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Best ride possible

Alahoot

New Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Messages
6
Loc.
Marblehead, MA
What do you guys recommend to take my 76 to the next level for suspension? I have done a lot of work to the truck over the years but just doesn't ride like i want it to. I am mainly street, but occasionally do open trails or beach. So most important is comfortable street ride...Thanks!
 

bronconut73

Bronco Guru
Joined
Aug 7, 2012
Messages
9,916
Bilstein Shocks and Deaver springs.

May need a front sway bar but "it will" ride soft,
 

DirtDonk

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Messages
47,353
Yes, we need to know what you have not in order to give the best advice.
What height suspension are you looking for too? Stock to 3.5" high?

But in addition to the Deaver choice, you could take any vendor's 11-leaf pack of the next height up, and remove a leaf or three to soften up the rear even more.
Add the Bilstein 5100's to that mix and you've got a pretty good setup.
But you will lose some of the spring's ability to carry extra loads, so keep that in mind.

At that point too, if you're trying for soft, then the anti-swaybars mentioned would be a welcome addition.

But don't forget tires in this equation either. If you're running 19" Load Range E tires at 70psi, you can forget about fiddling with just the suspension, as your tires are going to keep you feeling every pebble you run over.

Plenty of stuff to talk about still.

Paul
 

Broncobowsher

Total hack
Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Messages
34,835
Weight management is also a factor. As Paul mentioned the tires and wheels will play into the ride. But there is too soft as well. Make it too much like a 70's luxo barge and it will wallow around and be undrivable. That is where the sway bar comes in handy. But sidewall height and tire pressure also matter on top of the tire's stiffness. Even things like having heavy bumpers can have a factor. That weight is leveraged as far away from the axle as possible. Lighter bumpers, move the battery toward the center of the Bronco. Even bumping the wheelbase up an inch or two can all add up to changing the ride and handling.

How is the handling anyway? Is it already all over the road? Softening up the ride tends to hurt the handling unless it is already way too stiff.

Running rubber or poly bushings? is the cage tied into the frame? So many things that come into play.
 

Apogee

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 26, 2005
Messages
6,033
You have an EB, so you already have the "best possible ride" out there IMO. As for the other meaning of that phrase, I think mine rides really well with long arms up front and CAGE 3.5" springs, but everything is relative. Soft springs and stiff sway bars with quality dampers will typically provide the smoothest ride so long as everything is matched, but there's only so much you can do with a 92" wheelbase rig and still keep it streetable and safe. Modern leaf springs are much better than the older ones, but converting over to coil springs and links in the rear should help due to less stiction between leaves.
 

Brnco302

Jr. Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2010
Messages
113
Bilstein Shocks and Deaver springs.

May need a front sway bar but "it will" ride soft,

I have this exact setup with a 2 1/2 inch lift and 1 inch body lift.I also have the sway bar.Rides way better than stock which was heavy duty springs and duel shocks all the way around.I can't speak for other setups but this one works well.
 

73azbronco

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 11, 2007
Messages
7,796
What load rating on tires? If they are E rated, get D or lower rated.
 

68ford

Bronco Guru
Joined
Dec 26, 2004
Messages
2,710
Internal bypass coilovers and a sway bar for you application and best smooth ride on the street. Definitely not bolt on.
 

ame

Full Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2016
Messages
191
Internal bypass coilovers and a sway bar for you application and best smooth ride on the street. Definitely not bolt on.

It CAN ride best but only if valved right, IBP is really not necessary for good on road ride and I would rather have the larger piston surface area then IBP if its not a high speed off road setup.

Coilovers do not ride any different then a separate shocks and coil setup, they just look cooler but it still comes down to spring rate and valving.

With really well valved shocks you can get away without a sway bar , or would only need a soft sway bar.
 

