Front End Lowering Possibilities

[thehoe92]

I would like to know the truth about lowering the front end of these hoes..

I currently have Belltech Torsion keys and Belltech Drop II shocks on the front..
Ever since the beginning I've had horrible camber issues with no solutions
The adjuster bolts used to be only about a half turn in and it was about half an inch from tucking tire
Had -4º camber
Did a 1" body drop and I was tucking tire but ended up not being able to drive like that very long
Raised it up 3 turns on the torsion bolt
Got it aligned and they pulled 2º out but thats with the cam bolt maxed out

The front end kept settling so I kept turning the adjuster bolt until now its almost maxed out and I still have the same amount of drop

I would like to know an honest answer..
Between the 3 ways that I know to lower a tahoe static what are the pros and cons

Torsion Keys
Lower Control Arms and
Spindles

from what I've gathered..
Torsion keys are the cheapest and mess with the alignment the most
Lower Control Arms ride the best
Spindles you lose turning radius

Would lower control arms and stock torsion keys be my best bet for getting rid of my negative camber?

Where's Tony to sell me them the cheapest?

 

[Grocery Getter]

I run spindles and keys in the front with no issues. I have never heard of losing turning radius from spindles though. I'm no expert but that doesn't sound logical, all the spindle is the same width it's just has a lower orientation.....right? At any rate the loss of turning radius is more attributed(for me) to.... a)being lower and not clearing the fender b)24''x10'' wheels. I think the width of the wheel is the main culprit as far as turning goes. I have never had camber issues but I was riding my bump stops for a long log time and yesterday I cut the front brackets off and replaced them with Energy Suspension poly low profile bump stops bolted right to the frame and it is night and day. I now have about 2.5'' of travel back in my font end and the truck drives like a dream.

 

[MASS-HOE'Z71]

Ive heard of a loss of turnig radius with drop spindles but it seems to be specifically aimed at the 17" + wheel Mcgaughys spindles, which i have on, and also seem to be pretty popular as they keep stock geometry. There are "stops" on the spindle that hinder the turning radius but ive seen a quite a few people modify theirs and grind down the portions of spindle that are more of an obstruction. Probably wouldnt be too hard and eventually plan on doing mine but need to get motivated, plus they arent too cheap and most wouldnt want to spend a couple hundred dollars only to take a grinder to them.

Grocery getter- how much bracket did you have to cut off, just ran outside and looks like part of where the upper bumpstop bracket connects to the frame, the bracketry for the upper cotrol arm would get in the way of connecting a new stop to the frame. Pretty interested in this as even with trimming down the stock stop im still riding on it consistently. Take any pics?

 

[Grocery Getter]

Grocery getter- how much bracket did you have to cut off, just ran outside and looks like part of where the upper bumpstop bracket connects to the frame, the bracketry for the upper cotrol arm would get in the way of connecting a new stop to the frame. Pretty interested in this as even with trimming down the stock stop im still riding on it consistently. Take any pics?

I cut and ground the entire bracket off to the frame....well as much as I could. I only had a cutting wheel and a sawzall would have been a much better choice. After getting rid of the bracket(getting the cutting wheel in there was the biggest challenge. My first attempt I removed the shock, sway bar link, and UCA but realized only the shock need be removed and did so on the second side and it took 10min compared to 30) and grinding it down as much as possible I drilled just in front of the bracketry you are talking about. You can't get the new bumpstop mounted directly in the center of the old bracket for that reason so I got it as close as possible but it still makes plenty of contact with the LCA when compressed. It is also easier to drill the hole in front of the bracket since you can drill at a but of an angle and not have to drop the LCA in order to make the hole. Sorry, no pics. I took my camera out there but my hands were so filthy I didn't want to touch it. I usually wear vinyl gloves but my hands are all tore up and the sweat in the gloves was killing me.......

