I have the front end of my truck cranked at the torsion bars. To soften up the ride, all I need is longer shocks? I know this was in a thread a couple of days ago but I wanted to find out if this was true. If the bars are cranked all the way over, will longer shocks still soften the ride?

 

If i understand right, cranking the bars all the way up removes the travel of the stock shocks making a harsh ride. So yea, 2 inch longer shocks will take care of it.

 

NOPE, the ride will remain stiff, not unlike if you put a set of keys in. The pressure on the torsion bars will remain the same no matter what brand of shock or what length you put in there. And the higher the crank, the more tension, therefore, the stiffer the ride.
A longer shock will keep the front end from bottoming out, because there simply is not enough travel in a stock shock once you crank the t-bars way up...

Two completely separate issues that result from cranking the t-bars. Fixes one, does nothing for the other...

 

Who says ya cant teach an old dog new tricks...i seem to learn new $hit daily...
Thanks Hammer.

 

So is it possible at all to soften the ride with the bars all the way cranked? And what would new keys do for me?

 

Nope, price you pay for the "free" lift. Some say the keys soften it a hair, some say there is no difference.
Both methods basically put torque on the torsion bars to attain a lift, resulting in a stiffer ride. You want to soften the ride, back off on the cranks till you get a balance between good looks/clearance and an acceptable ride.

You want to attain a lift of the front with stock or better than stock riding characteristics, then it's a suspension lift for you.
It's funny though, how many people have a differing opinion about the ride with cranked torsion bars. You read the full circle of guys who love the stiff ride, saying it feels like a "real truck" all the way to guys that hate it so much they crank 'em all the way back down...

 

Longer shocks will help with the bottoming out issue with your stock shocks. But like Hammer said, it wont do much for the bars.

 

Ok, I don't get it, Isn't the whole point of replacing the keys so that you don't have to crank the torsion bars. No crank equals no change in tension, Or is that not the case. I have seen alot of ad's for leveling keys saying they keep the factory ride. And you know they couldn't advertise it if it weren't true . So whats the deal.

Me, I am a cheap bastard an will crank the bars myself. The ride can't be harsher than some of the other vehicles I have driven in my life. Just waiting for warm weather.

 

I used to say that if you had the keys, it wouldn't harshen the ride quality, or at least not as much as a T-Bar crank. I did a crank on an '02 1500 this guy had who was dating a good friend of mine. He hated the ride quality, so he ended up paying a shop for keys and had them uncrank the bolts and install the keys. The guy swore the ride was just as bad, if not worse than with the bolts cranked.
He became a real thorn in the side of this shop, wanting his stock ride AND leveling lift. Finally the shop got a fax in from the company made the keys explain just how they worked. Made sense to me, too. Since the rearward end of the torsion bar does NOT move any higher, ANY raising of the front end of the torsion bar puts tension on it.
This has since been confirmed by dozens and dozens of threads...

 

Ahh, I see. The only way one could really get a level and stock ride on these specific trucks would be a body lift in the front.