Hi Josh
I have a 2k CC V6 also however mine came with F&R stabilizer bars. At
about 15k mi I replaced both bars and all 4 shocks with a kit from Hotchkis.
Included with the new bars were poly bushings. Shocks are Bilstein. I've
now gone 47k mi and the suspension is very tight. The original front bar as
I recall was about 1.25 inch OD and the rear about 3/4". The Hotchkis
replacements are 1.50 and 1". I think the rear bar increase in size has the
most telling effect on handling and just straight away riding. While I've
not measured them I doubt the original equipment R/T bars are this thick in
either instance.
You can make a noticable difference in your original equipment bar
performance by replacing its rubber bushings and end link bushings with poly.
Most speed shops carry these or have vendors from whom they can get them.
The rubber mounts have a lot of "give" and get worse as mileage accumulates.
I read somewhere once that replacing rubber with poly gives the same handling
result as increasing a 1 1/4" bar to a 1 3/8" bar (both in rubber). 3yrs ago
when I got my Hotchkis conversion the bill came to about $600.
The Hotchkis conversion makes a very substantial improvement in
controlling body lean in cornering. If you ever pull a trailer it also helps
keep the rear of the truck from wanting to "wag its tail" quite so much as
the trailer tends to pull from side to side. It gives a slight increase in
"road feel" through the steering (this is due to the replacement of rubber
with poly) but the ride tends to be more truck-like too.
Paul Sahlin
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