I recently picked up a 2008 5.3 short trailblazer. When I tested it on those Pennsylvania roads, everything felt great. As soon as I got her home to Massachusetts, it was painfully clear it needed new shocks.
So I got a set of bilstein HD shocks. The supposed "stiffer" option. But I'm still getting a lot of movement in the truck. The rebound on impacts seems to be ok... not quite as stiff as I'd like but not too bad. The problem is that bumps, especially a series of bumps in a row, cause a lot of side to side motion.
There doesn't seem to be any loose components in the sway bars, everything looks good. I may upgrade to better sway bar mounts anyway since they are not that expensive and easy to install. Is this a problem other people have had?
This truck replaced my old 1998 ZR2 Blazer, which is a 2 door blazer with a factory off road package. That truck had very little side to side compared to the trailblazer. I know the truck will never handle as good as my camaro, but there's got to be a way to make it stiffer than it is now? Also I'm not looking to lift or lower it, the factory ride height is fine by me.
I was poking around under it tonight with a light, it looks like the front has this massive thick swaybar. And it looks like the rear has this really thin one. Perhaps the solution is new bushings up front, whole new thicker bar in the rear? What do you think?
I've been told, not just online but by people who have actually driven them, that the SS's have a much better, much more car like ride than the non-RS trailblazers? How do they accomplish this? I know they have bigger wheels, thus lower profile tires, and their suspension is lowered a bit. Do they have anything else going on? Maybe they use stiffer swaybars that I could use as an upgrade to my truck? (Like the steering rack I really want to upgrade to some day)
So I got a set of bilstein HD shocks. The supposed "stiffer" option. But I'm still getting a lot of movement in the truck. The rebound on impacts seems to be ok... not quite as stiff as I'd like but not too bad. The problem is that bumps, especially a series of bumps in a row, cause a lot of side to side motion.
There doesn't seem to be any loose components in the sway bars, everything looks good. I may upgrade to better sway bar mounts anyway since they are not that expensive and easy to install. Is this a problem other people have had?
This truck replaced my old 1998 ZR2 Blazer, which is a 2 door blazer with a factory off road package. That truck had very little side to side compared to the trailblazer. I know the truck will never handle as good as my camaro, but there's got to be a way to make it stiffer than it is now? Also I'm not looking to lift or lower it, the factory ride height is fine by me.
I was poking around under it tonight with a light, it looks like the front has this massive thick swaybar. And it looks like the rear has this really thin one. Perhaps the solution is new bushings up front, whole new thicker bar in the rear? What do you think?
I've been told, not just online but by people who have actually driven them, that the SS's have a much better, much more car like ride than the non-RS trailblazers? How do they accomplish this? I know they have bigger wheels, thus lower profile tires, and their suspension is lowered a bit. Do they have anything else going on? Maybe they use stiffer swaybars that I could use as an upgrade to my truck? (Like the steering rack I really want to upgrade to some day)