Can some one tell me what I'm looking at?
- Thread starter Lsnoob13
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HiHoeSilver
Away!
Yes, it looks to be a strut spacer for the rough country level kit.
iamdub
Full Access Member
What ^^^he said. They look to be about 1" thick, which would make them a 2" lift- common for leveling as there's usually about a 2" rake on these rigs. While you're under there discovering things, see if the rear coils have any spacers under them.
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Yeah I thought it didn't look stock, had to wipe it to see the logo. The rear springs are sitting on the axle so no spacer there. Can these be removed and leave the longer bolts? I've noticed this truck squats a bit and maybe this is what's causing it?
iamdub
Full Access Member
The squat is likely because the 2" front lift was more than what was needed to level it. If you like the front height but don't like the squat (Which I strongly agree with!), you can add a spacer to the rear coils. 1" is standard and common, but I believe there are 1/2" and 3/4" if you're that particular. I had a 2" front/1" rear lift on mine for about a year. I liked the stance, but recently removed it in preparation for lowering.
If you just wanna put the front back to stock, you may need to get shorter bolts because the longer ones will likely have shoulders (no thread for a length under the head). I'd advise against using less than Grade 10.9 with these bolts and nuts.
I'm just gana take them off, I'd like to lower it in the future so stock for me is just fine....for now lol. I've noticed the rear bags are dry rotted and that the auto leveling doesn't kick on, is it hard to remove them and lower the truck and it ride fine? I've heard these trucks are picky with removing that system and lowering.
iamdub
Full Access Member
Typical death of the Auto-Leveling system. Regular (passive) shocks bolt directly in their place. Just get good shocks and it'll ride fine. The only issue you may have is a "Service Suspension System" warning message on the gauge cluster. This is easily resolved by connecting some resistors to the wiring or plugs that originally went to the shocks so the computer thinks the shocks are still present. The resistors are about $10-$15 for a pack of four.
Oh seems easy enough. Do you have any experience with lowering these trucks? If so what would you recommend? I'm just looking for it to be lower and ride comfortable.....I like the stance the police Tahoe's have so maybe something that low?
swathdiver
Full Access Member
I think it's time for pictures in this thread Johnny! Let's see her with the level. Oh, sometimes folks put spacers above the rear springs instead of beneath them.
Lol yeah I agree, I gata look for one, right now she's a mess lol I have her on ramps and she's dusty lol. I'll see about spacers above the springs, I didn't see anything but I'll take another look.
iamdub
Full Access Member
I do. Haven't lowered mine yet but I have most of everything I'll need for a 4/5-6 including those resistors I mentioned.
You can lower the front of these without touching the springs, so it'll ride pretty much how it does now or better if you invest in good shocks. Off the top of my head, Bilstein 4600 seem to be the most recommended and Belltech Street Performance are reported to ride like stock or better or slightly softer. The only way to lower the rear is with coils. IIRC, the PPV/SSV Tahoe is dropped about 1.5" with coils and the additional drop is from a shorter tire. Let's say it's about a 2" total drop. If you like this height, then you get spindles (2") or coil relocators (upwards of 2" cuz they're adjustable) for the front. Another not-so-common method is to bolt the bar pin of the strut to the underside of the control arm with special bolts (special for their strength) and small spacers. Basically, the same as a lift spacer but in reverse. The rear is as simple as 2" or 3" coils and shock extenders or shorter shocks.
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Seems easy enough, I do like the stance of the PPV Tahoe but I didn't consider they had smaller 17" wheels, i wouldn't want to go smaller in wheel or tire..if anything I'd want to go up...maybe 22 or possibly 24's with a lowpro tire. Maybe something like the black one in the pic but the one in the pic has 26's I think...that may be too big idk yet.
iamdub
Full Access Member
Yeah, I don't like the 80s-90s idea of lowering a truck by smaller wheels and/or tires. It looks stupid. The PPVs have a lowered suspension and the smaller tire diameter is for performance and handling and it's actually a special tire- definitely not for looks or intentional for the sake of lowering the overall height of the vehicle.
22s are about the biggest you can go while maintaining a reasonable ride quality for most any road condition, assuming the suspension doesn't ride like a wagon. 24s are fine if your roads are adequate. 26s or bigger and you're just asking for trouble.
The wheel size isn't such a concern if you size the tire accordingly. As long as you keep the overall diameter of the tire around 32", rubbing won't be much of an issue, if at all, with a reasonable drop.
Yeah I feel the same way about that lol, 24's is probably as big as I'll go. Do you think the method you mentioned would bring it low enough to look like the one in the picture of the black truck or do I need to consider a whole different system? I've lowered cars before but these trucks and GM/Chevy is new to me. Especially lowering something this heavy lol I'm used to coilovers and bags I'm sure that those methods are unheard of with these and if they aren't I'm sure they ride like donkey on a dirt road lol. I just like the stance of the black one and that way I can get rid of the auto running boards....lol I don't like them much.
iamdub
Full Access Member
Maybe not. The alignment could've been spot-on and the PO installed the spacers and never got an alignment. Removing them could make the alignment "perfect" again. FWIW, I never had mine realigned when I put my 2" lift spacers on. Also added 1.5" wheels spacers at the same time. I didn't notice any odd tire wear or driving characteristics. Had a little more scrubbing when turning, but that's to be expected with wheel spacers.
iamdub
Full Access Member
I'd venture to say that black Yukon has a 5/6. Assuming the wheels are 24", the overall diameter looks to be about the same as stock (32"). That one needs an alignment, though. Or it's a crappy Photoshop job.
The cool thing about these rigs is you can slam the front past the point of being drivable without even touching the stock springs. So, technically, they'd ride like stock and retain the stock load capacity. Again- assuming you get quality shocks. For the rear, you HAVE to change the springs to lower it, but the common ones for extreme drops are Trailblazer coils. So, you install coils designed for a lighter vehicle which means they'll compress a lot more to achieve the drop. You regain control of the extra softness of the (technically overloaded) springs with careful shock selection and/or the addition of helper bags. But, as far as the suspension articulation, you're limited by just a few interference points that are fairly easily remedied.
Dam I didn't know these could be lowered by adding GM parts....makes things alot easier and cheaper lol only thing I gata look into is the shocks...and maybe helper bags? I'd figure that helps with weight when the truck has weight and or maybe a trailer with a few bikes. What kind of should should I be looking at and would the helper bags I look for be for this model or? Seeing that the truck will be past stock hight maybe something for this model wouldn't fit?
iamdub
Full Access Member
By Trailblazer coils, I meant lowering coils for a Trailblazer. Although, stock TB coils would lower a Tahoe, just very minimally. IIRC, the coil to have is the DJM 4" Trailblazer coil and it'll yield around 5" of drop on a Tahoe. If this is too much, you could toss in a 1" spacer. If it's too soft or if you tow, you could add some Airlift bags. I think the bags to use are for a Nissan Pathfinder. I have some but not the part number. They're about half the height of the stock Tahoe bags. For a stock or possibly slightly softer than stock ride, Belltech Street Performance struts and shocks are the ticket. The Belltech struts come with rings to adjust the drop from 0" to 2" in 1/2" increments. I was thinking 4" front drop might be too much so I was gonna try 3.5". I don't wanna have to take the struts back apart if it's not enough drop. So, I'm gonna go with no spacers to get the full 2" drop (4" total with the McG spindles). If it's too low, I'll use a spacer under the strut just like a lift spacer to fine-tune the drop. An 1/8" thick washer would yield about 1/4" of lift.
