A truck’s suspension has two purposes: to support the truck’s weight and to absorb road and trail bumps. Maybe you’ve just acquired a new half-ton truck that rides like a Cadillac. If so, nice! Despite how enjoyable the ride is, you may notice your truck begin to squat. There are a number of reasons for this, some of which are difficult to diagnose. Here are some of the top upgrades to get your truck’s suspension working!
Upgrade the Shocks
Upgrading your shocks is one of the quickest ways to improve your suspension. An upgrade may be all you need to get your truck back to new, but be wary of becoming overly forceful. Any time you deviate from OEM equipment, you’re taking a chance. Most of the time, an upgrade means “better.” Upgrading your suspension can help control a droopy rear end and maintain tire contact with the ground. However, a shock upgrade does not always imply a smooth and enjoyable ride. If you plan to pull heavy loads, it’s generally a good idea to use high-duty shocks to keep your back end from bottoming out.
Add Spring Helpers
If you plan on doing any heavy carrying, you might consider stiffening your springs. You could easily add another leaf to a leaf spring (a common rear suspension for trucks) or use spring helpers, which attach to your current springs to boost tension and strength. Coil springs are more popular for the front end, and you can reinforce them with relatively inexpensive, easily applied supports. You can insert a polyurethane brace into the spring coil to reduce spring play without providing any more ride height. These spring aids keep the suspension from squatting and can even raise the ride height of your truck.
Add Torsion Bars
Many trucks feature adjustable torsion bars at the front, allowing you to modify the ride height to match a raise in the back or maintain its level if the rear springs are taxed. You can find adjustment procedures in your owner’s manual. Because you’ll need to re-align your vehicle after adjusting the ride height, consider hiring an alignment specialist. You can keep your truck level under load with torsion bar adjustment in the front, leaf spring assistance in the back, and heavy-duty shocks all around.
Keep in mind that torsion bar modifications only raise the clearance of your wheel well over your tire, not your travel range.
We hope you have enjoyed our list of the top upgrades to get for your truck’s suspension! If you find that these suggestions are not enough to help you with your suspension problems, consider getting a lift kit. These kits can add a lot of space to your truck while being easy to install.
