Softening up my new suspension

11dclb sr5 175k

Just installed new rear leafs - oem style 3+1’s. Added a 1” block in there as well. Put new Eibach shocks all around. For the front, i went with the 2nd clip from the top, for about 1.6” of lift. Stock sprins. For heavy stuff, they are great. Fell well controlled on rough terrain. No whelling, just crappy roads so far. However on the light bumps seen on average streets, i am feeling each little bump in the road, as if the shock just isn’t yeilding much. Just seems that the shocks work very well on things that move the spring a lot, but they don’t seem to compress much on the little bumps, sending it straight to the cab. It is not head jarring, but quite a bit more noticable over stock type shocks. You can feel each small bump in the road.

i like the lift and the way it handles rough stuff, just getting annoyed by feeling every bump in the road.

I have been thinking some extra weight may tame them. Considering building a small bumper up front with a winch and that would add about 125# off the nose. Could also experiment with dead weight in the bed.

does anyone with more experience with these more aggressive shocks have thoughts on this idea? Haven’t looked at the cab mounts. Any chance that is playing a part?

i picked the eibachs over the bisteins as i heard they were more forgiving in city driving which is the norm for this vehicle

 

We’ve always found the eibachs to run stiffer than 5100s. All you can do is lower the clip setting or lower tire pressure.
Extra weight only helps if the springs are heavier in my experiences. It will harm the ride for front in this scenario.

 

Remove the swaybar.
You will notice a difference.

 

thanks for the input. Wished I researched more agressively, as I found the opposite in my research. Is that clip setting adding any pre-load to the spring once the vehicle weight is on it? I have stock springs, not the taller eibach ones. I thought that if I stayed away from the top clip, that the spring would be compressed to the same level as the stock configuration. I thought it was just the higher perch setting and longer shock travel the created the lift and the reduced down travel. Is that not correct? It seems logical, as moving up the clip just to compress the spring doesn't lift the truck. I realize that with the longer springs that higher clips settings will increase pre-load, but did not think that was the case with the OEM springs.

Currently at 30 psi on 265/75-16's. How low is realistic for city/highway driving without killing mileage or wearing the outsides?

 

There's a few thoughts on the perch vs lift vs ride quality.

I'm in the camp that mid to lower clips are ideal for ride quality. I dont care what the engineering says, lift isnt free and moving the perch up makes the ride less desirable.

On top of that, the more lift, the more you change angles of suspension, so its hard to achieve better than stock ride without a really good quality coil and shock combo.

Don't go lower than 30 psi.

You may just have to live with the ride. I'd personally go down a clip or two. I hate rough rides and have lost interest in lifts haha.

 

Good points. Maybe I should go with the eibach springs and move the clip back to the bottom. Not too expensive. That would keep the lift similar. Any feedback on how that combo does on the street? Does it make things a bit less harsh? Doesn’t help the geometry issue.