Rough Suspension

[RazorbackH3]

Hey all, got a 2006 Hummer H3 and for the past couple of months now, the ride has been bone-jarringly rough :gaah:... every time that I hit a bump, it seems that the suspension has absolutely no give in it (The rear shocks have very little absorption whatsoever)... Just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar to this and could give me some in-site into what you did to fix the terrible ride... I currently have 315's (which I understand will cause the ride to suffer some) mounted, and I also have Pro-Comp ES9000 shocks as well as the front-end leveled to 23.5"... Does it sound like it is about time for new shocks? My current shocks have about 30,000 miles on them. If it is time to replace them, what shocks are good for a leveled H3, mainly rear suspension (I hear a lot about Bilstein shocks but I don't know if they would make the ride more tolerable). All I want is a more comfortable ride over bumps. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated, Thanks.

 

[Hummerboy]

You will most likely be told to run extended bump stops from trail duty. Personally I know your pain, after I leveled my rig I had to buy monroe shocks which were supposed to be a good brand. The front end ride was god awful to say the least. Extended bump stops will help a little bit but still ride will be far from factory. Never ran the bilsteins but have heard nothing but good things about them and was going to buy them until I got hooked up with fox shocks with my rancho.


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[4speedfunk]

Front Shocks
Make sure your front shocks are long enough. I have worked on several H3s with cranked torsion bars, that are actually riding with the shocks "topped out" (fully extended). They ride like chuck-wagons. Most H3's with cranked bars have the opposite problem...too much dive (braking) and rise (accelerating). The extended bump stops really help this problem...but not sure they would do much for a rough ride.

Rear Shocks
On the rear...make sure someone hasn't added an overload leaf. They can make the rear ride very stiff. Once again...make sure your shocks are long enough.

Tire Pressure
Might seem obvious but, this has much to do with ride quality. Big tires are no problem on the H3, and I don't hear too many complaints about the ride. While big tires are rated up to 60psi in some cases, I have found that anything over 40psi can make the H3 ride rough...especially on washboard surfaces or rail-road track crossings. Experiment with tire pressure. I have long been a fan of 42-45 psi for mileage and wear reasons. But on the H3 seems hyper-sensitive to tire pressure. So I have recently dropped down to 35psi for the same reasons you are describing (37" BFG-KM2s).

 

[RazorbackH3]

Hey Hummerboy, yeah... I've got the trailduty bump stops... just have been too lazy to put em' on.

 

[RazorbackH3]

Hey 4speedfunk, I think that my shocks may be too short... (Both front and rear, even though they were advertised for stock/lifted...)... And chuck-wagon is the perfect description for the ride quality... Plus I do have nose dive... just haven't put the trailduty bumpstops on because 1. I'm too lazy right now, and 2. I'm scared that once I get them on, the ride may become even worse... have had my 34.6" General Grabber AT2's all set to 35 psi for a while now, with the hopes that the ride would have improved even a hair, but 0 improvement... The leafs are the originals, and aren't sagging soo I don't think that they are the cause for the bad ride... I did remove my rear seats to reduce the weight by a little in the rear hoping that would help some and am in the process of making a board to fit over the slanted floor... (Kinda like you have if the Thorparts H3 with solid axles front and rear on youtube is yours. :thumbs, and have also removed my old military trunk that I filled with emergency and survival gear and the ride seems a bit better but not by much... soo do you think that the shocks could be the problem? And if soo, what shocks should I consider for replacement... The fronts really aren't bugging me too much, they are tolerable, it's my rear shocks... I also just measured from the center of the wheel hub and am sitting right at 24"...

 

[Best4x4]

The ride quality with the 1/2 TD Bumpstops is fine if u ask me. My Alpha used to nose dive like crazy and I couldn't drive thru any kind of curve fast due to excessive body roll... After the TD's and 5100's = night and day!

IMHO 24inches is pushing it. CV angles, and a very stiff ride. 23.5 max, but I am at 23 1/4 which placed the TD's in the same position as the OEM setup.

 

[RazorbackH3]

Hey Best4x4, oh no... 24" is the rear height (Been the same height in the back since new)... I'm sitting at 23.5" in the front, didn't have the courage to crank the torsion bars any higher...

