04 Tahoe Z71 Project

[HiHoeSilver]

TIRES

Alright, tires are on! 285/70r17 E load General Grabber ATx. I think they fit the truck really nice and fill up the wheel well perfectly. No rubbing anywhere during daily driving or full lock. I’m pretty certain the rear tires will rub when articulating since my 265s did also, but I’ll see how bad it is and maybe consider spacers. The tire shop set them at 40 psi, which may be a little stiff for me. I might air down a little lower like 35 or so, but if you guys have suggestions on E load tire pressure let me know. Otherwise I’m super happy with how they look and feel, and can’t wait to test them off road!







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Twinsies! I at 42 cold, unloaded. This is loosely based on @swathdiver's research and BFGs new E range recommendations for the KO2.

 

[LTG515]

They look great! I've always been a fan of the grabber ATs. I run my KO2s same size and load E at about 32psi all the time. They feel much smoother and they have worn great with occasional rotations. I have close to 40k on them and they have about 30% tread left. Would have more but they have seen lots of burnouts. If I tow I bump it up to 40psi.

Ok that’s great! Yea the heaviest load I’ll typically carry is a few people and camping gear. Otherwise its usually empty. Thanks for the info!


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[LTG515]

Twinsies! I at 42 cold, unloaded. This is loosely based on @swathdiver's research and BFGs new E range recommendations for the KO2.
View attachment 241715

That looks real nice! And I’ll have to look that guy up and read his stuff. Thanks!


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[Tahoejoez71]

UPDATE!

Bedliner paint job is done. I had enough bottles (5) to finish the rear fender flares, rear lower quarter panel, stock bumper trim, and my new metal bumper. Of course being a DIY spray job there are some flaws, but overall I’m super happy with how it came out! I also have a rattle can of rust oleum bed liner for little touch up areas.











Also, I got my Bilstein 5100s installed with new coils in the rear and new bumps in the front. Because of the springs being new in the rear, I gained a little height, so I also turned my torsion keys almost all the way up. I’m going to let the springs break in before I adjust the keys again, but I’ll likely be turning then down a half turn or so. Otherwise, the install was easy and the ride is much smoother so far!





Only thing left on my list are some new tires. Those will be on soon I hope!


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Looks sick!!!

 

[LTG515]

Looks sick!!!

Thanks a bunch!


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[LTG515]

UPDATE:

Really got to break in the Tahoe with its new bumper, suspension, and tires and it performed great! Honestly I’m super surprised.



I did, however, end up buying Rough Country 1.5” leveling keys. I was able to get the front just about level with the original keys, but it was basically maxed out, and still not perfectly even. So to give myself more room to dial in the front ride height I ended up getting the 1.5” keys. I think in the end it’ll be perfect given my front bumper weight as well.




Lastly, I’ve got rock sliders/steps being made right now and will be putting those on soon hopefully.


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[LTG515]

Got my 1.5” RC level keys in and went on very smoothly.

Also, with my last trip to the desert I noticed my rear tires rub quite a bit on the inner fender liners at full flex. I cut some of the plastic that protrudes and also flipped the upper rear shock mount bolts. The original configuration has the nut and bolt portion pointing toward the tire. I flipped it so that the bolt head is now on the tire side and at full flex there is room with no rubbing.






I got my sliders/steps made the other day. I’m stoked on how they came out and will have to get them mounted soon. I plan on plating in the kick out portion to act as a step for the roof rack. They are 76” long and allow for about 1” of gap from the wheel well on each side.




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[Antdogbmx]

Thought I would slap together a little thread for the work I’ve been doing, and will be doing, on my 04 Tahoe Z71. I got it with 142k miles on it as a daily driver and am wanting to turn it into a light off roader.




I don’t have any pictures of it stock when I first got it, but I had to replace the instrument cluster right off the bat.

First step was taking the running boards off for a little more clearance and a cleaner look. I also turned the torsion keys up just a little to come level. Didn’t need any re-indexed keys. I’ll be wanting to put some sliders on in the future.




Next thing I wanted was a new bumper. I didn’t like any of the commercially available options for these Tahoes, so thankfully I’ve got a brother in law who’s a great fabricator. Went for a hybrid style bumper. It’s essentially done, just need to paint it up. I’ll be painting it with raptor bed liner.





Speaking of raptor bed liner, I started to paint my fender flares with it, but I grossly underestimated how much I would go through and I ran out. HA! Spraying this stuff isn’t too bad now that I’ve done it once, but the inaugural spray was pretty stressful! I’ve ordered some more so I can finish the rest of the fender flares and the bumpers, and the next go will be less stressful.




I also did a couple electrical things. Got Apple car play which is super nice, put in a reverse camera, and did a little DRL and headlight replacement/mod.






Some things on the horizon:
I’ve got a suspension refresher coming soon. Ordered Bilstein 5100s all the way around, new bumps, and new coil springs in the back. Those should be here soon and will update. Also hoping to put some 285/70r17 (33s) Grabber ATx’s on once I get some tax return money haha! I’ll also update when that happens as well. I currently rub the rear wheel well liner at full flex (even with 265s) so I’ve read I may need wheel spacers to avoid that if going with a bigger tire. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

This forum has already been super helpful for me with figuring some things out, so I wanted to make this for others to read through if interested and also to continue to get some great advice from you guys!


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Nice

 

[Dantheman1540]

Those sliders look nice! It's really nice to see a nice budget minded light offroad build on one of these. Looks great keep up the good work!

 

[LTG515]

Those sliders look nice! It's really nice to see a nice budget minded light offroad build on one of these. Looks great keep up the good work!

Hey thanks! Yea it’s been a fun project and has surprised me off road. I’ll update once the sliders are on.


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