smoother ride

[fordsbyjay]

I was wondering what suspension setups/changes might ride better than others. I am looking to make some improvements to the bucket.

I went to radial tires and they road much smoother than the bias ply tires.

I upgraded from friction shocks to hydraulic shocks and it helped a ton on washboard roads.
I am thinking about upgrading from the front streetrod shocks I have now to Bilstein shocks as I have heard they ride nicer. This would also require a longer shock which should help ride as well.

1/4 Elliptical vs regular spring. Does one ride better than the other?

Do Posies superide springs ride better?

hairpin vs 4 bar?




Any feedback/suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Keeper]

Play with your tire pressure!

I swapped out the front and rear springs last april looking for a smoother ride, biggest difference came from lowering the tire pressure. The new springs helped, but the pressure made the biggest difference.

 

[fordsbyjay]

I changed the pressure with the bias ply tires and it did help. I'm just looking for places to make the longer drives a little more enjoyable.

 

[sstock]

Agree with Keeper, seems with limited suspension travel, lowering tire pressures appropriately really made the best difference for my ride, already had radial tires and shocks. I remember back in the early 90s replacing the transverse spring in the rear of my corvette with a mono composite fiberglass spring-- it smoothed things out well too.

 

[Hotrod46]

I have 1/4 elliptical front suspension and air bags on the rear. Both with 4 bar locators. The rear has an auto leveling sensor off of a Cadillac. Also have radials.

Rides very good until you find the bump stops.

Both ends are very compliant over bumps. The 4 bars help out a lot.

I feel that air on the rear is the best way to get the correct rate for varying conditions. I pull a trailer with mine and the ride stays good loaded or not. The ride height stays the same, too.

Mike

 

[Hot Rod Todd]

I agree with the comments on lower tyre pressure, and also recommend that you dont go to tyre profiles under 50, as you lose the benefit of a tall sidewall.

One of my previous buckets handled like a pig, and the new owner, on the advice of a dirt track speedway guy, removed a few of the front springs and said that pretty much stopped it bouncing over bumps, improved handling and made it a pleasure to drive.

 

[Bennett]

I have 1/4 elliptical front suspension and air bags on the rear. Both with 4 bar locators. The rear has an auto leveling sensor off of a Cadillac. Also have radials.

Rides very good until you find the bump stops.

Both ends are very compliant over bumps. The 4 bars help out a lot.

I feel that air on the rear is the best way to get the correct rate for varying conditions. I pull a trailer with mine and the ride stays good loaded or not. The ride height stays the same, too.

Mike

Do you have pictures of your air bag setup? It would be interesting to me to see.

 

[Hotrod46]

Do you have pictures of your air bag setup? It would be interesting to me to see.

Hope you can see what you need in this shot. The bags mount in front of the axle and the outside of the frame. With the body on, most people don't notice them until I point them out.

This is a closeup of the auto leveling switch.

Mike

 

[Bennett]

Thanks. Very nice. Build looks great.