Suspension

is it possible to make my 2022 TRD LWB CREW 4x4 into a smoother ride and soften the suspension? And could I possibly improve turning ratio?

 

Smoother ride, yes. Turning radius and/or pulls of the wheel, not so much.

When you say TRD, is it the Sport or Off-Road? Those are two different setups, and it will help narrow down what "smooth" means to you.

 

Sorry, Off Road.

 

What’s your tire pressure? Lower it and then do a ”chalk test”.

 

Ok.

The real difficult part about describing suspension is that everyone has a different opinion about what the suspension should be doing. Consequently, the myriad of brands and engineers that make suspension also have different opinions, therefore each shock will have slightly different handling.

The nasty trick to it is to absorb as many reviews as possible to get the general consensus of each, and compare them to your own wants.

So... When you say smoother, are we talking high speed or low speed? Is the pavement too jarring, or is it pogo-sticking too much? Same thing when off- road, are the rocks too jarring, or are the washboard trails a problem?

I do agree with @rnish . If road potholes are producing too much of a "bang" to your backside, check tire pressure. Compare it against the sticker in your door jamb. Normally the stock OR shocks are very plush - to the point where a few reviews actually complain about too much wallow/roll/dive when cornering or harsh braking.

There do exist shocks that are even softer than the stock bilsteins, but those usually start at a mid-tier or higher price point. Alternatively, I'm on a shock that is very firm on low speed flex, and very forgiving with high speed impacts. It makes for a great road-driving shock.

At any rate I'd be playing with tires first before making that semi-expensive jump.


Sorry for the wall. I hope I'm conveying that the more descriptive one gets, the easier it is to narrow down a solution.

 

@rocklobster2008 thank you. I do not off road. I’m looking for a softer, smoother ride in town and hwy, pavement. Some of the words you used are foreign to me. I’m an older female, but just love the look of these.

@rnish As for tire pressure, I have tried to keep it at 35 or more. What pressure might help?

 

Stock tires that have the letter P in their size? 29 psi.

Look for this sticker to confirm.


Mid 30's would definitely explain a jarring feeling on bumps.

 

Research “chalk test”. It is a reasonably easy way to check the appropriateness of your new tire pressure. Regardless. Try 32-30 PSI front, 28-26 rear. Highly suggest a chalk test.

 

If you know someone with a sport you drive and see the difference between it and your off road. Sports are a bit softer and that shock style might be all the difference you need.

 

That really depends on what you mean by soft.

Shocks are really defined by three behaviors - low speed compression (think slowly crawling over a speed bump or hitting a dip in the road), high speed compression (think rolling up a curb at speed or a similar jarring impact), and rebound (how quickly the shock will allow spring extension). For the minute we're going to ignore the influence of sway bars.

The primary difference between the Sport Hitachis and the OR Bilsteins are going to be in the compression behavior. The Sport is much more firm on the low speed and has some very basic forgiveness on the high speed impacts. By contrast the OR Billies are more forgiving on the low side. On the rebound, the Sport is almost too unrestrained with it, leading to a somewhat jarring feeling, while the OR is a little slower on rebound.

So what does that gobbledygook mean in the real world? Here's how they compare:

Sport

• On pavement, it feels more firm, and yet oddly it does well with hitting small cracks in the pavement. The nose feels stiff in corners, there is no noticable dipping when hitting the brakes. It's a much more confident truck on the tarmac, as there's much less roly-poly behavior from our normal stop and go commuting.
• On washboard gravel, it's a tooth rattler, thanks to the unforgiving rebound.
• On rolling, dip-hill-dip terrain, its going to feel like a roller coaster.

OR

• On pavement, it's going to feel less confident. There will be more body roll and dipping compared against other trims. Road seams will be felt more.
• On washboard gravel, it's smoother than the Sport. It's still not great and the shocks are known for overheating on this type of terrain, but it's not going to vibrate your eyeballs like the Sport does. The easier compression and slower rebound means the tires are going to float over the top of it more than the Sport can.
• On rolling terrain, it's going to smooth the transitions much better than the Sport. It will be a comparatively more evened out ride.

Both shocks are going to be very basic examples, where even a modest aftermarket purchase will have better internal valving and more complex behavior than either of these two. That said, neither are bad. It just depends on your driving style and wants.