Ridetech RQ HQ shocks or ??

[Houston Ben]

Hi all,
I have been wanting to redo my suspension for a while now and thought about replacing the whole thing and start new but $$.

I believe my truck is lowered but I don't known by how much or how it was lowered. It appears the back is stock as the OG rivets are still in there but they cut the bed support rail where the shackle is located. I am thinking the previous owner cut the front coils as everything else appears to be og as well. It appears to sit lower than some stock trucks I have seen on the road but I don't know. When I did my LS swap I barley fit under the cab and bed. I have 275 60 15 BFG all the way around

Please excuse the photoshop for rims, lol

When I go down the road a feel every bump in the road, if the free way is a little bumpy it is a really rough ride and when I hit a (feels) bit dip on the freeway the truck floats like a boat but comes back quick. Can this all be due to the shocks?? I have no idea what brand they are. If so, what shocks would I be happy with, I am looking at Ridetech RQ's, anyone have any experience on these? I have searched but found one person who used them and said they were great but no real review.

Any help on my situation will be greatly appreciated.

Ben

[Dan@Hotchkis]

Your harsh ride can be due to a grossly mismatched spring and shock combo. I would suggest Buying a matched set of springs and shocks. I don't believe that your springs are lowered enough to match the length of a "lowered" shock so make sure if you stick with your current springs you get some good eye to eye measurements with the vehicle sitting at ride height. There are a lot of good shocks out there, however we have spent a lot of time and effort into our shock program to ensure that our shocks provide maximum performance and comfort.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3q5RCsWwYw

[chevy_mike]

One thing that is overlooked is, if the stock coil spring is cut, not only does it lower the height, it also increase the spring rate, which basically makes it stiffer. This is why for me personally, if I am only looking to drop the front 2", I always use drop spindles. This way the spring rate is not changed and it will ride just like stock, only 2" lower from the spindle drop.

Without knowing what the previous owner did, you really don't know where to start unless you do a complete replacement of parts. As Dan said above, getting matching parts designed to work together is the best place to start.

[Houston Ben]

Thanks for the response Dan and Mike,
Guess I will be ordering stock springs and a lowering kit 2.5-4 for my truck and get all new shocks.

Dan, your shocks look great but I didn't see anything for the 73-87 C10. Please excuse my ignorance on this subject, I have never lowered a vehicle before so this will be something new for me.

Thanks again.

[Dan@Hotchkis]

Unfortunately we haven't done any fitment for the later trucks however some of the tinker-types on the site have been playing with ways to get our stuff on the later rides.

[Houston Ben]

Dang, thanks Dan!

Looks like I will be getting Mcgaughys 2/4 with Belltech SP shocks. I wanted Ridetech RQ's but since I have to get a drop I gotta save where I can and I have read the Belltech's are pretty good.