Suspension Jitters

[Brunoski]

Lately I've noticed that my truck is more jittery and I feel almost every bump. As if it was stiffer. Could the cold air affect the valving of the shocks or anything else? Last summer I put in the Green Tokico's with OME 906/881 coils. Even the girlfriend mentioned this. I cant expect the ride of a Camry from a truck, but something seems odd.

[CJM]

Air pressure in the tires, the cold will affect the shocks but not much.

Also dont forget the roads have potholes and stuff and ruts due to the snows and plowing unlike the summers where they usually repair them.

[Brunoski]

Air pressure in my tires is constant.

I was speaking beyond the obvious potholes. But regular cracks and small ridges in the roads. Other than that I guess I am just paranoid? Maybe I need to spring for some 285 so I'll have more side wall for cushioning.

[RunnerUp]

however you can justify 285's works for me

[YotaFun]

how many miles on the truck and did you do an alignment after the lift?

My steering rack was shot, the bushings were okay but still should be replaced.
also the truck wasn't aligned, and I had the exact same symptoms you do.

I had the rack replaced, along with new tie rod ends, new bushing for it, and an alignment and now the truck drives as smooth as the first day I bought it, if not better!

[CJM]

Oh indeed bad tie rods, centerlink, pitman, and idler arm along with an alignment will make it nasty to drive.

[Brunoski]

My truck has just about 95k miles on it. I did the alignment and checked everything, even put some poly bushings on the swaybars. Aside from the city streets, it drives smooth on the highway even at 75mph. Like I said I just noticed it this winter that even the smallest of bumps are felt by the whole truck. Probably doesn't help that my Terra Grapplers are LT.

285 sounds nice and proper, but the fuel economy is a detering factor.

[CJM]

What load range are your tires now too? To high a load range on a lighter truck means the sidewall doesnt flex as well and talk about bumpy.

[Brunoski]

The tires are D's. They dont make P rated in my size. I've had the tires for 1.5 years, so one winter already. Like I said befoe I just noticed recently that the truck is a bit stiffer and bouncier on even the small road bumps. I suspect the Green Tokicos are affected by the cold.

[CJM]

Maybe they are, if anything else it could be the tires are wearing out and the tread compound is harder -but thats a slim chance.

BTW dont ever put a P (passenger) rated tire on a truck..bad idea. I have C's on mine but they are 265's.

[Brunoski]

Well, today was slightly warmer and the truck was a bit better. As for the tires, they only have about 25k miles on them. So probably around half of their life.

As for the P rating, all stock tires are P, even the sticker says so. I've had the P's on before and it was a smoother ride, even doing 1000 miles of gravel roads in Canada's Labrador, mind you they were also regular all season.

I just wanted to ask if anyone noticed the same. I guess my paranoia :screwy: is growing and my truck's greed for attention is trying to consume me, LOL

Thanks anyways.

[CJM]

P tires arent rated for anything but cars even though some of the trucks come with them. They basically have softer sidewalls and treads.

My truck says right on the sticker LT/225/75/15, but the T100 is pretty heavy.

Heres some basic info on LT vs P rated tires:

LT (Light Truck) Metric tires have higher maximum inflation pressures and higher load carrying capacities at higher inflation pressures than P-Metric (Passenger Metric) tires. Conversely, below 35 psi Passenger Metric tires carry higher loads than LT Metric tires of the same size.

For example: A Passenger Metric tire sized P245/75R16 109S carries its maximum load at 35 psi which is 2,271 pounds.

A Light Truck Metric tire sized LT245/75R16 at 35 psi carries a load of only 1,700 pounds. At 50 psi though the load increases to 2,205 pounds. At 65 psi it is 2,623 pounds and at 80 psi it is 3,042 pounds. 50, 65 and 80 psi are the maximum loads for C, D and E load range tires respectively.

If you have a truck that specifies LT Metric tires under no circumstances should you install P-Metric ones as replacements. P-Metric tires will not have sufficient load or inflation capability for your truck.
Source(s):
I work in the tire industry

Glad its only the coldness thats causing it.