Silverado or Sierra Ride

I'm thinking seriously about selling my 98 S-10 and purchasing a 2004 Silverado or Sierra. I have not driven either yet - still in the looking stages. One question though is how comfortable is the ride?

My S-10 has performed great, but the ride sucks on North Carolina roads. (Unfortunately, our Dept. of Transportation thinks they can get by with just patching our roads rather then resurfacing, and our roads are in terrible shape. Because of all the patching, the roads are very rough.)

Assuming I can swing a new truck, what are some ways to make it ride better? Will changing to better shocks, tires or springs make for a better ride? I don't have to tow anything other than a very small boat, and rarely haul anything greater than 500 pounds.

Anyone have any suggestions for me? Thanks.

Reply to
Bob Kelly
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Hi!

Why is that? I think my S-10's ride is on a par with its bigger brothers and I have the extra load capacity option on it. (can't think of the RPO or even the right name...but I'm sure you'll know...)

William

Reply to
William R. Walsh

The new trucks ride like Cadillacs compared to the older ones. All of the automakers have come a long way in suspension tech over the last 15 years.

97T
Reply to
97T

When you go test drive the new trucks take a tire pressure guage with you and make sure whatever you drive has the recommended air pressures. For rail transport they will pump tires up 10lbs and sometimes the dealer does not remember to bring them back down.

Since I don't tow or haul, after much experimentation I found my 01 Tahoe rides best with its P-rated tires down a few lbs from recommended and the ride is super smooth. (Just replaced my old Pirelli Scorpion Zero 285/65-16H with Yokohama AVS S/T 285/70-16H on stock 16x7 alloy rims).

Reply to
Markeau

The sticker on the Car's Door Jam will tell you what the Air Pressure they recommend. Which is normally LOW already. That way you get a softer ride. Which is fine, but your tires will last LONGER is you boost the pressure up more to the Tires MAX pressure. It's a trade off. I like to go higher. #1 reason is most people don't bother checking their Air pressure until the tire is FLAT! #2 tires last longer,

You also installed a tire that's slightly Narrower and slightly taller if that was what you were aiming for then great, or were you just trying to buy a tire that was a little cheaper because generally a 70 series tire is going to be cheaper then a 65 series tire. I'm not a big fan of Pirelli's but they are normally more money then Yokohama's, so your saving a few more bucks on that also.

Reply to
JBDragon

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