Suspension Help

[1xd5]

Hello Everyone, hope you all are well.

I have an 06 Yukon XL Denali with stock suspension, I have very little experience in suspension besides some basics.

I like the height and wheel setup for this rig and would like to do something similar. https://www.trailbuiltoffroad.com/w...lack-rhino-stadium-rough-country-leveling-kit .

My questions are,

Do I need to purchase the leveling keys mentioned on that website or similar, or can it be done with stock keys ?

What do I need, if anything, to do with the rear?

The profile mentions they did a little panel cutting ,I don't what to do any of that. I just want to raise it a bit and get some new rims and tires. I don't want the tires to stick out too far out but if it's better for stability or safety I would do it. If you have any recommendations for a better setup regarding any of this, wheels , tires, suspension components, please advise.

I attached an image of my rig and of the one I'm looking at just for reference, there's more pictures of the rig on the link above.

Thank You for your time!

 

[swathdiver]

Hello Everyone, hope you all are well.

I have an 06 Yukon XL Denali with stock suspension, I have very little experience in suspension besides some basics.

I like the height and wheel set-up for this rig and would like to do something similar. https://www.trailbuiltoffroad.com/w...lack-rhino-stadium-rough-country-leveling-kit .

My questions are,

Do I need to purchase the leveling keys mentioned on that website or similar, or can it be done with stock keys ?

What do I need, if anything, to do with the rear?

The profile mentions they did a little panel cutting ,I don't what to do any of that. I just want to raise it a bit and get some new rims and tires. I don't want the tires to stick out too far out but if it's better for stability or safety I would do it. If you have any recommendations for a better set-up regarding any of this, wheels , tires, suspension components, please advise.

I attached an image of my rig and of the one I'm looking at just for reference, there's more pictures of the rig on the link above.

Thank You for your time!

Rubbing can also depend on the condition of the suspension before the modifications. A fresh suspension may not rub while a 15 year old original is going to sag some.

The keys will restore the ride, cranking stock keys results in a loss of how nice the truck rides.

You might consider a 285-70 tire in either 17 or 18 inch wheel if you want some height. I don't know what the typical offset used was for your generation. For the one after yours, 31mm was typical. So 12mm offset moved the wheel about 1/2 inch outboard and with a wider tire can induce clearance issues.

 

[1xd5]

Rubbing can also depend on the condition of the suspension before the modifications. A fresh suspension may not rub while a 15 year old original is going to sag some.

The keys will restore the ride, cranking stock keys results in a loss of how nice the truck rides.

You might consider a 285-70 tire in either 17 or 18 inch wheel if you want some height. I don't know what the typical offset used was for your generation. For the one after yours, 31mm was typical. So 12mm offset moved the wheel about 1/2 inch outboard and with a wider tire can induce clearance issues.

Thank you for your reply.

Are you suggesting doing that size tires and 17/18s combo along with the keys or not touching any suspension components and leaving it stock ?

Sounds like it’ may be a good idea to get the leveling keys, so would there be anything else I would need beside the keys ? Do you know if it would affect any mechanisms like auto leveling or stabilitrak? , would I need to change any suspension components in the rear if I do the keys and would these changes affect any of the mechanisms I mentioned ?

 

[swathdiver]

Thank you for your reply.

Are you suggesting doing that size tires and 17/18s combo along with the keys or not touching any suspension components and leaving it stock ?

Sounds like it’ may be a good idea to get the leveling keys, so would there be anything else I would need beside the keys ? Do you know if it would affect any mechanisms like auto leveling or stabilitrak? , would I need to change any suspension components in the rear if I do the keys and would these changes affect any of the mechanisms I mentioned ?

Don't think I know enough to answer your questions with certainty.

@iamdub @Doubeleive @gooffeyguy @Goodinblack @adventurenali92 @Rocket Man

My memory is failing me today fellas, can't remember Ron's screen name.

 

[1xd5]

no problem , i appreciate your help

 

[1xd5]

Don't think I know enough to answer your questions with certainty.

@iamdub @Doubeleive @gooffeyguy @Goodinblack @adventurenali92 @Rocket Man

My memory is failing me today fellas, can't remember Ron's screen name.

No problem , I appreciate your help

 

[Joseph Garcia]

If your current suspension is working properly, your truck should be leveled. If you raise the front end, you should raise the rear end as well, or it is going to look a bit silly, and won't handle as well.

If it were me, I'd stay with the stock wheel profile (width and offset) in a wheel that you like the looks of, and then look at a wider tire with a lower profile to keep the overall tire height more or less the same as stock.

 

[1xd5]

If your current suspension is working properly, your truck should be leveled. If you raise the front end, you should raise the rear end as well, or it is going to look a bit silly, and won't handle as well.

