I was curious if changing out my OEM shocks on my 02 Silverado would make any difference in the ride or handling? if so what kinds would be the best to get? Or to put it another way, I want to replace my OEM shocks and I know Monroe makes good ones, but are there others that would be recommeneded?
Depends on what kind of ride your looking for and what kinds of shocks came on your truck. Chevy trucks are coming out with CHEAPO and GOOD shocks depending on the truck you bought. If they are all Black, they're the cheep ones, if the top plastic half is Black, and the bottom half is BLUE, they are the good ones. If you have the good ones, changing shocks now is not going to help very much and your just going to waste your money. If you have the all Black ones, you may get some improvement depending on what shock your getting.
Lowering my truck gave it better Handling, since the center of Gravity is lower. Adding a stiffer front sway bar and adding a sway bar to the Rear would also help in handling. Depends on your truck being Stock, Lowered, Raised. What Exactly your trying to do.
If your going to replace your shocks, go with a Mono Tube design. I don't conceder Monroe's good shocks. The Mono Tube shocks will be Stiffer, but give you better handling.Getting something like the Edelbrock ISA Mono tube shocks, will give you the best of both worlds. There're stiffer when the road is smooth giving you better handling and reducing body roll, but under crappy road conditions the shock softens up, allowing the wheels to stay in contact on the road with better control. The shocks are not cheap. About $70 EACH!
My 03 Silverado Extended Cab truck is Lowered, with the Edelbrock shocks, and I have wider tires since they're P275/45R20's, and It handles great when I'm going up in the mountains going around all the sharp turns. Much improved then when it was Stock. The Downside is, I don't have as much suspension travel, Watch the speed bumps and deep pot holes. Also if I park in front of a Curb, sometimes the plastic part on the bottom of the front bumper will hit. I plan to add Air bags to the Rear, which should help a little in handling and keep the truck from bottoming out going over large bumps, and if I ever carry a really heavy load in the back I can Air it up more to keep the back from sagging low. I'd never want my truck to be STOCK and look like a zillion other Chevy trucks out there. It Looks a lot better, it handles a lot better, It sounds a lot better, I'm happy. People comes up to me all the time and tell me how much they like it. Never once had anyone say they didn't like it.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.