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Permalink Reply by Karl Helweg on February 22, 2013 at 6:41pm

This article might help: http://www.managemylife.com/mmh/articles/authored/how-to-make-a-car... 

Tires are probably your easiest and least invasive option.  Ask your local tire salesman what he has to offer for smoother riding tires. 

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Permalink Reply by Trevor Anonymous on February 22, 2013 at 7:35pm

What is you definition of ride nice? I worked at a tire shop for the first 3 years I went to college, and I can tell you that they usually won't make a drastic difference in your ride quality. Though horrible tires can, it isn't too common. Are speaking in terms of the comfort of the suspension?

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Permalink Reply by Nathan DeParis on February 23, 2013 at 11:13am

Yes. like when I go over a bump with the truck is virtually wants to fish tail. I guess you could say I would like a more sedan like ride without like lowering it.

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Permalink Reply by Garrett Gatlin on February 23, 2013 at 11:36am

I drive a 2003 Ford Ranger and the back end is very wild on it. It has a lot to do with the size of the truck and the type of suspension in the rear. 

People buy trucks to carry loads and tow. So, as a truck manufacturer, you want to maximize the truck's capacity to do this. The Ranger is one of the smallest trucks you can buy. As the truck gets smaller and you try to keep the load-carrying capacity, the comfort of the ride suffers. 

They build the rear suspension so that it will carry around 1500 pounds of cargo. When the truck is empty, that's 1500 pounds of extra spring in the back. That's why the rear bounces. When you consider the truck it self weighs less than 3000 pounds, that's a pretty large percentage. 

Compare that to a much heavier F-150, and the cargo-to-weight ratio is smaller so you're not going to have as much bounce when you drive it with an empty bed. 

It's just the nature of the beast. You can spend money on suspension parts and tires if you want, but it's probably not going to help significantly. 

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Permalink Reply by Native Son on February 23, 2013 at 4:22pm

Funny how I never had a ride problem with my '94 extended cab Ranger.  As an earlier reply explained, you're driving a pickup...a type of vehicle that's always been light in the tail and bouncy.  You want to get a car-style ride and better handling, you need to keep a hundred to two hundred pounds of stuff in the bed all the time. 

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Permalink Reply by Nathan DeParis on February 27, 2013 at 10:14am

Well what ended up happening is when we first bought it it was a decent ride especially since it was running 16' rims and still is. But when the shocks on the rear were going, they were replaced with a really shoddy load shocks, that raised the rear up but just didn't have the give. It got me thinking if next time just ask ford what the stock shocks were when they manufactured the truck.

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