If it were me, I'd stay with the stock wheel profile (width and offset) in a wheel that you like the looks of, and then look at a wider tire with a lower profile to keep the overall tire height more or lass the same as stock.

Thank you for your reply.

I agree on keeping it level , I’m not into the front or rear higher/lower than the other.

I’ve been considering if I should just do that and get the wider tires, though I do like the idea of lifting a little bit , I’m not into big lifts on these rigs. You are saying to do the tires and rims and not do any lifting right? I actually like the stock wheels it currently has, It’s just the center caps that look terrible, I did find a post about a possible diy that makes them look good, then I’d probably have to see what tires I could go with.

 

[Rocket Man]

If you were lowering it, I could be more help. I don’t have any experience with lifting these trucks. With that said, I do know the rear ride height sensors will need to be lengthened if you lift it and you want to keep the compressor, stock type rear shocks and self leveling or else the computer will think it’s already too high and the shock bellows won’t fill.

 

[1xd5]

If you were lowering it, I could be more help. I don’t have any experience with lifting these trucks. With that said, I do know the rear ride height sensors will need to be lengthened if you lift it and you want to keep the compressor, stock type rear shocks and self leveling or else the computer will think it’s already too high and the shock bellows won’t fill.

Thank you for the info.

Is there a way to check if the self leveling is even working?

 

[Rocket Man]

Thank you for the info.

Is there a way to check if the self leveling is even working?

Check the rubber bellows on the rear shocks and see if they’re firm and thus inflated, after driving. Another way to check is after the truck has sat overnight or all day, start it up and walk to the driver side rear and listen for the compressor to come on and look carefully at the fender to see if the rear of the truck lifts up a little and the compressor shuts off.

 

[1xd5]

Check the rubber bellows on the rear shocks and see if they’re firm and thus inflated, after driving. Another way to check is after the truck has sat overnight or all day, start it up and walk to the driver side rear and listen for the compressor to come on and look carefully at the fender to see if the rear of the truck lifts up a little and the compressor shuts off.

Thank you, will do.

 

[adventurenali92]

Sorry for the lateness of my reply. Just now seeing that I was tagged after finishing giving my rig an oil change. @1xd5 Looking at the photo of that red Denali xl that you posted beside your truck and reading the thread that you linked, it appears that the owner of that truck didn’t just swap out the factory torsion keys for leveling keys to achieve enough lift to fit that tire setup. There’s mention of Z71 coil spring swap, which lifts the rear of the truck up for sure, from what I’ve read on others member’s lift threads here. The thread also mentions rough country shocks so I’m assuming longer shocks were necessary. Doesn’t say what shocks but I’m guessing he deleted the Z55 suspension setup with the rough country shocks.

So quite a bit more in depth since leveling keys alone won’t lift the truck enough to fit that big of a tire on stock suspension. To also add to the info in this thread the factory does setup a mild rake to the suspension. At least with the GMT800s they were definitely not level out of the factory. The front is set a tad bit lower than the rear, from what I understand to help with aerodynamics and fuel consumption. I can say for certain this is how my truck was setup on stock suspension.

The leveling keys will lift the front of the truck a tad bit higher,
I did that to my 2006 Denali xl. Not sure what brand keys were used but it brought up enough to fit a 275/65 Michelin LTX A/T2 tire on my truck a couple years ago. Running a different tire setup now but still have the leveling keys.

 

[1xd5]

Sorry for the lateness of my reply. Just now seeing that I was tagged after finishing giving my rig an oil change. @1xd5 Looking at the photo of that red Denali xl that you posted beside your truck and reading the thread that you linked, it appears that the owner of that truck didn’t just swap out the factory torsion keys for leveling keys to achieve enough lift to fit that tire setup. There’s mention of Z71 coil spring swap, which lifts the rear of the truck up for sure, from what I’ve read on others member’s lift threads here. The thread also mentions rough country shocks so I’m assuming longer shocks were necessary. Doesn’t say what shocks but I’m guessing he deleted the Z55 suspension setup with the rough country shocks.

So quite a bit more in depth since leveling keys alone won’t lift the truck enough to fit that big of a tire on stock suspension. To also add to the info in this thread the factory does setup a mild rake to the suspension. At least with the GMT800s they were definitely not level out of the factory. The front is set a tad bit lower than the rear, from what I understand to help with aerodynamics and fuel consumption. I can say for certain this is how my truck was setup on stock suspension.

The leveling keys will lift the front of the truck a tad bit higher,
I did that to my 2006 Denali xl. Not sure what brand keys were used but it brought up enough to fit a 275/65 Michelin LTX A/T2 tire on my truck a couple years ago. Running a different tire setup now but still have the leveling keys.

Thank you for your reply.

Do you happen to have any pictures of your setup with the Michelins, and now ? I’m curious to see. So all you did was the keys ? Did that affect anything ? And you didn’t do anything to the rear suspension ?