Smoothing out the ride - Solved

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MrJLR

MrJLR

Built, not bought
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My Cuda is a bouncy ****...lol
The rear only really...new leaf springs and Bilstein shocks.
VERY bouncy......

What would help smooth it out?

Jeff
 
It may just take time for the springs to settle and break in. How many miles on the new springs?
 
Yes shackle angle. Is the shackle straight up and down or angled back a little like they are supposed to be?

Did you tighten the shackle and spring eye bolts with or without the weight of the car on the springs.
 
abodyjoe said:
Yes shackle angle. Is the shackle straight up and down or angled back a little like they are supposed to be?

Did you tighten the shackle and spring eye bolts with or without the weight of the car on the springs.
Click to expand...
Tightened with weight on them...pretty much straight up and down or slightly leaning towards the good side.....

Jeff
 
JMHO.....

Bounce up and down on any A body with no shocks and new springs to see what I mean.....if it doesn't bounce, you have a problem.

the SPRINGS are there to hold up the car .

The SHOCKS only function is to CONTROL the bounce......non adjustable (most factory) and single adjustable control both rebound/ compression at the same degree of stiffness, where double adjustable controls the degree of stiffness separately. Is the rebound / compression adjustable on your shocks?....if so, stiffen them up, otherwise, probably need the correct or better quality shocks.
 
HemiDenny said:
JMHO.....

Bounce up and down on any A body with no shocks and new springs to see what I mean.....if it doesn't bounce, you have a problem.

the SPRINGS are there to hold up the car .

The SHOCKS only function is to CONTROL the bounce......non adjustable (most factory) and single adjustable control both rebound/ compression at the same degree of stiffness, where double adjustable controls the degree of stiffness separately. Is the rebound / compression adjustable on your shocks?....if so, stiffen them up, otherwise, probably need the correct or better quality shocks.
Click to expand...
It's got brand new Bilstein shocks on all 4 corners. ....
I guess a better description would be that it's extremely "stiff"...?

Jeff
 
are they adjustable....rebound / dampening?....and are they the correct ones. example....B body shocks should be stiffer on an A body because of the weight ( 600 to-800lbs) vehicle difference

I run my Qa1 at the lowest (softest) setting on the front....and 2 clicks up on the rear....I can make it stiffer than a wedding pecker. but then you feel every pebble / bump in the road.
 
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HemiDenny said:
are they adjustable....rebound / dampening?....and are they the correct ones. example....B body shocks should be stiffer on an A body because of the weight ( 600 to-800lbs) vehicle difference

I run my Qa1 at the lowest (softest) setting on the front....and 2 clicks up on the rear....I can make it stiffer than a wedding pecker. but then you feel every pebble / bump in the road.
Click to expand...
They are a-body shocks but non-adjustable

Jeff
 
If they're Bilstein RCD's contacting Bilstein probably won't help, RCD modifies the Bilstein shocks for A-body's and improved handling by changing the valving.

Are the springs XHD's? A quick look on summit shows XHD's but not standard springs which have a lower spring rate (80 vs 110 for the XHD's). If you had standard springs on there before and now have XHD's and Bilsteins the ride will definitely be stiffer, it's supposed to be. Do you have the part #'s on the springs?

As far as the springs "breaking in", the ride height might change a bit as the springs sag a little, but that doesn't change the spring rate at all. Unless the springs sag so much they don't function properly the spring rate will remain the same. That's why you can have old springs re-arched.

How tight did you make the shackles? Could be binding up if they were over tightened.
 
I have the impression the bounce is just the tires and the suspension is actually fine, but stiff.

Throw a couple of hundred pounds of cocaine in the trunk and drive it and see if it feels like the bounce is gone.

Seriously though, even just a couple of bags of potting soil, ready mix, sand, whatever.
Just don't use something that will dent the body from the inside if it moves around for some reason.
 
TrailBeast said:
I have the impression the bounce is just the tires and the suspension is actually fine, but stiff.

Throw a couple of hundred pounds of cocaine in the trunk and drive it and see if it feels like the bounce is gone.

Seriously though, even just a couple of bags of potting soil, ready mix, sand, whatever.
Just don't use something that will dent the body from the inside if it moves around for some reason.
Click to expand...

I'll certainly try that....doesn't cost anything!
Now, if that improves it - what is the perminate solution?

Jeff
 
Weight in the trunk or lighter springs.:D
I know you didn't want to hear either one of those.

You could even add some pressure to the rear tires and that would make the bounce go away (or change it quite a bit)
 
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