front suspension mods AKA - ride improvement mods AKA - butt happiness mods

[someoldmoose]

Soooo, anybody ever double shock the front ? Or add nitro off road jobbies ?

Better ? On topic ? Sorry, bwana

 

[Mos68x]

Soooo, anybody ever double shock the front ? Or add nitro off road jobbies ?

I would imagine that would make it worse at least until you have more weight on it.

 

[Buffalobwana]

Lindsey had an idea about hydraulic suspension. I'd like to hear more, since I don't know much about it. Where to start?

 

[Csm Davis]

Okay here are a few options and double shocks could help but would have to be high dollar adjustable units not just extra stock shocks, also I am thinking about air bumpstops.

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[someoldmoose]

Yeah Jeff, I was meaning like Bilstein off-road stuff. $$$$ but INFINITELY adjustable.

 

[Csm Davis]

Yeah Jeff, I was meaning like Bilstein off-road stuff. $$$$ but INFINITELY adjustable.

Here you go. Not the way I would do it but to each his own.

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[someoldmoose]

You have seen the picture of my minds eye, bags and all ! ! Still wanna do the IFS set-up tho. Independent rears too if I sell enough "bio".

 

[simp5782]

The air bump stops is gonna be the cheapest and easiest way but you have to factor in structural integrity of the cab as far as a better ride too. Simply having my cab mounts too tight made it ride so rough and feel every bump. And sounded horrible.

You can also only do so much with the road and bridge infrastructure in certain parts of the country. I dont know why every bridge has to ramp up like we are launching off a VSTOL aircraft carrier. Im certain i could drive over the roads in a **** LCAC and still be thrown from my seat or shook to death.



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[Csm Davis]

The air bump stops is gonna be the cheapest and easiest way but you have to factor in structural integrity of the cab as far as a better ride too. Simply having my cab mounts too tight made it ride so rough and feel every bump. And sounded horrible.

You can also only do so much with the road and bridge infrastructure in certain parts of the country. I dont know why every bridge has to ramp up like we are launching off a VSTOL aircraft carrier. Im certain i could drive over the roads in a **** LCAC and still be thrown from my seat or shook to death.



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By the time I have finished my ultimate tractor it will have all air ride, seats, cab, front and rear suspension.

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[simp5782]

By the time I have finished my ultimate tractor it will have all air ride, seats, cab, front and rear suspension.

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You will need it all being a senior citizen by the time you are done.

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[Csm Davis]

You will need it all being a senior citizen by the time you are done.

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Well you are probably right but I would rather be a old man than wet behind the ears like you.

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[Buffalobwana]

Jeff, those pictures you show are of a setup with only two springs or so. I love the setups. Look great. But if the axle never flexes and never reaches the bags, it's just window dressing. Springs have to be removed to allow the air bags to work. Is that what you are suggesting? Take away springs? Or completely replace springs with a different setup?

Look in my first post or two. My idea was to remove or render useless (through heat or cutting) a spring or three to allow the springs to flex! Maybe I'm going at it the wrong way. Maybe I need to go down to the semi junk yard and pull springs from theirs and put on mine?

Id like to hear your tractor idea. I just picked up a 931A2 and will start working on that one as the "city ride".

 

[quickfarms]

Jeff, those pictures you show are of a setup with only two springs or so. I love the setups. Look great. But if the axle never flexes and never reaches the bags, it's just window dressing. Springs have to be removed to allow the air bags to work. Is that what you are suggesting? Take away springs? Or completely replace springs with a different setup?

Look in my first post or two. My idea was to remove or render useless (through heat or cutting) a spring or three to allow the springs to flex! Maybe I'm going at it the wrong way. Maybe I need to go down to the semi junk yard and pull springs from theirs and put on mine?

Id like to hear your tractor idea. I just picked up a 931A2 and will start working on that one as the "city ride".

First you need to weight the front axle empty.

Then you take it to a truck spring shop that does work on class 8 trucks and they can do the conversion for you correctly.

The front springs can be redesigned several ways. The firs way is to soften them and let the air bags carry the extra load of cargo, the second way is for slamming the truck.


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[someoldmoose]

A slammed 5 ton. I wanna b first. Hahaha

 

[Mos68x]

I gotta go and do the the monthly line points and more of the PMCS, I'll try to look at mine and see if there is any room for the suggested "slam". Not my cup o tea, but I'm still curious.

 

[red]

The front springs do flex some on these trucks. In the video of my m816 going up that hill you can watch the front axle articulating. Could certainly be smoother though.

 

[Mos68x]

The front springs do flex some on these trucks. In the video of my m816 going up that hill you can watch the front axle articulating. Could certainly be smoother though.

So does mine, I didn't really know how much till this Class III started to really urk me. I was down under the engine and since my **** springs are just covered in oil it has seeped between the spring leafs. Not necessarily a bad thing, but having an oil leak in general is for me. Anyways, I had noticed at the front of the springs that I had movement within the spring pack, not the bad kind, just the normal flex kind. It had rubbed about 1/16-1/8" clean in front of each leaf. I'm not what that amounts to in actual suspension travel, but I'm sure it ain't a super tiny amount. There is some room between the top of the differential and the oil pan in mine, about 4-5", but the spring bump stop is closer, at about 2". I'm not sure what the engine to differential clearance would be on the A0/A1 models though.

 

[Csm Davis]

Jeff, those pictures you show are of a setup with only two springs or so. I love the setups. Look great. But if the axle never flexes and never reaches the bags, it's just window dressing. Springs have to be removed to allow the air bags to work. Is that what you are suggesting? Take away springs? Or completely replace springs with a different setup?

Look in my first post or two. My idea was to remove or render useless (through heat or cutting) a spring or three to allow the springs to flex! Maybe I'm going at it the wrong way. Maybe I need to go down to the semi junk yard and pull springs from theirs and put on mine?

Id like to hear your tractor idea. I just picked up a 931A2 and will start working on that one as the "city ride".

Yeah I am going to rip out all but the 2nd and 3rd springs and add air bags to tote the load, the 1st spring on top doesn't attach at the ends, I may need triple convoluted bags to get the height needed and might have to get longer or rearched springs to get the axle to ride in the stock position but it will be easy to do and I am also going to be checking on air bumpstops and probably much larger king shocks. If watching Simp tear up stuff has taught me anything it is that running down our interstates is like pre running the desert, think class 8 rally trucks.

First you need to weight the front axle empty.
Then you take it to a truck spring shop that does work on class 8 trucks and they can do the conversion for you correctly.
The front springs can be redesigned several ways. The firs way is to soften them and let the air bags carry the extra load of cargo, the second way is for slamming the truck.
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Front end weight on a M931A2 with me and 27,000 trailer have a front axle weight of 10,300 lbs or less according to the loading of the trailer which only had a +/- of 350 lbs difference when 10,000 lbs removed from the trailer. So let's say the front axle and tires weigh 2000 lbs that means the bags only have to hold 4000 lbs each, no problem. The front of most over the road trucks are 12,000 - 13,000 lbs with lighter unsprung weight. So the bags they use will easily handle our trucks. The front doesn't handle much of the cargo weight unless you are using a LWB truck loaded heavy to the front, even then the standard class 8 bags will work great.

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[Mos68x]

think class 8 rally trucks.

YUP! lol especially on I-57N, that was horrible when I had my Silverado and a 31ft travel trailer, I thought it was gonna bounce me death. I can't imagine doing the same stretch in the 5T

 

[quickfarms]

Try driving around California in a 15ton. There are ok roads and there are roads I will not go on.

There are also stretches of the freeways we do not ride in the right lane. On some we ride in the left lane.