Standard height improved off road suspension for Z71

[Clack]

I've got a bad 10 mile dirt road to my cabin and my shocks are blown. Is there a favorite suspension upgrade without lift for washboard pot holed dirt roads?

Also, do you get rear wheel drift while braking on downhill curves? The Tahoe is definitely not as planted as my old LandCruiser wagon off road.

Thanks!

 

[Dustin Jackson]

Welcome @Clack the Bilstein 5100 series seem to be highly recommended for these rigs, I haven't had a chance to get them myself but I plan to.

 

[Clack]

Thank you! I will research.

 

[GreyStone]

what speed do you travel on that road - and how harsh of a ride can you tolerate. If you're not looking to lift or level you may want to go with Rancho 9000 adjustables ~

https://www.gorancho.com/products/shock-absorbers/rs9000xl-shock-absorber


P.S. If your rear is bouncing around - air down a little

 

[drakon543]

id like to mention where you do want quality shocks for any length of offroad adventures. shocks are purely a dampener and wont really help a bunch when offroading except to help cushion the blows when you drop into a hole and such. it also sounds like your rear brakes may be locking up too much if its becoming uncontrolled when on a rocky decline. anyway a cheap junk shock is more liable to get blown out from too much aggressive offroad typical moves where a good shock as the ones mentioned above will take abuse do thier job and still be functioning when you get back on pavement.

 

[Tozan]

King OEM shocks.. I run 70 to 80+ mph over the type of roads you describe and open desert roads.. They are pricey, far superior to anything out there, designed for high speed off road and are rebuild able so they can last the life of the vehicle.

To get the best out of any shocks you will need both front and rear shocks.

 

[Clack]

Wow. Those Kings look killer but I can't bring myself to drop $1,500 on shocks right now. The LandCruiser is for wheeling, the Tahoe is just the dirt road blaster. I'll typically drive it between 20-40 but there can be closeout pothole sections and a lot of rattling washboard. Really looking for something that will tame the blows. The 5100's look like they're right up my alley and I like that I can raise the front an inch or two to level out the stance.

 

[Tozan]

Wow. Those Kings look killer but I can't bring myself to drop $1,500 on shocks right now. The LandCruiser is for wheeling, the Tahoe is just the dirt road blaster. I'll typically drive it between 20-40 but there can be closeout pothole sections and a lot of rattling washboard. Really looking for something that will tame the blows. The 5100's look like they're right up my alley and I like that I can raise the front an inch or two to level out the stance.

I would try the Rancho Quick lift loaded 9000 they should work for you too and are a lot less money. I had those at first and they were still good for 60mph. on dirt roads plus they are adjustable.

I have a set or 7000 Rancho's sitting in the garage but, they are for a 4 inch lift and I think the over-all length is almost 24 inches.

 

[GlobalRoamer]

I would try the Rancho Quick lift loaded 9000 they should work for you too and are a lot less money. I had those at first and they were still good for 60mph. on dirt roads plus they are adjustable.

I have a set or 7000 Rancho's sitting in the garage but, they are for a 4 inch lift and I think the over-all length is almost 24 inches.

So you had a good experience with the quick lift struts? A shop I spoke with recently told me they probably fall apart on me. :-/ I read through your build and seriously good stuff.

 

[Tozan]

So you had a good experience with the quick lift struts? A shop I spoke with recently told me they probably fall apart on me. :-/ I read through your build and seriously good stuff.

I blew out a seal on one of mine after at least 40,000 miles and I do a lot of harsh off road trips I have hit 1 foot dips at 30+ mph.. Not on purpose of course and they hung in there. I later found the shock that failed was installed wrong by the shop in Reno by using and impact wrench. The impact backed out the piston so, when I removed the shock it was almost 2 inches longer than original.



The Rancho is around $450 a set.
Fox will run just under a grand.
Bilstein 5100's can give you 1 3/4 inch lift around $250 but, you will need a spring compressor to install them or maybe risk serious bodily injury..

 

[jcsswix]

I run the Fox 2.0 setup with a small spacer in the rear. It's a great quick way to lift/level the truck and greatly increase ride quality. Also the front coilovers are adjustable so you can always maintain stock height if you like. They come preloaded at 2" (maximum) lift for the fronts.

 

[mang213]

I run the Fox 2.0 setup with a small spacer in the rear. It's a great quick way to lift/level the truck and greatly increase ride quality. Also the front coilovers are adjustable so you can always maintain stock height if you like. They come preloaded at 2" (maximum) lift for the fronts.

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You're ride is similar to what I'm going for. I've got a black 2010 Z71 and I really dig the stance you've got here. What are all of your upgrades?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Tozan]

You're ride is similar to what I'm going for. I've got a black 2010 Z71 and I really dig the stance you've got here. What are all of your upgrades?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Just check out my build thread in my signature below it covers most of what has been done and some changes too. There are somethings I would do differently but, over all it does what I want.

