AFP Coilover conversion

[billingssley]

Hey I was wondering if there is a write up on Afp bracket kit and viking shocks. Also if it's worth doing? It be on a 04 2wd


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[Dantheman1540]

Absolutely worth doing! Have it in my Silverado and will eventually do it to my Tahoe. There are many write ups on this forum and another performancetrucks.net. if you have any questions Richard the owner is awesome and will work day and night to help you get whatever it is figured out. Had my swap done almost 5 years ago couldn't be happier.

 

[3Dog]

Absolutely worth doing! Have it in my Silverado and will eventually do it to my Tahoe. There are many write ups on this forum and another performancetrucks.net. if you have any questions Richard the owner is awesome and will work day and night to help you get whatever it is figured out. Had my swap done almost 5 years ago couldn't be happier.

Say more. What do you like about it? What were you hoping to accomplish that is achieved? I need to freshen up my stock suspension, rides like crap, very harsh. Wouldn't mind a 0.5 - 1"lift in front. Hate torsion bar suspensions...

 

[Dantheman1540]

Say more. What do you like about it? What were you hoping to accomplish that is achieved? I need to freshen up my stock suspension, rides like crap, very harsh. Wouldn't mind a 0.5 - 1"lift in front. Hate torsion bar suspensions...

So the torsion bars when lifted were very stiff and the angles of the tie rods caused terrible bump steer. I tried a couple cheaper shock options to try to bandaid the problem. I think I tried stock monomax shocks, Rancho 9000s and then Bilstien 5100s none helped. Even put on a steering stabilizer to try to mask the bump steer but no matter what I did it was just bad. At the time I lived by the Black hills and spent a considerable amount of time off road on rocky trails. I could tell it was mostly the front that rode terrible because I could feel it in the wheel and pedals.

The coilovers not only dampen properly but when using the correct spring for your height it should allow full range of travel giving you more range of dampening. The torsion bars seemed to give very little suspension travel compared to the coilovers which have so much travel I have to stack blocks of wood to jack the front of the truck up now.

Street ability wise its considerably smoother. Driving my silverado vs my Tahoe which still has T bars it feels to just float over pot holes and bumps while never bottoming out. There is more body sway with the coilovers since the spring rates are softer but if you have a sway bar that should be negligible.

Since I lowered the truck from a 6" lift to about a 1"-2" level the steering angles are better and there is no more bump steer. Also since the suspension isn't rock hard the steering doesn't reverberate the hard impact into the wheel anymore.


Overall goal was to have good enough ride quality my passengers didn't bite their tongue off and yes I believe I achieved it

 

[3Dog]

Great response @Dantheman1540 very helpful.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Great response @Dantheman1540 very helpful.

I try



I'll also add unless you plan to off road more than on road I highly suggest letting him spec you some viking coilovers. I spent more money for my Fox C/O and I don't think I really need a reservoir shock. Plus the packaging is more difficult.

 

[3Dog]

I try



I'll also add unless you plan to off road more than on road I highly suggest letting him spec you some viking coilovers. I spent more money for my Fox C/O and I don't think I really need a reservoir shock. Plus the packaging is more difficult.

Exclusively street use for my rig. I defintely have no need for a reservoir shock. Same recommendation, or would you alter it? I have always liked Bilstein HD 4600.

 

[Dantheman1540]

I'd still 100% recommend it a torsion bar and shock will never dampen as well or as accurately as a shock inside a multi rate coil spring. Plus if you get viking, QA1 or any other high quality brand coilover you can rebuild them in 10+years if they begin to wear out rather than replacing the entire unit.

Bilstiens have their place, they are very durable and look great as far as a OEM style shock goes but you can't beat a shock tuned to your specific requirement and matched to a specific spring. It's just a higher level of refinement.

My silverado has fox coilovers in the front and Bilstein 5100s in the rear with a custom deaver leaf pack. The front is far superior to the rear. Only reason I haven't changed it is I need to do a lot of fab work to reach my next goal with the truck and buying rear shocks now would be a waste.