Lowered Ride Quality

BigBoi

New member
Mar 14, 2012
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St George SC
So the obs is lowered. Supposed to be 4/7 but ended up with 3" up front (due to baby motor) so lifted the back up an inch. Currently 3/6.

DJM 2" spindles
DJM 2" springs
DJM Flip Kit
DJM Calmax shocks

I know I altered the suspension so I know it's supposed to ride different. That's not my question. But my truck rides like absolute shit. Completely fucked. Entirely too stiff up front and it handles bumps horribly. Very harsh up front. Feels like the wheels come off the ground when I hit a reflector. And don't even get me started on the 3 sets of railroad tracks I have to cross daily. The rear is a little soft but it's manageable.

I don't remember my S10 riding this bad and it was on cut springs and removed leafs with stock shocks.

Would a different brand of shocks make a huge difference? Or is this just part of low life?

Any input if welcomed. This needs to be fixed.
 
I honestly have no clue. Didn't even think to check that. Makes sense though. It feels like my front has bricks for shocks. Will check tomorrow. We're in our daily monsoon at the moment.

It would be cool if that was the problem because my front would drop and then I could put my shackles back on.
 
Calmax shocks are pewp from what I've heard. Belltech SP shocks will ride MUCH better.
 
I'll inspect the bump stops then go from there. It's just such a night and day difference between the front and back. Front feels rigid while the rear is riding on goose feather pillows.
 
My truck is 5/10 and rides awesome. i have spindles and springs up front with bell tech street performers and bell tech nitro drop 2s in the back.

i had street performers in the back before too and honestly it rides the same with the nitro drop 2s.. and all the other 4 trucks at my house are on the nd2 shocks and they all ride awesome.. to me its more money for nothing

personally i don't and won't ever run djm stuff..
 
Well I haven't looked under the truck since the ground is muddy but I pushed down on the driver side fender and it seems to have a full range of motion so I doubt I'm on my bump stops. Guess shocks will need to be ordered. I'll call BT and explain my issue so they'll give me the proper shocks for my drop.
 
That was also a thought I had. Nobody specifically makes a drop for a full size with a 4.3 so I'd have to get custom springs. Softer shocks would probably hurt that situation since I'd be solely riding on springs pretty much.

You think trimming 1/2 a coil would bring my spring rate down any, while also giving me another inch?
 
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Shocks usually are the deciding factor. Inspect suspension at ride height for steering interference, bump stops, but shocks can be a huge variance.

I often find mono tube shocks not to be a great road use shock. Problem is they don't naturally return to there ride height, and require the suspension to compress and decompress the shock. Twin tubes naturally return. Mono tubes will often cause a large amount of bumpsteer and unstable conditions while driving.

DJM is Twin tube, so is belltech. The vlaving and internal psi is where they differ However...I have never heard anything good about djm. I just lowered my Ranger with a DJM kit 4/5 drop. Tossed the calmax's in the garbage and used belltech SP. Rides like a dream, so does my ccsb, and so does my rcsb. Jared is the only guy who I have ever seen have a bad experience with Belltech. But hes a Ginger, so he cant be trusted anyways
 
Alright appreciate it. I'll look into BT and research on gmt400 to see if else has had this problem when lowering a 4.3. Would love for it to just be shocks and not have to fuck with the springs but its irritating to drive it like this.
 
pushed down on driver side fender... so basically you know you can sit in the drivers seat without going on the bump stop, but still have no idea how close you are to the bump stops?

also the way you describing it is how my front end feels when i forget to air up aka riding on bump stops
 
pushed down on driver side fender... so basically you know you can sit in the drivers seat without going on the bump stop, but still have no idea how close you are to the bump stops?

also the way you describing it is how my front end feels when i forget to air up aka riding on bump stops
Going to check thatthis evening. Wasn't able to this morning in the dark while parked in a water puddle.
 
mines a 4.3 it rides okay but the steering wheel has hella shake and bumpsteer. I think my tie rods are bad though so im going to replace those first. I have belltech spindles and 3 inch coils with belltech nitro drop 2 shocks
I wish i wouldve bought SP
Mine has a shakey steering wheel when going over bumps and wont hold alignment
i also think i need tubs cause the tops of my wheel wheels look like mirrors lol