 

[jcsswix]

You're ride is similar to what I'm going for. I've got a black 2010 Z71 and I really dig the stance you've got here. What are all of your upgrades?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Thank you! Here is my build sheet. I'm probably missing something but it's most of the stuff i've done since I created this build sheet:


Fox 2.0 Front/Rear leveling lift shock set
Daystar 2" rear spacers
Method Grid MR309 Wheels, 20x9, 6x5.5, offset: +18,
Backspace: 5.75 MR30929060518
Nitto Ridge Grapplers 295/55/r20: Required extensive trimming
Cognito 110-90295 upper control arms
MOOG CK620956 Heavy Duty lower control arms with problem solver gusher bearings
Mevotech TXMS50820 Heavy Duty Terrain Tough stabilizer bar links
Power Stop K2070-36 Z36 Truck & Tow brake kit (didn't like the pads instead I used Wagner OEX ceramics)
S&B 75-5059 cold air intake
Magnaflow 16564 catback exhaust
Detours of Maine Overlanding Solutions custom built spare tire mount
Tyger Auto TG-AM2C20438 Star Armor side steps
Hypertech Max Energy 2.0 tune, adjusted shift points, rpm, wheel/tire size, disabled cylinder deactivation
Vinyl Wrap matte black for the gray part of the bumper and emblems
Plastidip matte black for the grill
LED headlights and fog lights
Rough Country 72730BL black series LED light bar behind grill
Pioneer AVH-W4400NEX in dash DVD w/wireless android auto and apple carplay (one of the best investments i've made, the wireless carplay feature is awesome)

Here are some pictures of the spare tire mount in use. The guy at Detours of Maine custom builds these based on measurements and pictures you send him. They come unfinished or primed so I had it powder coated. It is very high quality and heavy duty. The spare wheel/tire combo I have is too large to fit in the stock spare tire well so I just took it out and am fabricating rotopax mounts to fit under there along with a skid plate to cover them. Not done with that yet.

 

[jcsswix]

Here are some pictures of the trimming of the front fender well I did. You can see the front lip of the bumper is actually just a cover. You have to remove it and cut the bumper which I did with a dremel tool if you want to delete those giving you better ground clearance, approach angle, and I think better looks also. I cut all of that portion out plus the plastic mount portion behind it leaving the support for the skid plate. Then I used a heat gun and remolded/folded the fender liner up and zip tied it to give it a stock appearance, and so I can still have protection against the mud and dirt from getting up in the fender well.

 

[Tozan]

You have a great looking build. I almost went with the Fox shocks but, Fox said they would not work with my lift kit. Plus I came across a great deal on the Kings and I am really happy with them. My next improvement will be Spohn rear suspension package and a set of kings in the back and possibly new springs too. Right now I can hit a big speed bump and the front could care less but, when the back hits it is a lot harder. So I am looking at getting more travel and a smoother King shock back there.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

@Tozan @jcsswix You both have amazing rigs, given me a lot to think about.

 

[jcsswix]

You have a great looking build. I almost went with the Fox shocks but, Fox said they would not work with my lift kit. Plus I can across a great deal on the Kings and I am really happy with them. My next improvement will be Spohn rear suspension package and a set of kings in the back and possibly new springs too. Right now I can hit a big speed bump and the front could care less but, when the back hits it is a lot harder. So I am looking at getting more travel and a smoother King shock back there.

Thank you I like your build also. The King shocks look great. I looked into the Spohn rear suspension package it looks pretty nice i'm adding that to my list also!

 

[Dustin Jackson]

@jcsswix Hey man your build inspired mine and I have just finished putting a bunch of parts on and I had a question about your track bar. I don't think I have much lift installed but my rear axle is already way off center. Have you done anything about your rear track bar or is yours still centered?

 

[jcsswix]

@jcsswix Hey man your build inspired mine and I have just finished putting a bunch of parts on and I had a question about your track bar. I don't think I have much lift installed but my rear axle is already way off center. Have you done anything about your rear track bar or is yours still centered?

Hi Dustin,

Thanks! I'm glad you were inspired to build out your ride! You should throw some progress pics up it'd be awesome to see what you've done. I love seeing other people's trucks it inspires me also. How much and what lift did you do in the rear? I have had no issues with centering of my axle but I only have 2" spacers in the rear and if anything mine is off by 1/4" or less. With any considerable lift it's normal to have the rear axle shift a little bit. It is my understanding that this should not affect driveability or performance. If you feel like it is I recommend buying an adjustable rear track bar. I believe Spohn makes a nice adjustable rear track bar for our models. I'm sure there are other out there too. I hope that helps!