitachis to Bilstein 5100's. The stock shocks in your Sport are even harder than the ones in the Limited. The SR and the Limited have the same stock shocks. The OR has stock Bilsteins. Your best bet is to get a set of take-off Bilstein shocks from an Off Road, which are Bilstein 4600's, almost the same as the 5100s. I agree with a lot of the posts in your thread.

 

The Sport lives up to it's name as this truck is concerned. Many people buy a firm mattress and complain that it is too stiff.