Crewmax shock valving/hunt for plush

I have read a lot of posts similar to this. But I’m actually doing it so I figured I’ll post my results, and if anyone else has experience please share.
I ordered kind 2.5 remote reservoir non adjustable shocks, fronts are extended travel. As soon as I got the fronts I took them straight to king to get them valved one step softer. The dude was borderline rude and seemed offended that I wanted them valved softer before even trying them out. I’m limited on time and taking these shocks on and off multiple times isn’t an option. Plus it took 5 weeks just to get those shocks back. Compression valving is 8, 8, 10, 12, 12 and he said all king oem shocks come with a flutter. I just picked them back up, so will hopefully install them this week.

I installed the rears a few weeks ago, they are valved how they come from king. They made the bed bounce worse on the section of highway my kids have the most fun on (110 onto the 405 in SoCal).

I have coach builder shackles ready to put on, but I’m going to call deaver first and hear what they have to say about our trucks. I only want 1-1.5 lift in the rear.

 

I have the same shocks as yours. I wish I bought the ones with compression adjusters. But they can still be retrofitted. The rears are really soft on low shock speed bumps from my experience. I installed air bags on the rear one day. I tested the ride around my area. The ride was unsafe. It's a pogo stick type movement on the back. So I removed the bags and installed the Roadmaster Active Suspension which I used on my previous 2007 Tundra 4x2. I will install the bags again one of these days with the Roadmasters.

The frame moves a lot. Starts where the cab ends at the back. I have some weight there. Dampens some of the vibration to a tolerable level. Plus, I'm not running a front sway bar with this 4x4 truck.

Thought about Deaver springs, but I need some load carrying springs. Those will flatten easy.

 

I think I will end up with air bags deflated most the time, and cradles on the bottom instead of attached. That way I can run a softer spring and use the bags when I tow. But they won’t be used at all for normal driving.

 

You should reach out to these guys https://accutuneoffroad.com/

 

I had same issue with icon 2.5 rear and coachbuilder shackles was like bucking bronco. Took truck out offroad and bed bounce is gone now not sure if that had anything to do with terrible ride

 

It was worse with the shackles?

 

Yea was garbage took it on freeeay right after install. After taking off road smooth as butter maybe needed to articulate suspension.

 

Sounds like the bushings were were stuck in the wrong position. Good it was butter after it settled in.

 

Bushings stuck?

 

If you torque them down in the wrong position they can get hung up. At least that’s what it sounds like happened. Or they were just right and needed a little love to get moving.

 

Unless I’m not searching hard enough it seems impossible to get C load tires with 18” wheels, my current E load made the ride significantly worse, although better when towing. So I will be going down to a 17” wheel, probably icon. More sidewall, C instead of E, should make a noticeable improvement.

 

I torqued on the ground not sure really just glad it is all good now

 

Got the shocks installed. Front feels great, the rear still rebounds off big dips fairly hard. I think that’s just the nature of the overload spring. I’m going to install the shackles before I get the deavers, but I’m willing to bet it won’t be fixed until the overload spring is gone.

 

section of 405 N around west LA is the best for testing bed bounce
I had it with Kings rear and slightly less with ADS triple bypasses. I also have Deaver.
My buddy in his F250 with FOX was worst..lol

 

Stock trd bilsteins were pretty bad. It’s completely gone when towing my boat. The 110 south exit to get onto the 405 is really bad, did that loop multiple times when my wife wanted to go into labor. I don’t expect it to go away, but to at least get better. Do you have a full deaver lead or the add a leaf?

 

full.
yeah I had the stock TRD shocks and it was bad. It got better with the aftermarket suspension but I don't think it will go away. Happens in most vehicles imo.
Probably has to do with how much weight you tow or haul.

 

Hey sounds like you're in our neighborhood. We're in Carson. If you are interested in getting those shocks tuned, we can certainly help out!

 

Curious, what's the advantage there? fewer plys in the tire? I did a quick look and only found one or two 17" AT tires in the 34" range that were C rated, and they didn't seem to weigh more than a pound or two less than the 10 ply E rated tire. I would have expected a much greater weight savings...

 

I actually had you guys rebuild some used fox remote reservoir 2.5’s for this truck, ended up selling them as I had more important things to spend money on at the time. Decided this time around I wanted new kings. I am taking advantage of the free revalve by king, fronts are 8, 8, 10, 12’s. Significantly softer then fox 2.5’s I had on my Silverado. If they end up being too soft I’ll bring them into you guys. I’m actually very surprised by how low the truck still is in the front with extended travel, barely gained 1.5”, which I’ll stay at to maintain the best ride possible. But now I can’t install the rear shackles I ordered or it would be way to high in the back. Gonna ride on the rear shocks for a bit before I get them revalved. The stock leaf pack leaves a lot to be desired for sure.

 

Significantly softer ride on a C compared to an E tire. I have cooper E tires right now and they are terrible compared to the stock Michelin’s. Running lower pressures help, but if I go any lower I’ll be driving on flat tires.

 

Sounds good. We do the free revalve thing as well, if they were purchased from us

 

Sounds like you have created a setup similar to the Fox Pro's used on the current TRD Pro - a longer spring but soft rate/tune. That sounds like the right recipe for a plush but taller ride, for sure.

Coachbuilder sells a spacer pack for the front of the pro's. Adds about an inch of height and isn't supposed to alter the ride - you may want to look into that. It should work with your kings.

 

Aren't the stock Michelin's a P rated tire?

I'm not discounting what you say - I'd just want to understand the *reason* for the difference in ride before I dropped coin on new tires AND wheels to fit them. that's a big gamble.

 

I believe they are 4 ply. The tires I want are 6 ply. My current E tires are 10 ply. I personally notice a huge difference. My dad replaced his stock size Michelin’s on his Silverado and they put E rated tires on without telling him. The ride is night and day from the same size Michelin’s in SL.
I would keep 18” wheels if I could find 6 or 8 ply tires in any of the typical tire size we use. They only exist with 17” wheels. For now I’m going to lower my rear pressure a few more psi.

 

The front kings valved one step softer then OEM king valving are great for me, I do t think I would want them anymore stiff. And I confirmed with king that all OEM shocks come with a flutter stack. The rears are a bit more firm, noticeable pogo stick affect because of the leaf pack. I will hopefully install the shackles this weekend, I will have a lot of rake, but it will be level while towing which I want. I am considering getting the wheelers superbumps up front, but will take it off road first to see if I bottom out.

 

I think my next step will be buying new tires when there is a sale. I have 285/65r18 cooper atw E load tires, they are the noisiest a/t tire I have ever had and ride stiff, even at 31psi cold. As of now I’m leaning towards 295/70r18 Michelin’s ltx m/s, but will do a lot of research before I pull the trigger. It’s hard to believe that different E load tires can be drastically stiffer, but it certainly seems that way.

 

I finally got the coach builder shackles installed. it did make the around town drive softer, and a I hit a big dip fast that I have hit the rear bump stop with before and this time it was softer and it did not bottom out. But the bed bounce remains on the freeway, maybe a little better but it’s still significant. I am already at 30psi cold with the E load tires so my next step will be new tires. These cooper are’s are definitely the stiffest tires I have ever had. I also still have oem valving on the rear kings.