Good suspension
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From: Windsor, Ca
Good suspension
So I currently run a 4in Rough Country lift on my 1996 ford ranger. However, it's extremely stiff and makes it hard to offroad with. I was wondering what the best suspension for offroading was, and whether I should use coil-overs. Keep in mind that I'm on a budget so I'm hoping to keep the cost for all 4 shocks less than 2K. Prerunner susp. can get extremely expensive, but if you know of any cheap good brands I would be interested.
First, shocks don't really control ride as much as they control rebound
So SPRINGS are what you want to adjust/change
Springs have a weight rating
Rangers have a weight, lol
You need to match the weight of the vehicle on that wheel/axle to the spring rating
If weight of vehicle is 1,000lbs and you have 1,500lbs spring then when you hit a bump the spring just pushes UP the vehicle, not enough vehicle weight to hold the top of the spring down, so VERY ROUGH RIDE
Remove either end of both shocks on an axle
Then try to bounce that end of the vehicle, should bounce easily, if not then you are Over Sprung, nothing shocks can do about that
You need lower weight rated springs so they can absorb bumps not pass them on to the frame/body
Rear of pickup trucks are tough because 1/2 ton rating means they have springs rated for 1,000lbs more than empty, making for a stiff ride when bed is empty
Solution for that is lower weight rated leaf springs and an added overload/helper leaf, the overload leaf is not used until weight in bed goes over 600lbs, and it just prevents bed from squatting in the rear on heavier bed loads
Anyway springs springs springs, that's where you start
Shocks can improve ride AFTER springs are sorted out, but springs are FIRST
They can be tuned to allow easy deflection on smaller bumps, on road driving, and then be more resistant as the deflection gets bigger, kind of like the helper spring does
If you just lean on one end of a full time off road vehicle it will go down because the springs are tuned to weight of the vehicle
This is to keep the wheels on the ground so you can steer and have traction, lol
They may have 3 shocks on each corner but thats to slow defection on BIG bumps, the smaller bumps are absorbed by weight of vehicle holding top of spring down, and this keeps the wheels on the ground
So SPRINGS are what you want to adjust/change
Springs have a weight rating
Rangers have a weight, lol
You need to match the weight of the vehicle on that wheel/axle to the spring rating
If weight of vehicle is 1,000lbs and you have 1,500lbs spring then when you hit a bump the spring just pushes UP the vehicle, not enough vehicle weight to hold the top of the spring down, so VERY ROUGH RIDE
Remove either end of both shocks on an axle
Then try to bounce that end of the vehicle, should bounce easily, if not then you are Over Sprung, nothing shocks can do about that
You need lower weight rated springs so they can absorb bumps not pass them on to the frame/body
Rear of pickup trucks are tough because 1/2 ton rating means they have springs rated for 1,000lbs more than empty, making for a stiff ride when bed is empty
Solution for that is lower weight rated leaf springs and an added overload/helper leaf, the overload leaf is not used until weight in bed goes over 600lbs, and it just prevents bed from squatting in the rear on heavier bed loads
Anyway springs springs springs, that's where you start
Shocks can improve ride AFTER springs are sorted out, but springs are FIRST
They can be tuned to allow easy deflection on smaller bumps, on road driving, and then be more resistant as the deflection gets bigger, kind of like the helper spring does
If you just lean on one end of a full time off road vehicle it will go down because the springs are tuned to weight of the vehicle
This is to keep the wheels on the ground so you can steer and have traction, lol
They may have 3 shocks on each corner but thats to slow defection on BIG bumps, the smaller bumps are absorbed by weight of vehicle holding top of spring down, and this keeps the wheels on the ground
Last edited by RonD; Nov 29, 2021 at 05:53 PM.
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