Lift with bilstein shocks?

HiHoeSilver said:

Well then. Thanks for your example! I had a reeeeaaaaalllly hard time finding setups that fit my bill for some reason. Yours pushed me over the edge. I put them on tonight.... they fit! Stock! No rub anywhere. It's close in front at full lock, but they clear.

This poses another problem...
I don't want to truck around a bunch on brand new tires without a fresh alignment. Already spoke to my hookup for that. Trouble is this...do I crank the front a little? I will give myself just a couple days to decide as I look at and drive it. I will get good measurements tomorrow. Doesn't look like it in the pics, but I think I just need a heavy inch in front to level. I Kroiled the bolts tonight in preparation....

My initial review of the Grabber ATX is a good one. They are super quiet and look awesome. I will post separately on them after a little time.

Pics for verification purposes:

View attachment 233893 View attachment 233894

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Looks great! I'd bring the front end up a little. The alignment doesn't change as much as you'd think, so (IMO) you'd be alright to crank it a little and drive it for a few days to see how you like it. Just count turns so you can put it back if needed. Like I've said before, mine isn't perfectly level but you really can't tell. 1/2" of rake might be a good happy medium where it looks level but keeps you from having to crank the bars as much.

whats the low end to high end on average for labor cost to have everything installed? keys, four shocks, springs and torsion bars.

rgosart said:

You don't "need" spacers. Like I said before, that's personal preference. I just wasn't sure what you had decided.

My tires are 275/70r18. Theyre just over 33in tall. I think the general consensus is that you shouldn't go over a 33" tire on a leveling kit. As far as width goes, 285s are very common (285/65r18) but more expensive than the 275s. I've heard of people running tires as wide as a 305 on a newer body style OEM wheel, but I personally think that would rub.

Do you know what wheels you are going to go with? Backspacing makes a big difference in how wide of a tire you can fit.

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On the topic of tire width, do any of you guys run a mild wheel spacer? About 1.25”? I’m not sure if you guys off road much with your Tahoe’s, but I’ve got 265/70r17s right now on stock wheels and I’ve noticed that at full articulation of the rear end, the wheels rub on the inner wheel well splash guard. The tires now I believe are about a 31” and I will be upgrading to some 285/70r17s (33s) soon. I think I read somewhere that with the 285 width and to avoid the read end rubbing, a 1.25” wheel spacer should be used.

Can anyone confirm or deny this? Obviously would go with a high quality billet hub-centric wheel-centric spacer.


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BlueCollarTahoe said:

whats the low end to high end on average for labor cost to have everything installed? keys, four shocks, springs and torsion bars.

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I am not much help on this as I did it all myself. My guess would be ~4 hours to do keys, shocks, rear springs, and an alignment. Why would you replace the torsion bars? Low end would probably be $300 and high would probably be more like $500. I could be way off on this. It always surprises me how much it costs to have work done on a vehicle. I don't usually pay anyone to work on my vehicles and if I do, it is not shop rate because I have a friend who is a GM tech...

LTG515 said:

On the topic of tire width, do any of you guys run a mild wheel spacer? About 1.25”? I’m not sure if you guys off road much with your Tahoe’s, but I’ve got 265/70r17s right now on stock wheels and I’ve noticed that at full articulation of the rear end, the wheels rub on the inner wheel well splash guard. The tires now I believe are about a 31” and I will be upgrading to some 285/70r17s (33s) soon. I think I read somewhere that with the 285 width and to avoid the read end rubbing, a 1.25” wheel spacer should be used.

Can anyone confirm or deny this? Obviously would go with a high quality billet hub-centric wheel-centric spacer.


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I do not run a spacer, however I believe you have to run a 1.75" spacer minimum without trimming your lug studs. I am sure others with more experience will chime in...

With a 285 width tire and full articulation you will rub. I do not do much off road driving. My Tahoe is my nicer vehicle and I use it for trips and towing. What I was referring to in the post that you quoted were rear spring spacers to add additional height.

Ok great, thanks for the reply! Yea maybe some others will offer some wisdom as well haha but I’ll also keep looking around.

Thanks!


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LTG515 said:

On the topic of tire width, do any of you guys run a mild wheel spacer? About 1.25”? I’m not sure if you guys off road much with your Tahoe’s, but I’ve got 265/70r17s right now on stock wheels and I’ve noticed that at full articulation of the rear end, the wheels rub on the inner wheel well splash guard. The tires now I believe are about a 31” and I will be upgrading to some 285/70r17s (33s) soon. I think I read somewhere that with the 285 width and to avoid the read end rubbing, a 1.25” wheel spacer should be used.

Can anyone confirm or deny this? Obviously would go with a high quality billet hub-centric wheel-centric spacer.


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I dont know about tire width and rubbing in off road articulation, but I do know a bit about spacers.

The width of the spacer you can run will depend on your wheels. Look at the back and see if there are detents in between the lugs to allow for a little stud. My factory 18s have enough of a divot that 1.25 will work without trimming the studs. If the back of the wheel is flat, then @rgosart is correct at 1.75 to avoid trimming.

That said, the last 1/2"ish of the studs are just the ball ends, so trimming those off can gain you a bit more without losing any threaded rod.

HiHoeSilver said:

I dont know about tire width and rubbing in off road articulation, but I do know a bit about spacers.

The width of the spacer you can run will depend on your wheels. Look at the back and see if there are detents in between the lugs to allow for a little stud. My factory 18s have enough of a divot that 1.25 will work without trimming the studs. If the back of the wheel is flat, then @rgosart is correct at 1.75 to avoid trimming.

That said, the last 1/2"ish of the studs are just the ball ends, so trimming those off can gain you a bit more without losing any threaded rod.

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Ok great! That’s all super good info. I have the stock 17” Z71 wheels but have not looked at the backs of them yet. So I’ll have to take a peek and see about the lug clearance. I’m hoping a 1.25 will work because I don’t want my tires sticking out past the fender flares much at all since that would make articulation even worse and not big on that look.

Thanks for the help.


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okay guys i got all the pieces listed in that post and some extra stuff ( keys, four shocks, springs and torsion bars, coil spring insulators). anbything else i should order that will help this modest lift go successfully? like support parts that are probably worn out by now that i sghould replace? most of whats on the truck is still factory sotck at 130K miles. i want to get all the parts together and then ask for a rate at a local off road vehicle shop since i get the keys being cranked and replaced. my regular mechanic said hes seen them before but hed have to get the tool for it im the only one whos ever asked about it.

well come back to the tires down the road lol

BlueCollarTahoe said:

okay guys i got all the pieces listed in that post and some extra stuff ( keys, four shocks, springs and torsion bars, coil spring insulators). anbything else i should order that will help this modest lift go successfully? like support parts that are probably worn out by now that i sghould replace? most of whats on the truck is still factory sotck at 130K miles. i want to get all the parts together and then ask for a rate at a local off road vehicle shop since i get the keys being cranked and replaced. my regular mechanic said hes seen them before but hed have to get the tool for it im the only one whos ever asked about it.

well come back to the tires down the road lol

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You can borrow the tool from a parts store. By me, Advance is the one that has it. You can also buy a quality one online relatively cheap if you want one for keeps.

you think it would be a bad idea to have all the other work done at my shop then take the truck to get the keys done at the offroad shop? i rather have someone wit experience do it right way than someone just do it. or maybe the reverse since i gotta get a wheel alighnment after?