First Long tow Results in HDZR2

[kylant]

I Tow a fair amount, so I didn't want to soften the rear suspension any. I actually added AirLift 5000 ultimate kit to mine so I couldn't stiffen it up some when needed. Stock was fine, but definitely wasn't too stiff. I have a bed rack, metal roll up cover and I always have stuff back there.

But my truck had plow prep package with 6000# front GAWR. The included torsion bars were 84745489. Which from what I could gather is the same bars that come on a Duramax with a plow package. Duramax is 900lb heavier in the front end, lol. A little much for my truck that will never have a plow and the lighter engine. That's why I went with the comfort ride bars. They made a very noticeable improvement on mine even with the oem keys turned up. Tows and hauls the same. Just doesn't bunny hop and beat you to death on big bumps now. Still rides like a HD, but is what it is.

my duramax had standard 5600 bars. this zr2 has 5200. the soft ride bars should make a difference. the ride is already better than my at4 2500. pretty sure it is because of the DSSV shocks. there is a stretch of freeway i drive all the time that is brutal. don't think anything is going to really make it much better. maybe those shackles . otherwise the truck rides pretty good for an HD

 

[8ball_99]

my duramax had standard 5600 bars. this zr2 has 5200. the soft ride bars should make a difference. the ride is already better than my at4 2500. pretty sure it is because of the DSSV shocks. there is a stretch of freeway i drive all the time that is brutal. don't think anything is going to really make it much better. maybe those shackles . otherwise the truck rides pretty good for an HD

Yeah, Honestly I'm not real sure why mine came with such heavy torsion bars. I expected them to be the next size up with the plow prep. Or maybe two sizes up at most. But nope, it came with duramax Heavy bars on a gas ZR2, lol. My truck is a 24 so maybe they changed it now. I mean it's cool my door jam will forever rate my front axle weight at 6k GAWR. That's one rating I'll never exceed for sure. I got one with plow prep for the high amp alternator, it also did away with the active grill shutters. Which in AL on a gas truck I definitely don't need those . I put a train horn there instead . I figured with a second battery and maybe a winch bumper the heavier bars would work out. But wasn't expecting them to be that heavy. But I have the same thought. After a few tweaks mine rides pretty good for a HD. My brother n law just traded off his 20 Duramax AT4 2500. My Zr2 2500 definitely rides better then his did. He messed around with his suspension trying to get it better. He ended up just getting a 1500 AT4X instead. Rides great, course his 6.2 might just let go at anytime

 

[AXE]

my duramax had standard 5600 bars. this zr2 has 5200. the soft ride bars should make a difference. the ride is already better than my at4 2500. pretty sure it is because of the DSSV shocks. there is a stretch of freeway i drive all the time that is brutal. don't think anything is going to really make it much better. maybe those shackles . otherwise the truck rides pretty good for an HD

I'd run 50 psi in your tires if your not towing! A few psi can make a huge difference. Mine rides like a dream in everything I've been on. I'm not sure how it could get much better for a 9k lb truck.

You might want to pull those shocks and see if they have any resistance left. Shocks are only good for 25k miles and they are completely shot by 40k. There's no magic with the DSSV’s architecture, just a lot more moving parts to wear out. There is a rebuild service now.

 

[kylant]

I'd run 50 psi in your tires if your not towing! A few psi can make a huge difference. Mine rides like a dream in everything I've been on. I'm not sure how it could get much better for a 9k lb truck.

You might want to pull those shocks and see if they have any resistance left. Shocks are only good for 25k miles and they are completely shot by 40k. There's no magic with the DSSV’s architecture, just a lot more moving parts to wear out. There is a rebuild service now.

i run 45/40. tpms thresholds adjusted so i have no lights. my shocks are brand new. the truck has 700 miles on it

the big ride issue is freeway expansion joints. trying to minimize the bounce on those

 

[AXE]

i run 45/40. tpms thresholds adjusted so i have no lights. my shocks are brand new. the truck has 700 miles on it

the big ride issue is freeway expansion joints. trying to minimize the bounce on those

That air pressure is too low, bring it back up to 50-53 psi cold. Your suspension isn't able to work.

 

[8ball_99]

My tires are at 52/48 unloaded.

 

[kylant]

That air pressure is too low, bring it back up to 50-53 psi cold. Your suspension isn't able to work.

nah, they're good. according to the load index pressure chart for the tires I run, my pressures are more than adequate for the load of the truck

 

[AXE]

nah, they're good. according to the load index pressure chart for the tires I run, my pressures are more than adequate for the load of the truck

Enjoy that rough ride on soft tires!

