Oh man, torsion bar suspension rides nice. If I was you, I'd revert back to all stock. Get rid of the lift and big tires.... those are the killers.... Of course, shocks and springs also come into play. Maybe someone has switched them out too.

My '03 Silverado 1500 Z71 with 'off road' package is all stock suspension, and rides very comfortably... BUT... when I get into off-road situations, then it's a different story. I have to go slow or pay the price in wrecked back or wrecked truck.

 

What is your tires pressure?

 

Agree with above suggestions. I had an 02 that rode great. Are your tires LT rated 10 ply or P metric tires? Makes a big difference in ride.

2013 Sierra SLE 2500HD CC 4wd Z71 6.6 Duramax

 

Like the two previous posts, what kind of tire (LT, Metric, or P-metric). Then, what tire pressure are you running in them?

 

What is your tires pressure?

Tires are at 40-45 psi. That what the tire shop inflated them to.

 

Agree with above suggestions. I had an 02 that rode great. Are your tires LT rated 10 ply or P metric tires? Makes a big difference in ride.

2013 Sierra SLE 2500HD CC 4wd Z71 6.6 Duramax

They are indeed LT 10 ply. Inflated to 40-45 psi. So these tires make for a stiffer ride?

It can't simply be the tires though. Something about the suspension feels very stiff. The way it reacts to the road is unusually stiff.

 

If you don't tow a heavy trailer, lose the LT tires unless you prefer a stronger tire. Never lifted a truck but I'm sure that affects how good the suspension works. I had a 13 Silverado with LT rated tires, stock suspension and I noticed the difference when I ran my winter P rated tires. I towed a 6400 lb camper in the summer.

2013 Sierra SLE 2500HD CC 4wd Z71 6.6 Duramax

 

Well, 40-45 psi is about right. When I first got my 2001, it had 10-ply LT tires that I ran at 42 psi. When I changed over to metric, I noticed a difference, but not a dramatic one.

Whenever the original geometry of a vehicle is changed (read: RC lift kit), it will affect the ride. I don't know if your current condition is totally the fault of the lift. Maybe more individuals with lifted trucks will chime in here.

 

i would stick with the tougher tires if you don't want flat tires driving on rough roads ...

 

Just air down your tires. 25 psi is still streetable to get you somewhere to air up, or get yourself a small 12v compressor and air down 15-18 psi or so. Huge difference in off road behavior.

 

Oh man, torsion bar suspension rides nice. If I was you, I'd revert back to all stock. Get rid of the lift and big tires.... those are the killers.... Of course, shocks and springs also come into play. Maybe someone has switched them out too.

My '03 Silverado 1500 Z71 with 'off road' package is all stock suspension, and rides very comfortably... BUT... when I get into off-road situations, then it's a different story. I have to go slow or pay the price in wrecked back or wrecked truck.

I get that removing the lift would help, but I quite like the lifted look with the bigger tires. It's not too much, just enough to give it a bit of an edge over the stock look. Plus the extra bit of clearance is nice.

I'm looking for solutions in which I could keep the lift. The way the suspension reacts to bumps and holes is strange. Almost like the shocks might have a really harsh rebound rate. Anyone have any input on how much difference another set of shocks would make?

 

I run Bilstein 5100's set at top notch with a Zone add a leaf in the rear. Rides great on or off road. I'm not on torsion bars though. I'd say get some better shocks. Also air down when off road. I'm assuming those KO2's are E rated so they're a stiffer tire. 25 lbs off road should soften it up. I'm usually on sand so I drop to 18lbs.

 

Apologies, what are you referring to when you mean your shocks are aet at top notch? Is that the travel or rebound rate or..?

And zone add a leaf?

 

airing down does make a massive difference. try that before spending money.

 

I have k02 as well. Tire shop set pressures around 44-45psi on 20" rims. The ride was "squirrelie". Aired down to 36. Factory settings are for 30psi. (too mushy for me and mpg stinks at 30).

 

Apologies, what are you referring to when you mean your shocks are aet at top notch? Is that the travel or rebound rate or..?

And zone add a leaf?

Yes the 5100's set a the top notch is to raise the front ride height by preloading the springs. The Zone add a leaf in the rear simply adds a leaf spring to the leaf pack lifting the rear an inch or so.

 

I get that removing the lift would help, but I quite like the lifted look with the bigger tires. It's not too much, just enough to give it a bit of an edge over the stock look. Plus the extra bit of clearance is nice.

