Will the Bilstein suspension make the on-road drive / ride quality softer?

[nelson]

I haven't had a vehicle like the Bronco before - the closest thing is the Tacoma which I'm pretty sure has a leaf spring in the rear and at times the suspension feel in the truck is quite violent. On the Tesla the suspension is firm, it doesn't shake all over the road like the Tacoma, you just get one solid bump which rattles you and its done. My fiance has an SUV with thick sidewalls and the drive in that vehicle is really nice, smooth, not violent at all.

So I guess my question is - in stock form with like 32" or 33" tires, is the Bronco going to be smooth like the SUV? or rough like the Tacoma? Or something even worse or better? What about with the Bilsteins and/or the Sasquatch package?

Basically my ask is if I want to prioritize suspension smoothless and have the least amount of violence from going over bumps or graded dirt roads - what setup makes the most sense?

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[Colorado buff]

I haven't had a vehicle like the Bronco before - the closest thing is the Tacoma which I'm pretty sure has a leaf spring in the rear and at times the suspension feel in the truck is quite violent. On the Tesla the suspension is firm, it doesn't shake all over the road like the Tacoma, you just get one solid bump which rattles you and its done. My fiance has an SUV with thick sidewalls and the drive in that vehicle is really nice, smooth, not violent at all.

So I guess my question is - in stock form with like 32" or 33" tires, is the Bronco going to be smooth like the SUV? or rough like the Tacoma? Or something even worse or better? What about with the Bilsteins and/or the Sasquatch package?

Basically my ask is if I want to prioritize suspension smoothless and have the least amount of violence from going over bumps or graded dirt roads - what setup makes the most sense?

I don’t know if this helps but I put bilstein 5100 on my 4 runner and they run smoother and going over bumps and pot holes are great.

 

[nelson]

I don’t know if this helps but I put bilstein 5100 on my 4 runner and they run smoother and going over bumps and pot holes are great.

It does - in theory, longer travel and thicker side-walled tires should make for nicer on-road suspension performance. But I don't know if mud/terrain tires are an exception to that rule or not.

 

[kodiakisland]

There’s a reason most people replace Tacoma springs and struts.

Hard to say at this point without know spring rates, suspension travel, etc., but I would expect better than a Tacoma but no where near car handling or even typical SUV handling. Larger, stiffer tires will also degrade on road ride quality.

 

[nelson]

There’s a reason most people replace Tacoma springs and struts.

Hard to say at this point without know spring rates, suspension travel, etc., but I would expect better than a Tacoma but no where near car handling or even typical SUV handling. Larger, stiffer tires will also degrade on road ride quality.

Thanks. The once comparison I have is the Raptor has FOX suspension components man that thing rides well for what it is. If the Bronco is similar I will be happy.

 

[DonsBronc]

Think about it this way, Springs are stupid they are like a dumb weight lifter, the shocks/dampers are the brain of your suspension system. So the weight lifter holds the truck up, and the smart geek controls how it handles

The better the valving in the shocks the better it will ride and handle. On my 1977 Bronco I put a Wild Horses 3.5 inch suspension lift, it rode ok, but was bouncy and not the most confident setup. I replaced the shocks with the entry level Bilsteins, and it transformed the way it drove. The ride was a bit firmer, but the control was so much better, it didn't bounce all over the place, was so much more stable, body roll was reduced, it launched better, and was just so much more enjoyable to drive

 

[NewBronco]

Was wondering the same - how are the road manners going to be? I loved the reveal video early last week, but I don't think it showed a single clip of the Bronco driving on a road! I mean, I get it, it's an off-road vehicle, but I'd bet a majority of the folks who get one (including me) will spend most of their time driving on the road to work or picking up milk lol.

While I love the look the Sasquatch package provides, I imagine the mudders will contribute to already high road noise in the cabin and degrade the overall road manners.

 

[nelson]

Was wondering the same - how are the road manners going to be? I loved the reveal video early last week, but I don't think it showed a single clip of the Bronco driving on a road! I mean, I get it, it's an off-road vehicle, but I'd bet a majority of the folks who get one (including me) will spend most of their time driving on the road to work or picking up milk lol.

While I love the look the Sasquatch package provides, I imagine the mudders will contribute to already high road noise in the cabin and degrade the overall road manners.

Yeah exactly. Frankly - I'm ok with the noise. I just want it to be smooth/comfortable to drive. Right now when I take the Tacoma to the clay range I have to drive 2 miles on a dirt road that is bumpy as hell it's almost unbearable.

 

[kodiakisland]

Another thing about the tires, most SUVs have p- rated tires and I expect the Bronco to have LT rated tires. Usually, the LT have stiffer sidewalls which give a harsher ride. Not always. I don’t expect a bad ride at all, and should be better than any Jeep, but I just don’t expect a luxury SUV ride.

 

[Ponderess]

I'll have to take note of this.... I dd on horrible Baltimore roads, I may as well be off roading with how violent the ride is.

 

[kodiakisland]

Yeah exactly. Frankly - I'm ok with the noise. I just want it to be smooth/comfortable to drive. Right now when I take the Tacoma to the clay range I have to drive 2 miles on a dirt road that is bumpy as hell it's almost unbearable.

You can replace front springs and shocks on your Tacoma easily and actually fall in love with it. Bilstein 5100s and Eibach springs will be night and day different on and off road than stock.

Also, try driving faster on that dirt road. Sometimes that smoothes it out a lot.

 

[jtzako]

MT tires w/ E rating (thick sidewalls etc) are pretty rough (and noisy) on the road. The stiff sidewall does help with cornering since they flex a bit less. The real question is how well the springs+shocks handle the bumps. Its probably not practical for a vehicle like the bronco but an air suspension that can adjust to a lower height for on-road driving would be awesome.

 

[DonsBronc]

look at this trophy truck video, look how the suspension works. He is flying, the suspension is going crazy but the truck does even look like it's moving at all. That's all controlled by the shocks.

 

[North7]

This thread is getting into my exact questions as well. I'm leaning towards the Badlands but need a comfortable DD ride as well due to a bad lower back. I figured if the Badland's Bilsteins are to rough I could swap to Bilstein Comforts however I was hoping the extra valving of the Bilstein Reservoirs would provide a better ride, but I read a lot of conflicting information on them, some say better control but firmer ride, can anyone shed light on that?

 

[Bayou_Bronco]

If anything the Bilstein shocks will be a little firmer on road when compared to something like the Raptor's Fox Shocks. However they will be very good quality and offer a nice controlled ride and handling. They will shine on the rougher stuff and rocks.

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