 

[8ball_99]

Not sure if it's a bison or not. But a gasser is at least 900lb lighter. Curb weight on mine is 7,513 with a payload of 3,333. With a max PSI of 65 fully loaded. If 50 is fine with a 9k truck. I doubt low 40s is a problem with 7600#. 52fr-48r seems to feel good on mine. But I do have a little extra weight on mine all the time.

 

[AXE]

Not sure if it's a bison or not. But a gasser is at least 900lb lighter. Curb weight on mine is 7,513 with a payload of 3,333. With a max PSI of 65 fully loaded. If 50 is fine with a 9k truck. I doubt low 40s is a problem with 7600#. 52fr-48r seems to feel good on mine. But I do have a little extra weight on mine all the time.

Either he needs to adjust his pressure or buy better tires, cause chasing it with more hard bits hasn't been the end all be all. May as well get a standard HD and put a Cognito lift and Fox 2.5s on it.

My truck weighs 9k+ lbs the way it sits and I've weighed it on the scales. It rides like a dream whether I'm offroad, city traffic, highway, towing light, towing heavy running at 50-65 psi cold. Ive run as low as 15 psi offroad.

Also I have installed a set of air bags that always run 5 psi. I once had a guy tell me that was gonna really make my truck ride poorly.....LOL. But I'm the only guy that thinks his HD truck rides pretty well.

 

[8ball_99]

Either he needs to adjust his pressure or buy better tires, cause you chasing it with more hard bits hasn't been the end all be all. May as well get a standard HD and put a Cognito lift and Fox 2.5s on it.

My truck weighs 9k+ lbs the way it sits and I've weighed it on the scales. It rides like a dream whether I'm offroad, city traffic, highway, towing light, towing heavy running at 50-65 psi cold. Ive run as low as 15 psi offroad.

Also I have installed a set of air bags that always run 5 psi. I once had a guy tell me that was gonna really make my truck ride poorly.....LOL. But I'm the only guy that thinks his HD truck rides pretty well.

Right your truck has 5-600 less payload but weighs 2klbs more, lol. If I put 2k lbs on my truck I raise the tire psi some and I put some air in my bags. It definitely softens the ride with extra weight like any other HD. Pretty sure everyone said they ride good for a HD

 

[AXE]

Right your truck has 5-600 less payload but weighs 2klbs more, lol. If I put 2k lbs on my truck I raise the tire psi some and I put some air in my bags. It definitely softens the ride with extra weight like any other HD. Pretty sure everyone said they ride good for a f I had to replace half the suspension to get it too ride better, I'd just start with a truck that needed new suspension and it would be a better rig.

Dude, you ain't loading or hauling more than anyone with that lightweight little gasser. Besides that, you already changed your payload rating, cause you swapped out the big boy parts. You're just trying to cope.

If I had to swap out a bunch of suspension components to get a ZR2 to ride good, I'd just opt for a different truck that needed a lift and suspension for it's intended purpose. Then you can customize it appropriately.

One of the nicest 2500HDs I've seen this past year was a Trail Boss with a Fox 2.5 kit on it. Guy said it was a great ride with his overland kit and hauling his dirt bikes. I believe I posted info on it on here last June.

 

[8ball_99]

lol, man It's been a min, I had about forgotten how you are. Not sure when I said I was hauling more then anyone? I said your truck weighs 2k pounds more and you have a lower payload. Kind of like a 3500 rides rougher then a 2500 if neither has any weight on them. A gasser weighs 7500lb and has around 3,300 payload. It's reasonable to assume a lighter truck with more available payload with mostly the same suspension might ride a little stiffer empty. I swapped the HD plow springs for lighter ones and added air bags. Hardly half the suspension. I'm quite happy with my ZR2. I have no want or need for a lifted different truck. Might notice I don't complain about it or GM constantly Lord forbid guys on a forum change things on their truck and talk about it.

 

[AXE]

lol, man It's been a min, I had about forgotten how you are. Not sure when I said I was hauling more then anyone? I said your truck weighs 2k pounds more and you have a lower payload. Kind of like a 3500 rides rougher then a 2500 if neither has any weight on them. A gasser weighs 7500lb and has around 3,300 payload. It's reasonable to assume a lighter truck with more available payload with mostly the same suspension might ride a little stiffer empty. I swapped the HD plow springs for lighter ones and added air bags. Hardly half the suspension. I'm quite happy with my ZR2. I have no want or need for a lifted different truck. Might notice I don't complain about it or GM constantly Lord forbid guys on a forum change things on their truck and talk about it.

Like i said, you gotta buy the rig for the application you desire. You seem to like payload, but the ZR2 is the last truck on my list if I'm thinking about payload.

