what to do for a smooth ride...
 

Hey guys, I'm wondering what I can do to my 4runner to get a better ride quality. I changed my shocks which were bad, and it got a lot better, but its still not as smooth as the suv's that i've sat in for example lincoln navigators or gmc yukon xl denali. I would like to know if there are special products out there just for ride comfort, maybe tires or a suspension of some sort. Thanks

its never going to ride like a navi or a escalade..... they are designed completely differnt.. the navi doesnt even have rear springs... it has airbags that control the ride based on real time sensors and a small computer unit

Lower tire pressure to where you start seeing a bulge in the sidewall, which is 26psi front/22psi rear for me.

great idea. trade fuel economy and tire life for a slightly smoother ride.

Incorrect. If there is a small bulge in the sidewall that means it is at the right pressure for the tire/load combo, and tire life will be optimum. And the difference in the ride is not small, it is night and day.

1. What are you driving? What year?

trade it in for a car ... :D

Actually, you're both right.

There's a very fine line between correct tire pressure for load and incorrect tire pressure resulting in premature wear and even failure.

The tire pressure guidelines on the sidwalls of the tire are generally a little high for our truck. Consequently, the truck rides rough. The tire pressure guidelines on the inside of the door are generally a little low unless you're running the factory Dunflops. If you're running an aftermarket tire, use a piece of chalk and draw a couple straight lines from inside to outside on the tread. Drive about 50-100 feet on smooth, dry, level pavement and look at the chalk line. If the line is lighter in the middle, tire pressure needs to be decreased. If the line is lighter on the outside, tire pressure needs to be increased.

Also, what kind of tires are you running?

At GM we use a different suspension set up for the Escalades. Mainly for other trucks/suv's they use softer springs and now using independent rears suspesion (an off-road killer). My suggestion is to either deal with it or buy a different vehicle. I definitely would not air down the tires lower than the factory recommendations because look what happened to Firestone tires when Ford lowered the manufacture tire specs.

the chalk test only works on new tires due to the fact that even after a couple hundred miles, the test results become invalid due to a wear pattern already created if otehr issues exist

you could try to do a custom air bag setup.

What shocks did you put in? I would suggest getting some OME shocks as they are a bit softer than most because their springs run stiff. One of the reasons they ride so well is because they are heavy also. Go buy a big ass stereo and weigh the thing down and you will get a bit softer of a ride as well. My great grandfater used to put lead beads in his cars back in the day with comfort and automobile were not two words used commonly ;)

Really? Are your tires wearing ok? I might try ths as a test. Anymore info you have would be great. What tires are you running? Size? Shocks?

32" Revos, original OEM shocks @90k+, TRD airbags in the rear. According to my caliper they are even +/- 0.2mm all around. Air is still fairly cheap and easy to get, worth a try.

You could try some monroe sensatracs. I've heard they're pretty soft. Course you'll probably have a lot more body roll and swaying.

The TRD airbags were tough to get now.
I had to go with a set of OMEs cause I couldn't find the others anymore.

I meant air, as in the earth's atmosphere, for the disbelievers to fill the tires back up to the maximum pressure that it says on the sidewall :laugh:

hehehe.....I thought you were talking about using the airbags for suspension (like the TRD/Firestone kind).
Oops.....my bad :spank: