TV: 2015 Silverado 2500HD -rough ride

[nomad297]

Start with what costs the least — lower your tire pressure.

If that doesn’t do it for you, buy a Prius.

Bruce

[D W]

There are a myriad of things you can do to make it ride nice, but you wind up turning a stout TV into a luxury cruiser/grocery getter.

[67L48]

Originally Posted by Poper

[...] Also any suggestions Blistein 4600 or 5100 my daily driver. [...],

55,000 miles on factory truck shocks is pushing it. I’d bet my next paycheck that they’re worthless and not doing much for you.

4600 and 5100 have identical internals. Go with 5100 for leveled trucks. If factory stance, either works. The 5100’s silver paint job costs a bit more.

[Joemax]

I finally figured out how to make the Chevy ride smoother quieter and more manageable. I bought a 2020 Ford F-250. I had a 2013 2500HD Duramax 4WD to tow my 5th wheel as well as being my daily driver. I have been driving in one form or another since 1963 and have owned many pickups. The Chevy rode like crap from the day I owned it. After more than 100K miles I traded it for the F250 which has a significantly better ride, less noise in the cabin, more power and better seats. Plus the reliability rating for the Ford is a lot better than the Chevy or GMC. My Chevy was nickel and diming me to death. $500 to change the thermostats! A 30 to 40 minute job I did myself and saved $70 on the parts by ordering them from Amazon. I have also owned a lot of Chevrolet products from a 1959 Biscayne, a 1969 Camaro SS 396, 1977 Impala wagon to the 2013 2500HD. Build quality, noise levels and ride comfort are better in the Ford, at least at this point in time. Chevy needs to up their game to compete. I refuse to be “brand loyal” when the manufacturers are not “customer loyal” and put some effort into what they are designing.

[Muzzledan]

Try lowering your tire pressure when not towing. I have found this to make a world of difference.

[LittleBill]

I have the 2015 2500HD CC LTZ Duramax. I just replaced all 4 tires 2 weeks ago, due to picking up a nail in my drivers front tire at 56000 miles, with the same Goodyear Wranglers that were OEM. There was sufficient tread left on the originals, but being the nailed tire was unrepairable, I wanted them all to match so I went with all four.

Just asked the DW if the truck rode like a truck and she said 'YES'. Being it has been that I mainly drive it around town when not towing, I haven't really noticed that it rides that rough. I do notice that most roads are in unbelievable condition with chuck holes, patches and some down right deep ditches, even as I travel pulling my 5er. Seems like I hit them all.

After getting the new tires, I left with 5er to next stop and for most of that trip I noticed an indescribable slight bounce through in the steering wheel, no shimmy, shake or individual tire bounce, but a noticeable vibration. I felt it probably was that the new tires may have been slightly out of round from their newness. Haven't felt it since that first day.

I will have to try to be more aware of how it rides and if I notice that it is riding a little rough, I may take a look at upgrading the shocks or trade the whole thing in on a new 1 ton.

[MikeyS]

Ram 2500 HD Heavy Duty Coil Springs with Heavy Duty Torsion Bars. Nice ride pulling and without Pulling. Added 5k Air Ride Bags to level out. Very nice and smooth on Highway. 6 Cylinder Cummins Hammer down in line tractor engine. What More!! A V8 with Leaf Springs and hard ride (Chevy GMC).

[nutdriver]

Originally Posted by nomad297

Start with what costs the least — lower your tire pressure.

If that doesn’t do it for you, buy a Prius.

Bruce

I agree about trying the lower tire pressure. This is free. I keep my 2018 Duramax tire pressure at around 57 in the front and 60 in the rear. Nice improvement in ride. If I am towing, I increase the rear to 70. I would not be comfortable going much lower.

Also to those asking about the Bilstein 4600 vs 5100 I have read mixed advice but it seems that the 5100 is more suited to a somewhat lifted truck. I would call Bilstein tech support and ask them which would produce a better ride. Ask about clamping force for Compression and Rebound.

[oldxr]

Install Bilstein shocks and lower the rear tire pressure when running empty. The low tire pressure light will be on but ignore it .

[Rob L]

Originally Posted by Electra glide

I tow in the summer when going on trips and the rest of the time is on my Harley. Winter I drive the truck daily to and from work. I put less than 7k a year on it. It rides rough and I will probably see about shocks first. It does have Rancho on it but they are at least 4 years old now.

A rough ride will not be had from worn out shocks. Rancho shocks are known for a stiff rough ride, but a worn out set of shocks will give a bouncy ride and decrease the life of suspension parts. Just go and test drive a couple of 1500 Chevy trucks: compare a Z71 to a non Z71 and you will surly see a difference.
Tires also have a lot to do with a vehicles ride as this is why I stay away from LT truck tires. Stiffer side walls will result in a stiffer ride and also add weight as many LT tires start about 35 lb heavy and higher. Then there is tire pressure, so when towing one must inflate higher as compared to daily driving.

[67L48]

Originally Posted by nutdriver

[...] Also to those asking about the Bilstein 4600 vs 5100 I have read mixed advice but it seems that the 5100 is more suited to a somewhat lifted truck. [...]

4600 and 5100 use the same internals, so the performance will be the same. 4600 is for stock height. 5100 is for 0-2" lifts. I've racked my brains for months but still can't figure out the difference between a stock height truck and 0" lifted truck.

But, if you have a leveling kit (or think you might get one) or if you just like the silver paint job, then get the 5100. If you want to save $10-20 and your truck is stock height (or 0" lifted ), then grab the 4600.

Originally Posted by Rob L

A rough ride will not be had from worn out shocks. [...] Just go and test drive a couple of 1500 Chevy trucks: compare a Z71 to a non Z71 and you will surly see a difference. [...]

