Hey '05 guys, still bouncing?
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From: Newport Beach
Hey '05 guys, still bouncing?
I've been weighing the +/- of upgrading to an '05. One of the biggies is if the coils up front on the 4x4s have relieved some of the concrete freeway expansion joint hop- as we had in the leaf springs.
What is your experience?
I dig the thought of improved steering radius, but am uneasy about the durability of coils. Have to take the good with the bad I guess. I love my current rig, so hunting for the +s!
What is your experience?
I dig the thought of improved steering radius, but am uneasy about the durability of coils. Have to take the good with the bad I guess. I love my current rig, so hunting for the +s!
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i was wondering how the new ones rode too. my wife hates riding in mine with me cause it bounces so much. it is kind of funny to see her holding her cup with both hands trying to get the straw to go in her mouth when we're on a rough road lol.
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From: Rocky Mountains
Other than the joint hop, the somewhat harsh axle hop at speed over bumps or large potholes, and a washout feeling when taking bumpy corners going too fast, it rides VERY well - amazingly well for a 7,000+ lb truck. It's no Boxster, but at 85 on smooth road you'll think you're going 55 and wonder why everyone else is going so slow. Take one for a long test drive, and it might just become your next truck. That's what happened to me. You just have to drive one.
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From: Newport Beach
Great imput, thanks all. Sounds like an insurmountable matter of physics. I thought it might be just a leaf spring thing. Guess now I'll focus on other aspects of the '05s.
Too bad that there isn't one easy cure-all, along the lines of the adjustable Rancho 9000s, but more refined. When is Donahoe coming out with theirs???
csurp- what have you heard about Edelbrocks? Another progressive shock?
Big Dually- funny you had it going the other way! OK not so funny.
Too bad that there isn't one easy cure-all, along the lines of the adjustable Rancho 9000s, but more refined. When is Donahoe coming out with theirs???
csurp- what have you heard about Edelbrocks? Another progressive shock?
Big Dually- funny you had it going the other way! OK not so funny.
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From: Rocky Mountains
I forgot to mention this a.m. that some of my ride observations (not complaints at all) are caused by my Conti tires. BFG AT KO's on my last truck cleared those problems, except for the jt hop, right up. I just cant' put BFG's on now because it won't fit in my home or work garages afterward. Heck, I don't think I have the clearance to put a micro satellite antenna on top, and those are only approx 1/4 inch high.
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I've read on other posts here that velvet ride spring shackles will take a lot of the jolt out. I think their web site is velvetride.com. The design looks like it should be effective. Unfortunately it only works on shackles in tension so you can't use them on the front.
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From: Utopia
The hop is a long wheel base thing. LWB smooths out the ride on most roads but when our rides are as long as the concreted sections in the freeway are long the hop is inevitable. Sometimes when the truck settles into those rhythms a slight acceleration/deceleration will cure it.
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From: USA
This is strange. I don't notice much hopping in my solid axle/leaf sprung F350 SRW 4x4 CrewCab LongBed. Mine is a '92 with stock suspension and 45K original miles. I run 33x12.50-16.5 BFG All Terrain KO's with Bilstein shocks on the front and Rancho 9000's on the rear. I have a 351 engine and I think my front axle weight rating is 4650 lbs.
Did Ford change the trucks that much from '92 to '04 or is it just my tires and shocks that make for a nice ride? The front axle is the same (Dana 60 monobeam) and the weight rating on the front end isn't too much different (comparing like-engine trucks), maybe a couple hundred lbs higher on the newer ('04-down) trucks, I think.
This truck rides better than my old '82 Chevy 2wd dually with independent front suspension and coil springs. The front is stiffer and the rear is softer but the overall feeling is the F350 rides nicer. It also rides MUCH better than my old '77 Chevy 3/4 ton 4x4 did (that thing was bone-jarring), but not as nice as my old '78 Dodge 1/2-ton 2wd. That one was very soft. Of course the rear end sank down pretty far with a load too...
Did Ford change the trucks that much from '92 to '04 or is it just my tires and shocks that make for a nice ride? The front axle is the same (Dana 60 monobeam) and the weight rating on the front end isn't too much different (comparing like-engine trucks), maybe a couple hundred lbs higher on the newer ('04-down) trucks, I think.
This truck rides better than my old '82 Chevy 2wd dually with independent front suspension and coil springs. The front is stiffer and the rear is softer but the overall feeling is the F350 rides nicer. It also rides MUCH better than my old '77 Chevy 3/4 ton 4x4 did (that thing was bone-jarring), but not as nice as my old '78 Dodge 1/2-ton 2wd. That one was very soft. Of course the rear end sank down pretty far with a load too...
Last edited by SoCalDesertRider; Nov 19, 2004 at 10:58 PM.
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From: Newport Beach
I have owned four other trucks, have had several company trucks, but none of them have compared to the inner-organ fun I have with my F250. I have no complaints, my wife is used to it, but mom & friends are a different story 
I now load up all sorts of weight & let air out of the tires before picking them up. So, had high hopes for '05 coils being a solution.
SoCalDR- no hop even on the 405 though Seal Beach or 110 in harbor area or South Central???? What the heck could be different about yours? I can't believe those 9000s are doing it alone.
I must say that my F250 is an extremely comfortable ride on asphalt, can even please mom there.
I now load up all sorts of weight & let air out of the tires before picking them up. So, had high hopes for '05 coils being a solution.SoCalDR- no hop even on the 405 though Seal Beach or 110 in harbor area or South Central???? What the heck could be different about yours? I can't believe those 9000s are doing it alone.
I must say that my F250 is an extremely comfortable ride on asphalt, can even please mom there.