68ford

Bronco Guru
Joined
Dec 26, 2004
Messages
2,710
Separate shock from spring is possible to work the same but not realistically in an EB. No coil springs are available as soft as coilovers. Plus they are typically much shorter so the spring rate increases on compression much faster. My logic on the ibp is soft valving for the street and basically everything besides big bumps and then it's stiffer when you donhit larger bumps.
Same for the rear. All available leaf springs are way to stiff being they have to be stiff enough for all the extra stuff people might possibly carry.
There's a reason all the mega overpriced EB chassis you can buy all have coilovers. Looks may be a part, but they ride better.
 

ame

Full Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2016
Messages
191
Separate shock from spring is possible to work the same but not realistically in an EB. No coil springs are available as soft as coilovers. Plus they are typically much shorter so the spring rate increases on compression much faster. My logic on the ibp is soft valving for the street and basically everything besides big bumps and then it's stiffer when you donhit larger bumps.
Same for the rear. All available leaf springs are way to stiff being they have to be stiff enough for all the extra stuff people might possibly carry.
There's a reason all the mega overpriced EB chassis you can buy all have coilovers. Looks may be a part, but they ride better.

If you cant get a soft enough spring and you can get a softer spring on a coilover then sure it may help but have a bit of a hard time believing you cant get a soft enough linear rate coil in the stock location to make it ride well. Were only talking what 8-9" of travel on the front of an EB? Its not like 15" of travel where a super long coil is needed.

Good progressive valving can ride very well on the street and still ramp up with shaft speed, IBPs are really long so there would need to be a specialized mounting hoop and then also be strong enough to handle the bottom out resistance that shock provides. Dont get me wrong they are awesome for the right application but I dont feel its the right choice for the OP.

Is there anyone that does custom tuned shocks for Early Broncos? If so spend money on a set of high quality custom valved shocks and it will completely transform the ride and handling.
 

68ford

Bronco Guru
Joined
Dec 26, 2004
Messages
2,710
No one knows early broncos, I picked brains at both king and fox multiple times. Out of the box my shocks we're way to stiff. I have sonxe lightened both compression and rebound valving and got it better. It is still too stiff on rebound inside my coilover.

Ame, to my knowledge the king ibp is standard length so a 10in coilover could be kept outsode the body and likely use a single spring to offset the additional cost of ibp which is not much per shock.

But maybe you're right and a normal coilover would be fine. Either way that would be far superior to normal coil and stock mounting leaf springs. I've been down this road. Front springs are all to stiff for the type of driving he described and all rear springs are definitely too stiff.
 

68ford

Bronco Guru
Joined
Dec 26, 2004
Messages
2,710
Looked up pricing and the ipb does add quite a bit to the price. So probably not worth it.
 

ame

Full Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2016
Messages
191
No one knows early broncos, I picked brains at both king and fox multiple times. Out of the box my shocks we're way to stiff. I have sonxe lightened both compression and rebound valving and got it better. It is still too stiff on rebound inside my coilover.

Ame, to my knowledge the king ibp is standard length so a 10in coilover could be kept outsode the body and likely use a single spring to offset the additional cost of ibp which is not much per shock.

But maybe you're right and a normal coilover would be fine. Either way that would be far superior to normal coil and stock mounting leaf springs. I've been down this road. Front springs are all to stiff for the type of driving he described and all rear springs are definitely too stiff.

Well ya I believe King and Fox dont know about EBs but didint know if there was an aftermarket shock tuner, we specialize in Dodge HD tuning and King builds shocks to our specs, probably sell 250 sets a year of Kings from 2.0 IFP to 4.0 King Kings so thought there may be a Bronco equivalent.

I know on smooth body shocks the IBP is like a good 1.5" longer which is enough to cause problems on some situations.
 

68ford

Bronco Guru
Joined
Dec 26, 2004
Messages
2,710
There are several really good guys out here but their specialty is high speed in the dirt. Not so much street. Coincidentally all the changes and adjustments to bypass tubes I have made on my bronco, has improved street ride quality as well. A light sway bar would probably be the next step.
 

Dirtroadjunkie

Jr. Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Messages
108
I'm planning on going with ORI's. Read more than one quote that "they're like riding on a cloud of titties"
 
OP
OP
A

Alahoot

New Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Messages
6
Loc.
Marblehead, MA
What’s your current setup?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for all the input! My bad for being checked out for a while, life!! My setup is a 3.5" suspension lift, with a 1" body lift that needed to be done to convert to a 5 speed/ 302 CI. The tires are 33x12.50 mud terrains, there is a steering stabilizer, and Rancho shocks. The truck is pretty clean and tight, it just doesn't ride clean and tight! I don't know maybe I'm dreaming, and this is just the way it is. I was just looking at the shock towers and thinking to myself how light duty and feeble the setup seemed. Thanks
 
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