Chevy & GMC Vans

Guys,

who makes the biggest baddest, stiffest dampers for the rear end of a 97' Astro?

Thanks,
Am

Bilstein would be my guess.

Have you looked into the Timbrens yet?

I'm already running Bilsteins and there simpley not man enough to dampen the weight in the van. Obvious since there not valved for 4 times more weight than its meant to be carrying. Looks like I might need some custom ones.

The Timbrens will not solve the situation I feel. The way the van behaves tells me the damping is not adequate enough to control the ride. I have multi layer leafs and Air Ride bag kit. The sway i get from side to side and the constant bouncy bouncy ride points to the damping. The Timbrens bumpstops would cushion that effect not solve the underlining problem that exists.. damping/rebound.

check into these ... sounds like they might help: Roadmaster Active Suspension

http://www.activesuspension.com/

not sure if they still make a kit for our vans, if not, you may be able to call their customer support and see if there's a kit you can adapt to work

Thanks for that e-mail on the way to them

http://www.woodys-auto-supply.com/auto- ... =MON-58598

These look good but there damper still isnt going to be valved for the weight?

Perhaps...Have your local welder guy tack on a pair of additional shock mounts on the "other side" from the OEM mounts. ie, passenger side add a rear-of-axle mount, driver side add a front-of-axle mount. Then add whatever you like to increase the damp.

Rear shocks are simple and accessable. With an xtra set of mounts, you could experiment a lot, remove a pair when you're not hauling monster loads or when you want to sell the van.

FWIW, I have Rancho 9000s (adjustable) on my 89, front and rear. I generally keep them at either max or just one click below max damping. I don't haul anything heavy or tow. So it's not likely that the 9000s would help in your situation, at least not as the only pair of shocks.


Lump

Bit of an update.

Come to find 1 of my air lift bags had a small hole in it, the air was leaking out slow. The other side was loosing 5psi a week from just sitting. Changed the leaking bag and it drives very nice now! no bounce its almost flat and much much more stable I'm running 70psi and its pretty damn good! Remember i'm not using it for extra ride height but more for support. The bumpstops are 50mm clear from the chassis, before it was more like 40mm and without the air lift support you can imagine just how poo my ride was!!

I think a sway bar kit would also help reduce the slightly wollowee back end around bends, what do you think and which kit shall I got for?

A rear anti sway bar will make a huge difference. Do some research. Get the largest one available. I wouldn't recommend that for a normal daily driver but with the weight of your van it may be needed.

Go to Aldan Eagle site,,there you can take a look at their coil compression rate for different weights. What you'll be seeing is the weight to compress coil 2 in. and they can be adjusted. The Eagles are what I have on the Vette rear.
You can crank these up to where there is almost no compression and a smooth to very stiff ride.

http://www.aldaneagle.com/

Rebel wrote:Go to Aldan Eagle site,,there you can take a look at their coil compression rate for different weights. What you'll be seeing is the weight to compress coil 2 in. and they can be adjusted. The Eagles are what I have on the Vette rear.
You can crank these up to where there is almost no compression and a smooth to very stiff ride.

http://www.aldaneagle.com/

Wow Those are pricey...

If you are running a air ride bag system get the on board air compressor system. You only need the basic system with one "channel" to fill both bags to the same level. I mounted mine behind a body panel on the drivers side rear and ran the cables and air line up to the front and mounted the gauge and switch by my right knee. That way you have a gauge and can see if you have lost any air. plus you can add air with the push of a button or drop the air if you are running empty. The other suggestion would be to put a "T" connector in your lines that run to the bags and then run the extra line up to the gas door and put a tire valve on it so you only need to open the gas door and can fill both bags at the same time and check the pressure with a tire gauge without having to crawl around the rear bumper.

I put a Hellwig rear anti sway bar on, and it made a significant difference in cutting down body roll!

Thanks for the info.

Is it true some sway bar kits require drilling and others dont?

The Hellwig kit require no drilling. I have bought and installed 2 kits.

Mr Singh wrote:Thanks for the info.

Is it true some sway bar kits require drilling and others dont?

Yes that is correct. My rear Belltech sway bar required drilling. The Hellwig bars are a better choice. The sway bar resides above the axle, a much neater installation. My Belltech bar works just fine, but hangs below the axle and looks a little kludged together in my opinion.