GMC 2500 Take out a Leaf for better ride Which one?????

storeman

storeman

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Mar 8, 2007
Location
Whiteville nc
I have a 2001 EC GMC 2500 4X4 not the HD I want to remove one of the leafs for a better empty ride. I thought
I would add Air Bags to make up the difference when towing heavy. Right now I have 4 leafs plus the OL . I want to leave the OL but not sure which one to take out. I know the top one has to stay.
My leafs are 2.5 inches wide and about 5 feet long. Any experence or thoughts on this?

Thanks
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How much air is in the rear tires unloaded?
 
Take the very bottom leaf out, one above the OL. Or swap in half ton springs but I think removing a leaf will net the same effect. What shocks are you running?


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Original Factory Shocks whatever they are.
 
I am sure the Air would help some. But it is pretty Stiff. and I get good tread wear and low rolling drag at 45 I may go down a little and try it. Still going to do a Leaf like Redneck said. and add air bags.
 
storeman said:
your kidding right
Click to expand...
It acually works very well adding like 200 lbs of something, like sand bags will do wonders for ride and can help mpg and tire wear cause the tires arent skipping across the ground when you hit a bump they stay planted. I have 150lbs of sand bags in the bed of my moms truck to make it easier for her to drive it
And my silverado has a tool box loaded with 800lbs of tools and my w250 has a 1100 lbs tool box in it with tools. Weight can do a lot for handeling and ride caracteristics.

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My truck rides great once you get 500-1500lbs in the back (03 2500hd). This is normal, as they have to design the trucks to function properly with a couple thousand pounds in the back, or a big trailer behind it. Therefore the shocks have more dampening than needed for an empty truck, and the springs have more stiffness than really needed.
 
I'd try removing the third leaf from the top. Ie Main, 2nd, 3rd, bottom since you said it is a 4 leaf pack with an additional leaf for OL.
 
I've seen colapsable water bags utilized to good effect. If you need the space or less weight pour them out and squish them down. The ones used for camping have a handle you can use to secure them.
 
I think I am going to go with the spring above the overload. I can always put it back. What I don,t understand though is why don't they put a lighter spring in from the factory and air bag the trucks for heavy use. Am I missing something? Don,t air bags work good?

I know that a water bladder or sand bags would help, but I don't like hauling stuff around. It would get in the way. Thanks for all the input though.
 
A few points worth considering:

Air bags stiffen the ride, even when they're empty. I run mine completely flat when I'm just going to be road driving, and the ride is still stiffer than stock. I think the only way you could defeat that would be to remove the valve cores, but there's still going to be a restriction there.

The air bag manufacturers recommend running 5-7psi in the bags so that you don't accidentally bottom them out (and cut a bag or damage the mounts, etc). With 5-7psi in the bags, it's significantly stiffer than stock. My pin weight is around 3500#, and I only put 17-18psi in the bags when it's empty. (With the compression from the load, that number comes up to about 35psi loaded.)

I'd be more concerned with axle wrap. Mine's a Dodge, and I suspect I'm making a whole lot more power, but I get fierce axle wrap when loaded in 1 and 2 unless I either baby it or pull out in 4wd. Removing a leaf from the pack would only make that worse.

That said, with the IFS, I suspect yours still rides a whole lot nicer than mine. It's a 3/4 ton truck. It's not going to ride "nice" unless you put 1k# in the bed. Then it'll ride like a Caddy.

I still recommend dropping the rears to 30-35psi. Depending on the tires, they're rated to carry 3200-3750# each. You're only putting maybe 2800# on the rear axle when it's empty, so 1400-1500# per tire. 35psi should be more than enough.
 
shawn said:
A few points worth considering:

Air bags stiffen the ride, even when they're empty. I run mine completely flat when I'm just going to be road driving, and the ride is still stiffer than stock. I think the only way you could defeat that would be to remove the valve cores, but there's still going to be a restriction there.

The air bag manufacturers recommend running 5-7psi in the bags so that you don't accidentally bottom them out (and cut a bag or damage the mounts, etc). With 5-7psi in the bags, it's significantly stiffer than stock. My pin weight is around 3500#, and I only put 17-18psi in the bags when it's empty. (With the compression from the load, that number comes up to about 35psi loaded.)

I'd be more concerned with axle wrap. Mine's a Dodge, and I suspect I'm making a whole lot more power, but I get fierce axle wrap when loaded in 1 and 2 unless I either baby it or pull out in 4wd. Removing a leaf from the pack would only make that worse.

That said, with the IFS, I suspect yours still rides a whole lot nicer than mine. It's a 3/4 ton truck. It's not going to ride "nice" unless you put 1k# in the bed. Then it'll ride like a Caddy.

I still recommend dropping the rears to 30-35psi. Depending on the tires, they're rated to carry 3200-3750# each. You're only putting maybe 2800# on the rear axle when it's empty, so 1400-1500# per tire. 35psi should be more than enough.
Click to expand...

Shawn
I never considered the air bags being stiff when empty. Thank you for all the information above. I tell you what I will air down today to 30 and see what happens. What do you think different shocks would do for the ride and leave the springs alone???
 
The reason they don't use bag from the factory is....it'd cost them money. The auto industry (and everybody else, for that matter) is in the money making business. They're trying to minimize their cost and maximize their profit.
 
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