Daughters ‘87 needs to ride smooth.

mlparkey · Oct 8, 2024

My 1986 C10 Silverado rides as smooth and quiet as any passenger car. Tires make a huge difference in ride quality. I have 2 sets of wheels and tires that I run on the truck. I have the original 15"× 8" Rally wheels with 235/75 -15 all season radials and I have a set of 225/50 -20 on aftermarket rims. I keep the pressure around 35psi. The 15's ride a little smoother because there is more sidewall to absorb bumps. I have stock coil springs and shocks in front with all new control arm bushings and ball joints. I'm also running 2 1/2" drop spindles. I have stock springs in the rear that I removed 3 leaves from for a lower stance. That also makes for a much softer ride. Regular street tires will make a huge difference.

JBswth · Oct 9, 2024

gogo14910 said:
My daughter is taking her 87 tbi off to college soon. We have replaced front end including tie rods, pitman, idler, ball joints(upper/lower) front brake disks, rear drums. We also put on Monroe OE stock shocks for safety at the time. This truck rides like int on the farm, even on smooth hwy. Please give me a build sheet on how to smooth it out. Front springs still need replaced a the leaf springs too. Looking for a reasonably priced, smooth ride only, no show stopper. PLEASE HELP! Which shocks, springs and leafs would make this a comfortable ride? Thank you all.

As her truck is 2WD, the front springs should be pretty soft for a truck. The rear springs, if you want a smooth ride, should be 4-leaf packs. If it has 7 leafs each, you need to swap them out for the 4 leaf packs. Also, use factory-spec tires, as they are fairly low pressure tires. That is just about the only thing you can do, as these trucks were never intended to ride like Cadillacs.

YardPickerUpper · Oct 10, 2024

put some weight in the bed and you'll be good! Personally, I enjoy hitting them potholes and being flung up in my seat but, hey that's preference. I have a '79 K10 with a rear tank that I put in between the frame rails, and when I fill that up, it rides pretty smooth, alongside all the crap I got in my toolbox.

Daughters ‘87 needs to ride smooth.

mlparkey

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JBswth

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YardPickerUpper

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