I'm looking for solutions in which I could keep the lift. The way the suspension reacts to bumps and holes is strange. Almost like the shocks might have a really harsh rebound rate. Anyone have any input on how much difference another set of shocks would make?

Ahh, ok, you did not mention 'keep the lift' in the first post. The problem with a lift is that you are changing so many things, and basically all of them are bad (IMHO). Just consider this one fact: a lift puts you (and the vehicle) up higher, so every time you hit a rut or bump, you and the vehicle are going to move much farther (horizontally) than normal. That's a dramatic influence on ride quality right there. Plus you've got the ride quality hit of larger wheels/tires, which is increasing unsprung weight, another negative. I could go on about the negatives of lift/tires, but I will shut up on that...............

Meanwhile, if you want to soften things up. I would start by doing as others say, lower the tire pressure, especially in off-road situations. Bring a small compressor with you, so you can air back up when getting back on highway. That's something you can try for little money. The next thing I would try is new shocks. I would get stock style shocks, nothing 'super heavy duty'. Maybe try removing a leaf (if possible) from the rear springs. Check all your bump stops for proper clearance.

 

Well, I tried airing the tires down to 30-35 psi... didn't make a lick of difference. Ride was still rough as could be.

I've been looking into the Atomic Coilover Conversion Kit some more and I think that's the route I'll end up taking.

If anyone else has other suggestions I'm all ears!

 

I know you say it's a 4" lift, but what is it turned up to?

Your angles should be flat, or very close to it. That's the issue with the torsion bar suspensions. You can adjust them a little bit and pretty drastically change the ride.

But either way you'll never get them to ride as nice as either the strut setups or a coilover setup.

 

You can't use the adjustable 5100's. Unless things changed, they don't make them for a 2006. I looked for my own 2006 before I lifted. I played the leveling game, and eventually maxed out and then decided to go real lift. But I also did a project to delete my torsion bars...IMO, saying bars are a good ride is something I wouldn't agree with. Maybe for towing/plowing as it can handle quite a bit of load, but it doesn't ride or respond anything like coil overs.

If you wanted coilovers, you'd need special brackets and shocks...You could keep the lift or lose it, but you seem like you want to keep it, which is fine.

It also does matter what kind of lift you have now?... I have an RCX 6" kit with the coil swap, but I have mine set to about 4.5" due to local laws on lifted trucks..

 

I see it has been 7 months since your post but wondering if shocks are bottoming out as diy lifts and extra travel shocks don't always get done correctly...if it was a diy job

 

I just bought a 2008 with a 6.5" RC lift on it with 35" tires and it rode like absolute dogshit when I bought it. It felt like it had no suspension. So stiff on low speed bumps. I feel like the strut spacers prevent the struts from functioning correctly on the front. I rebuilt most of the front suspension and downsized the tires then bought coilovers and it feels like the suspension is actually functioning now. When I unbolted the stock struts with the spacer on top, I unbolted the bottom first and they would barely move. It felt like they didn't even want to bend to the side at all. The spacer kept them so straight and stiff they didn't want to bend with the control arms as they travel up.

When I put the coilover on I bolted it in on the top first and it moved all over the place easily. It has a 360 degree bearing on the top that slides 6" or more easily in any direction. Completely different feel then the strut with the spacer on top.

 

I just bought a 2008 with a 6.5" RC lift on it with 35" tires and it rode like absolute dogshit when I bought it. It felt like it had no suspension. So stiff on low speed bumps. I feel like the strut spacers prevent the struts from functioning correctly on the front. I rebuilt most of the front suspension and downsized the tires then bought coilovers and it feels like the suspension is actually functioning now. When I unbolted the stock struts with the spacer on top, I unbolted the bottom first and they would barely move. It felt like they didn't even want to bend to the side at all. The spacer kept them so straight and stiff they didn't want to bend with the control arms as they travel up.

When I put the coilover on I bolted it in on the top first and it moved all over the place easily. It has a 360 degree bearing on the top that slides 6" or more easily in any direction. Completely different feel then the strut with the spacer on top.

You have a totally different suspension than the OP. He has a torsion bar front suspension, so you're comparing apples to oranges.

 

A strut spacer is a bandaid. I don't feel like a lift kit ever rides correctly without a proper sized coilover for the lift length needed properly adjusted.

 

Maybe you are hitting on your bump Stops what are your a arms like if they are resting on your bump stops that will give you hard bumps.