torsion bar

[silv01]

If I adjust my front end height by cranking on the torsion bars a few times do I have to get the steering realigned?

[ponchonutty]

It depends on how much you crank them. I cranked the snot out of mine a fw years ago. I have about 68k on the original Goodyears and are still wearing great.

[tykrz]

I'm curious about the ride quality after doing this. Does it make the truck ride like a lumber wagon in the bush or is it not too bad?

[jeverett]

If you crank them too much, you'll get a very harsh ride as the downward travel of the suspension is nearly eliminated. I usually recomment about 4 turns which has worked very good for me and all my friends. If you go very many more than that, you should have the alignment checked coz it will eat the outside of your tires up VERY badly.

[silv01]

4 turns. looks good. thanks

[ponchonutty]

Well there are guys that have used the Ford keys in order to get the ride even higher. When doing that, you'll have to get it aligned. I cranked mine 8 turns. It almost leveled out the stance and looks awesome. No, it won't eliminate ANY travel or make it ride harsher or softer(if going the other way). All you are doing is changing the static ride height. Trust me, if this was going to be a problem I've heard about it since my wife is usually the one driving it. You can check all of this out on www.chevytalk.com there are many GM techs on there and that's where I got my info.

[jeverett]

It does eliminiate downward travel of the suspension. You're preloading the "spring".

[ponchonutty]

I understand what you are saying but that's not the case. Cranking these even 6 or 8 times you'll still hit the bump stops on nasty pot holes or offroading.

Did it seem to firm up my ride when after I did it? Yes. But when I changed the front shocks at 39k to Rancho 9000 seemed to stiffen the ride more.

At one of my dealerships I had them do the recall on the brakes. He has basically the same truck as I do and commented on how well it drove. I told him what I did and he ended up doing the same exact thing!

[jeverett]

I know you'll hit the bump stops, thats the upward travel. i'm talking about when you suddenly hit a pothole, or dip in the road and the suspension travels down..... it eliminates some of that which can result in a horrible driving/riding vehicle.

I'm like you, I cranked the crap out of mine and it helped alot. The tires never needed aligning or anything, it just rode good after the crank

[twomorestrokes]

I turned the adjusting bolts in 9 turns on my HD and got almost 3" height out of it. It seems to ride the same as it did before. My '95 rode HORRIBLE with the same adjustment. Must be the different geometry or control arm length. Im not even close to the frame limiters where it was just about touching on my old truck.

Get it aligned afterward. Mine was towed in 1/2" after the adjustment. Would have toasted the tires in no time.

[ponchonutty]

Originally Posted by jeverett

I know you'll hit the bump stops, thats the upward travel. i'm talking about when you suddenly hit a pothole, or dip in the road and the suspension travels down..... it eliminates some of that which can result in a horrible driving/riding vehicle.

I'm like you, I cranked the crap out of mine and it helped alot. The tires never needed aligning or anything, it just rode good after the crank

Please, don't start flamming me after I make this statement. I understand what you are saying but you are backwards. By cranking these up, you are not decreasing the downward travel. Actually you are very so slightly speeding it up since there is more torque on the bars. Either way, I like the way mine rides and is wearing tires. I do feel that not all of the Silverados are set the same from the factory. I think that's why some only crank them up a few times and others really crank them.

[jeverett]

Thats cool, but what is it that raises the front end then if the downlard travel is not decreased?

[ponchonutty]

Hmm, not sure. You said downward travel is when the wheel goes down for a huge pothole right? Well, THAT IS the thing that also raises the truck, the downward movement. It really doesn't matter. You say you like tits but I like boobs. We can argue that but it's just the same thing, just a different way of putting it.

[jeverett]

Oh I wasnt arguing, just asking a question. I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page, and I see we are.

[firedawg81]

Biggest thing I can say is keep careful count on how many turns for each side and take measurements.