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Rough Rider - How to make Smoother Ride

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Avalanche Addict

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Apr 3, 2021
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I have a 2006 Avalanche LS 1500 2wd, 146K miles on stock original suspension. What can be done to make it ride smoother? What kind of new shocks? Springs? etc... I rarely carry a heavy load or pull a trailer. I want the smoothest ride possible.
 
I would not bother with shocks and springs. What tires are you running is the most important question. Are they "P" passenger tires or "LT" truck tires? It makes a huge difference in ride quality.

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Get "P" passenger tires with highway tread. Look on Tirerack for "best ride" reviews. Here is an example, it has a smooth highway tread and an 8.8/10 "Excellent" ride quality rating, for example. Lots to choose from.

 
gfh77665 said:
I would not bother with shocks and springs. What tires are you running is the most important question. Are they "P" passenger tires or "LT" truck tires? It makes a huge difference in ride quality.

Discount Tire | Tires and Wheels for Sale | Online & In-Person

www.discounttire.com www.discounttire.com

Get "P" passenger tires with highway tread. Look on Tirerack for "best ride" reviews. Here is an example, it has a smooth highway tread and an 8.8/10 "Excellent" ride quality rating, for example. Lots to choose from.

Click to expand...
I wasn't aware that you could use Passenger tires on a truck. I will definitely look into it. Thank you very much for the info...
 
Well actually Bilstein 4000 series shocks are known to give the best rides on our trucks. (Or maybe it was 5000 series)
They do wear out and need to be replaced every 50k miles or so. Springs... Not so much. Only if you see your ride starting to sag, you see rust or damage to them.

Have monroes on the front and Bilsteins on the back and OMG the difference is amazing. I probably should have put bilstiens on the front as well.
 
I have an 03 with the ZW7 code on the sticker in the glovebox. This means the rear suspension is upgraded to Smooth Ride with self leveling shocks. Caked Nivomat type shicks. I did the Ranchos 5 years ago and it’s bouncy af and I have always disliked it. Now I understand why. But they’re hard to find because of conflicting fitnent issues and oem codes. You can switch to conventional regular shocks but they call for a stiffer spring if you do that. .
 
The MONROE 90025C conversion kit looks to be what you are looking for.

Those appear to be available from many auto parts stores as well as Amazon and other online parts vendors.

The kit appears to have both rear conversion shocks and both rear replacement springs.
 
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