Video: Here's How the Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Bison's Suspension Works and Flexes
When it comes to upgraded versions of full-size trucks, Chevrolet’s Silverado ZR2 Bison is special in its own way.We’ll show you around the Bison package, which has the same suspension as the regular ZR2.Car and Driver suspension expert Dan Edmunds explains how it works and shows its degree of flex, as shown in our Ramp Travel Index test.
The Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Bison may lack the high-output bragging rights of the Ram TRX or the long-travel wide-track suspension of the Ford F-150 Raptor, but it has a few features of its own. For starters, it’s less expensive than those two trucks, and it offers a locking front differential and Multimatic DSSV spool-valve dampers. In this video, resident suspension expert Dan Edmunds explains how the ZR2’s suspension works and shows how much it flexes compared to other trucks with the Ramp Travel Index test.
The Silverado ZR2 in this video has the Bison package, which adds high-clearance bumpers and underbody protection along with different wheels and interior features but leaves the truck mechanically unchanged otherwise. Because the suspension is the same, the findings in this video apply to the standard ZR2 as well.
Sizing Up the Competition
We start at the front, where the Multimatic DSSV dampers appear prominently. The spool valves inside the shocks offer greater control but, as Dan shows by turning the wheels to one side, the three-chamber design takes up precious space.
After weighing a mounted wheel and tire, Dan switches to the rear suspension, which features inverted Multimatic dampers and blocks under the leaf springs to achieve its lift. Alas, those inverted rear shocks sit more inboard than we’d prefer on an off-roader, requiring owners to consider their placement—along with the differential—when straddling rocks.
Given the suspension similarities to the standard Silverado and the overlanding intention of the ZR2, especially when paired with the Bison package, its score of 444 is unsurprising. It’s higher than the similarly priced and outfitted Toyota Tundra TRD Pro (408) but lower than trucks with wide track long-travel suspension, such as the last-generation Colorado ZR2 Bison (501) and F-150 Raptor (559).
Deputy Editor, Video
From selling them to testing them, Carlos Lago has spent his entire adult life consumed by cars. He currently drives the creative behind Car and Driver video.