I highly suggest the mod made night/day difference on my truck. The energy suspension low profile bumpstops are only like $15 and far superior to the factory foam stops, not to mention they are even lower than the brackets themselves so you regain 2-3'' of travel on a lowered truck.

 

[MASS-HOE'Z71]

sounds good, not looking forward to doing this as im already anticipating having a ***** of a time getting it done (gotta use the grinder too as my sawzall has a short somewhere in the trigger and is unpredictable at best), should be worth it in the end it sounds like tho

 

[NORCAL SS]

I would like to know the truth about lowering the front end of these hoes..

I currently have Belltech Torsion keys and Belltech Drop II shocks on the front..
Ever since the beginning I've had horrible camber issues with no solutions
The adjuster bolts used to be only about a half turn in and it was about half an inch from tucking tire
Had -4º camber
Did a 1" body drop and I was tucking tire but ended up not being able to drive like that very long
Raised it up 3 turns on the torsion bolt
Got it aligned and they pulled 2º out but thats with the cam bolt maxed out

The front end kept settling so I kept turning the adjuster bolt until now its almost maxed out and I still have the same amount of drop

I would like to know an honest answer..
Between the 3 ways that I know to lower a tahoe static what are the pros and cons

Torsion Keys
Lower Control Arms and
Spindles

from what I've gathered..
Torsion keys are the cheapest and mess with the alignment the most
Lower Control Arms ride the best
Spindles you lose turning radius

Would lower control arms and stock torsion keys be my best bet for getting rid of my negative camber?

Where's Tony to sell me them the cheapest?

how low do you want to go? the 3 inch lower a arms ive never had a issue on aligning and since comes with new balljoints its all good. not sure how low you want to go overall but the guy that drives that white tahoe is in his late 40s and has grand kids he drives around and wanted a smooth ride. The 3/5.5 kit i did for him from djm with tb rear coils he loves the front ride. with 305 35 24 he sits at 32 inches from ground to fenderlip in front and 32.5 in rear and he has no rear bumper or spare,

hands down the djm front a arm with djm shocks ride is better than keys cranked/spindle combo

 

[Grocery Getter]

sounds good, not looking forward to doing this as im already anticipating having a ***** of a time getting it done (gotta use the grinder too as my sawzall has a short somewhere in the trigger and is unpredictable at best), should be worth it in the end it sounds like tho

For sure..... suggestions:

A) Only need to remove shock
B) Cut the bracket of about 1/4'' from the frame, the weld is a *****,
cut the bracket 1/2 through from the front about 1/4'' down from the
frame. Using a pry bar bend the bracket down(away from the frame)
this will give your cutting wheel the access the the rest of the bracket.
being that you can only fit a 4.5'' wheel in there you can's get the
whole bracket in one shot from the front since you'll hit the center
of the grinder on the frame and really only have 2.5'' or so of actual
wheel to cut with . There will be a bit of the bracket attached at the
weld and you can just grind that down with the flat side of the wheel.
Hit is with a wire wheel, paint, drill the hole right on the front side of
the "wall" on the other side of the frame.
C) Jack up the wheel under the LCA, it is helpful to be able to adjust the
angle of the control arms while cutting to get in there by moving the
jack up/down

That's my $.02 have at it.

 

[thehoe92]

I've wanted to try the TB coils for a while but I am happy with my Belltech coils for the time being and really can't afford to be any lower in the rear unless someone makes an adjustable panhard

you want to PM me on the lowest price you could do shipped to my door for the LCA 95747
and throw in the front and rear sway bar end links and bump stops please

 

[Badluck]

I did the same as Grocery Getter. I was able to cut the bracket off with a long sawsall blade working at an angle then ground smooth with a 4" angle grinder. It's not easy but the pay-off is worth it.

 

[Grocery Getter]

unless someone makes an adjustable panhard
)

I've got one being fabbed up as we speak, it should be done soon. I'll let you know how it goes and if it works out well I'll hook you up with my buddy who is making it.