rough suspension... will bilstein help?

i have a 2016 ram 1500 with 33' TOYO RT on 20x12 rims. I love the look and everything about my setup... when i initially got these tires i had beads in there and the ride was awful i literally would hit a bump in the highway and bounce halfway across my lane. i got them rebalanced with weights and adjust the tire pressure to around 35 psi and the ride has gotten much better. However, fast forward like 10k miles (2 tire rotations) and my ride is pretty rough again. If i hit a bump on the highway i can feel my truck jump around. Even going straight a bump in the road can jostle the truck pretty good. I have 31k miles on the truck and from what i can tell its stock suspension.

so my question is this... i really need to soften my ride up and get a more forgiven suspension. Will bilsteins help? or is there other shocks out there that may help? what is everyone running with bigger and heavier tires? I wouldnt mind getting bilsteins and getting a little bit of lift out of it also... but i want to make sure that it will help with the rough ride

I run the Bilsteins I have a 4 inch lift with 35's and love how it handles and rides. I still run stock shocks in the back with 3 inch coil's. People cannot believe it rides as good as it does for being lifted.

I run Bilsteins at 2.8" with stock tires (for now). I have factory shocks in the back. The ride is much better than stock.



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Ferro said:

I run the Bilsteins I have a 4 inch lift with 35's and love how it handles and rides. I still run stock shocks in the back with 3 inch coil's. People cannot believe it rides as good as it does for being lifted.

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How does that work running the bilsteins with a 4" lift?

Did you require a alignment?

Also did you guys experience this rough rode previous to your now smooth ride ?

I have Bilsteins all the way around. Big improvement.

I have Bilsteins all around and the front set at 2.8 with a 1 inch spacer in the back. I wouldn't say it's an improvement over stock but not bad. Looking back I wonder if I should have set them at 2.1 to soften them up so to speak.


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Bdersch said:

How does that work running the bilsteins with a 4" lift?

Did you require a alignment?

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Yes I did need a alignment. The reason I went with the Bilsteins I wanted a more leveled out look. I have them set at 2.4.

Do any of you guys have issues with things pinching or ball joints wearing out faster due to them being set over 2" ? I figured I'd do 1.8 up front and then maybe get a rear spacer. Just trying to figure out the best way to get a softer ride

My Bils are at 2.8" and I feel my ride is better than stock .
To me the factory ride up front was just too bouncy .

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R.L.K. said:

My Bils are at 2.8" and I feel my ride is better than stock .
To me the factory ride up front was just too bouncy .

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thats defintely the issue i am having. did you add anything to the rear?

Bdersch said:

thats defintely the issue i am having. did you add anything to the rear?

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Yes Sir , I installed a 1.5" coil.spring spacer to the rear to prevent being nose high while towing .

Here's a link to my spacer install .

http://www.ramforum.com/showthread.php?p=1418741

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R.L.K. said:

Yes Sir , I installed a 1.5" coil.spring spacer to the rear to prevent being nose high while towing .

Here's a link to my spacer install .

rough suspension... will bilstein help? - Page 2 - DODGE RAM FORUM - Dodge Truck Forums

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Did you keep the stock rear shocks? I'm pretty much thinking of doing exactly what you are doing. I'd like to do fronts at 2.1 though and then the 1.5" spacer to keep the rake I like.

I'm worried I may need new rear shocks too because when the rear hits the tires is when I feel the truck kick sideways especially in a curve. Can be a little scary hitting a big bumps on a on/off ramp at 60 mph and the truck feels like it jumps a little. I think the fronts stiff too but the rear is an issue too

I did not install new rear shocks , but I've never had the rear end get loose on me as you've described above .
1.5" is the most I'd go in the back w/o installing longer shocks though .
If you install the bils @ +2.1" and install +1.5" spacers to the rear you will probably end up with close to 2" of rake , just so you know .
My 1.5" spacers in the rear actually gave me a bit over 1.5" in the back .

Check out this link to my spacer install

http://www.ramforum.com/showthread.php?p=1418741

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R.L.K. said:

I did not install new rear shocks , but I've never had the rear end get loose on me as you've described above .
1.5" is the most I'd go in the back w/o installing longer shocks though .
If you install the bils @ +2.1" and install +1.5" spacers to the rear you will probably end up with close to 2" of rake , just so you know .
My 1.5" spacers in the rear actually gave me a bit over 1.5" in the back .

Check out this link to my spacer install

How to 1.5" Steel TGC rear coil spring spacer install - DODGE RAM FORUM - Dodge Truck Forums

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WOW what a beautiful writeup. that makes it look almost too easy!!
Do you have a equally as wonderful writeup for the billsteins?

Thank you Sir for the kind words !

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little update on my rough suspension issue..

i looked over all of my truck and took all the wheels off it. My dad and i both couldnt find anything wrong with it. we did the bounce test with the rear shocks and they seems to preform like they should and have plenty of give but not too much. everything looks tight and nothing looks broken under neath.

so what we did was rotate the tires back to where they were (i forgot to mention i had the tires rotated by a shop and thats when i noticed problems) my dad recommended rotating them back to their original locations which i did (i could tell by the scratchs on the rims where they should be at). i also lowered my air pressure from 40 psi to 30 psi. now this may be a little low but with these 33s on 20x12s i feel okay running this psi since they are some pretty stiff tires.

ive got a trip back to 4 hour drive back to indiana tonight to see how i like this new setup. i may go back up to 32 or 35 psi depending on the ride if i feel they are too soft and im swaying some.

i also hate how now my vehicle info error is going off for all 4 tires having low PSI. it says to inflate them to 40 psi