 

[chad]

i say go bilstien shocks, they made my truck ride better and they are made to handle the length when leveled out front end, also they helped with the nose dive with my winch and mount weight on the front.

 

[RazorbackH3]

Hey chad, yeah I was thinking about them for my rear shocks... my front Pro-Comps don't seem to be too bad... Going over rough bumps, how do the rear Bilstiens feel? I just want something that won't jar the back end and make me see stars. lol

 

[chad]

it helped all around, i had 92k miles on my original shocks and some roads around here where pretty rough, but after i replaced them and drove around a bit to break them in a bit they ride good now, they rear and front are much smoother, your not going to get a Cadillac feel because its still a truck but it does ride noticeably better.

 

[SolidusJ]

i say go bilstien shocks, they made my truck ride better and they are made to handle the length when leveled out front end, also they helped with the nose dive with my winch and mount weight on the front.

I have a set of the "leaved bilstien shocks" up for sale still.

 

[RazorbackH3]

Hey Chad, yeah... Cadillac feel would be nice, but then it just wouldn't have the appeal of being a capable offroad work horse... I may go for Bilstiens when I get the money up for em'... That or just save up for either a Rancho 4" lift or a Thorparts front bumper... All great things that I want, just no money for em'... And being that the Rancho lift is $2500+, that may have to be put on the back burner... Soo I guess it's a toss up b/w Bilstiens and Thorparts bumper... (Now I just need to flip a coin to figure out which one chance/luck wants me to get. :wink

 

[RazorbackH3]

Hey SolidusJ, thanks for letting me know, might be interested in em'... I'll send ya a pm in a bit...

 

[derian06]

Hey Chad, yeah... Cadillac feel would be nice, but then it just wouldn't have the appeal of being a capable offroad work horse... I may go for Bilstiens when I get the money up for em'... That or just save up for either a Rancho 4" lift or a Thorparts front bumper... All great things that I want, just no money for em'... And being that the Rancho lift is $2500+, that may have to be put on the back burner... Soo I guess it's a toss up b/w Bilstiens and Thorparts bumper... (Now I just need to flip a coin to figure out which one chance/luck wants me to get. :wink

My H3 went from hitting the roof on pot holes with the T-bar crank to being perfectly smooth with the rancho.

Thorparts will be 900$ with shipping.
Bilsteins are what 300$?

I say save up for the rancho.

 

[RazorbackH3]

Haha, thanks derian... yeah I'm contemplating it... but I may just wait on the Rancho lift until my next H3 like you did (Love yours by the way)... My H3 has 153,000 miles on her and don't really want to throw something that's $2000+ on it just to sell it here in the next 50,000 miles (Vehicles over 200,000 miles make me nervous, my old 302 v8 Bronco blew up on me after rolling 200,000)... Want something that I can enjoy for more than 100,000 miles (get my moneys worth)... The only reason for looking at the Thorparts was because I like the way it looks and when I do go to sell my 3, I can just put the old bumper back on and transfer the Thor to my next 3. But I don't know... just gunna depend on how the money goes... Like all things modification, waiting on enough money to spend is the worst... haha

 

[derian06]

Haha, thanks derian... yeah I'm contemplating it... but I may just wait on the Rancho lift until my next H3 like you did (Love yours by the way)... My H3 has 153,000 miles on her and don't really want to throw something that's $2000+ on it just to sell it here in the next 50,000 miles (Vehicles over 200,000 miles make me nervous, my old 302 v8 Bronco blew up on me after rolling 200,000)... Want something that I can enjoy for more than 100,000 miles (get my moneys worth)... The only reason for looking at the Thorparts was because I like the way it looks and when I do go to sell my 3, I can just put the old bumper back on and transfer the Thor to my next 3. But I don't know... just gunna depend on how the money goes... Like all things modification, waiting on enough money to spend is the worst... haha

Scratch my last post, thorparts and bilsteins then. I had no idea you had that many miles on yours.

 

[RazorbackH3]

Haha yeah, (forgot to put that at the beginning) she's getting up there but still looks good... put about 42,000 miles on her in this first year of ownership alone. (Bought it off my mom with about 111,000 miles back in Aug. 2013)... College commuting/work miles really add up fast.