If you want more payload in something that rides exceptionally well, you check something like this 3500 Ram. You should see the spring pack and the front coils on on this bad boy. You rough rider guys would be scared of iron that big. Nevertheless, I was really surprised how well it rides and you can rail it in the corners with those duals loaded down. Not as good as the ZR2 on choppy stuff, but otherwise an incredible ride for a work truck with substantial payload and towing capacity.

 

[kylant]

my truck doesn't ride bad, i am just trying to get it to ride better. it rides better than my AT4 did.
It a standard gas ZR2. The placard pressures are 55/65. Dropping down to 45 is not affecting the way the suspension works, despite what you believe. My tires are fine. they are new Falken AT4W 35x12.5-18. per the load tables, at my pressures, they have more than sufficient load capacity.

 

[kylant]

BTW Cognito did get back to me. They said to use these keys, Part#110-90771. I got around to swapping them out today. I actually had to back the bolts off more then the original bars and keys for the same ride height. So with these keys you definitely don't need to crank them up more over stock. Haven't drove it that much, so can't say if they make any difference. They look pretty compared to stock though , lol.
View attachment 25507

i swapped bars and keys yesterday. i set the adjuster bolts at the same length as stock. measured ride height after driving a bit. truck was sitting about 3/4" higher than stock. knowing that each turn of the bolt equals about 1/4" ride height on the lighter weight bars, i lowered the bolts 3 full turns. unfortunately, on the passenger side, the bolt then did not have enough thread capture to be secure. basically the key was resting on the adjuster block.
so i had to reinstall the factory keys and adjust accordingly. the bolts definitely had to be cranked more to get the truck back to stock ride height. will see how it rides today.

 

[AXE]

my truck doesn't ride bad, i am just trying to get it to ride better. it rides better than my AT4 did.
It a standard gas ZR2. The placard pressures are 55/65. Dropping down to 45 is not affecting the way the suspension works, despite what you believe. My tires are fine. they are new Falken AT4W 35x12.5-18. per the load tables, at my pressures, they have more than sufficient load capacity.

Are those tires Load Range E 10 PR? Flying down the road 75 mph in an HD truck that weighs 8k lbs requires more air to support the sidewalls. If your tires are flexing, it will damn sure result in different performance on the suspension. Generally speaking if you vary the psi 1-3 psi either way from the spec your not far off. I run mine down to 35-40 psi offroad when I am on rough terrain, but I've never heard anyone bucking down the road at highway speeds at low psi isn't in any calculator I've seen.

 

[kylant]

Are those tires Load Range E 10 PR? Flying down the road 75 mph in an HD truck that weighs 8k lbs requires more air to support the sidewalls. If your tires are flexing, it will damn sure result in different performance on the suspension. Generally speaking if you vary the psi 1-3 psi either way from the spec your not far off. I run mine down to 35-40 psi offroad when I am on rough terrain, but I've never heard anyone bucking down the road at highway speeds at low psi isn't in any calculator I've seen.

they are. actually my door placard says 45/55, so my fronts are at spec, rear below. but that is loaded spec and it is well know there is no need to run around at loaded spec pressures

 

[8ball_99]

i swapped bars and keys yesterday. i set the adjuster bolts at the same length as stock. measured ride height after driving a bit. truck was sitting about 3/4" higher than stock. knowing that each turn of the bolt equals about 1/4" ride height on the lighter weight bars, i lowered the bolts 3 full turns. unfortunately, on the passenger side, the bolt then did not have enough thread capture to be secure. basically the key was resting on the adjuster block.
so i had to reinstall the factory keys and adjust accordingly. the bolts definitely had to be cranked more to get the truck back to stock ride height. will see how it rides today.

Wow, my bolts weren't out that much. Stock keys bolt threads were 31.31mm, passenger was 39.66mm. With the new keys my measurements changed to 37.65 Dr and 46.25pass. Not sure how many turns, but about 7mm worth of threads. I just used calibers to measure instead of counting turns. You sure you have the same keys? Maybe its just cause its so new. Might settle a little with some miles? That's the keys cognito told me to use with their bars on a ZR2. The new keys did help in my case. It does ride better then with the stock keys turned up.

 

[kylant]

Wow, my bolts weren't out that much. Stock keys bolt threads were 31.31mm, passenger was 39.66mm. With the new keys my measurements changed to 37.65 Dr and 46.25pass. Not sure how many turns, but about 7mm worth of threads. I just used calibers to measure instead of counting turns. You sure you have the same keys? Maybe its just cause its so new. Might settle a little with some miles? That's the keys cognito told me to use with their bars on a ZR2. The new keys did help in my case. It does ride better then with the stock keys turned up.

same keys. my starting measurements were about the same as your ending measurements. but those gave the truck about 3/4" lift.