Again, rough means a lot of different things to different people. I have driven a truck with worn out shocks, replaced them, and I (and family) would definitely agree that the truck rode rougher due to the worn out shocks.

You then switch to comparing (and recommending side-by-side testing) of new trucks with new shocks. As mentioned above, a truck that has properly functioning shocks isn't likely to benefit from ride quality by replacing shocks. But, that's not what's going on here with the OP.

By all means, play with tire pressure. It's free. In my experience, across several trucks and a few different tire brands/types, I've never had luck getting a smoother ride from air pressure. But, it's easy and free to try. But, with a 4-5 year old truck with factory shocks ... the ride will suck due to worn out shocks.

[Rob L]

Originally Posted by 67L48

4600 and 5100 use the same internals, so the performance will be the same. 4600 is for stock height. 5100 is for 0-2" lifts. I've racked my brains for months but still can't figure out the difference between a stock height truck and 0" lifted truck.

But, if you have a leveling kit (or think you might get one) or if you just like the silver paint job, then get the 5100. If you want to save $10-20 and your truck is stock height (or 0" lifted ), then grab the 4600.


Again, rough means a lot of different things to different people. I have driven a truck with worn out shocks, replaced them, and I (and family) would definitely agree that the truck rode rougher due to the worn out shocks.

You then switch to comparing (and recommending side-by-side testing) of new trucks with new shocks. As mentioned above, a truck that has properly functioning shocks isn't likely to benefit from ride quality by replacing shocks. But, that's not what's going on here with the OP.

By all means, play with tire pressure. It's free. In my experience, across several trucks and a few different tire brands/types, I've never had luck getting a smoother ride from air pressure. But, it's easy and free to try. But, with a 4-5 year old truck with factory shocks ... the ride will suck due to worn out shocks.

My comparison between a Z71 and non Z71 is simply to explain how different shock can effect a trucks ride. The spring are the same in the two trucks, just different shocks and believe me you can feel the difference in the ride.
sorry you didn't understand my post in regards to a "comparison" in shocks.

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by Padua2

Lowering the air pressure to 45-50 won't work for me as the warning light comes up and that is a pain.

I think new shocks might be in order. My 2500HD has an RCS 9593 - 2" lift kit on it, and when talking to the folks at RCS, the are saying that installing new RCS Premium N3 shocks should help smooth the ride around town, when not towing. This is the link to them:
https://www.roughcountry.com/premium...-hd-4wd-374956

I'll continue research and see what else I find.

Different truck, but I run 55 in the rear of my 3500 Ram when not towing, and 60 in the front (diesel a lil heavier) . My recommendations for the rear per towing guide is 80 PSI. A very noticeable difference running 55 psi vs 80 psi.. I know your light may be on, but you can usually disable that with some sort of OBII type scanner etc.. 70 PSI in the rear with no load is just too much.

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by MikeyS

Ram 2500 HD Heavy Duty Coil Springs with Heavy Duty Torsion Bars. Nice ride pulling and without Pulling. Added 5k Air Ride Bags to level out. Very nice and smooth on Highway. 6 Cylinder Cummins Hammer down in line tractor engine. What More!! A V8 with Leaf Springs and hard ride (Chevy GMC).

Had a 2500 Ram before my 3500, the rides not all that folks make it out to be with the coil springs. And Honestly as the owner of a 2018 3500 6.7 CTD, it's not everything they make it out to be either.

[dacheedah]

When not towing you can drop the tire pressure to like 32 psi. Usually there is a tire pressure switch that will kill the warning. Pump it back up to load

[goduc]

My 18 Ram 2500 rides pretty good. I swapped the OEM shocks for the Bilstien 4600's. It's the same shock that Ram uses on the Off Road option. They're slightly softer initially but still offer good control when loaded up with the TT.
Running my tires at 60 psi helps even more.
Is it a 1/2 ton ride? No. But it also handles a 9500 lbs TT way better than a 1/2 ton.
Right tool for the job.

[DavidWJ]

Put some weight in the bed. An example would be my '66 Chevy 4x4 long bed. It REALLY rides like a truck when empty. Filled a bed box with bricks and it rides like a Cadillac. Well, not at all, but it does ride much better.
3 Times When Having a Tool Box in Your Truck Bed Will Be Useful | Blogs Now

[corn18]

I just bought a 2015 2500HD CC 6.0 4x4 with 52,000 miles. It rode great but man was it ambiguous. Nothing tight about that suspension but driving straight over bumps was as good as any half ton I have driven. There was a bit of an issue with hitting a sharp bump and having it resonate back and forth through the frame.

I didn't feel it was stable enough to tow heavy thins so I went to work. Put on a Helwig rear stabilizer and that helped a lot with stability in corners. I love those things. Then put Bilstein 5100s on all four corners. That changed the ride a lot. It felt kindof like when I go from comfort to sport+ mode in my wife's BMW. Much better planted but stiffer. But the obnoxious all frame shudder went away. Next came new tires. Went from Michelen LT2 to General Grabber AT3. No real difference there is a little more ambiguity in the steering with the AT tires. So I added the Bilstein steering damper to the front end.

After all this, I would rather daily the stock set up. But I would not want to tow with it. If I had to choose one thing, PSI in the tires would be the biggest difference maker. Then the rear sway bar.

[nutdriver]

After a little searching, I found this shock distributor that has additional information on the 4600 vs 5100. Eventually, I am planning to upgrade my 2500 shocks and tentatively planning to go with the 4600 shocks.


https://www.shocksurplus.com/pages/b...es-the-lowdown

[4garylee]

I had the same problem and noticed helper springs were either installed by past owner or part of towing package. I removed my helper spring and OMG smooth as my Cadillac ( well close!!!)

I have a 3500 Ram Dually.