Arnott Passive vs. Active Mageneride Replacement: Am I understanding tradeoffs correctly?

[bobsaget]

I am looking at whether to keep or delete magneride using Arnott struts, and I want to make sure I am understanding the tradeoffs.

Delete:
more affordable
Less "sporty" but also less stiff under 65mph
Still a good ride quality

Keep:
expensive
Stiffer at lower speeds, but more sporty driving experience
Excellent ride quality

IS that accurate? Is there anything else I need to consider, or is that about it? I am trying to decide between the two, and since I haven't driven both, it's a really hard decision to make.

 

[Doubeleive]

Arnott in either case are not expensive, oem is
not sure where you are shopping, try rockauto there is a small core fee but you get that back when you send your old shocks back.

 

[bobsaget]

Arnott in either case are not expensive, oem is
not sure where you are shopping, try rockauto there is a small core fee but you get that back when you send your old shocks back.

That's where I am looking. The OEM is $405 for each strut, not assembled and not including new coils or other parts. The Arnott MR-3840 are $615 each (active replacement assembly)

 

[Doubeleive]

That's where I am looking. The OEM is $405 for each strut, not assembled and not including new coils or other parts. The Arnott MR-3840 are $615 each (active replacement assembly)

you do not need a complete strut, all you need is the shock part and have it swapped over or rent a "scary" spring compressor lol, I would rather pay the $50 and let a shop do it.
this brings the cost down a lot.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Also check out GMPartsDirect.com and enter your VIN for a decent price on OEM struts. MUCH cheaper than the dealership.

 

[bobsaget]

you do not need a complete strut, all you need is the shock part and have it swapped over or rent a "scary" spring compressor lol, I would rather pay the $50 and let a shop do it.
this brings the cost down a lot.

Got it. The shop I was talking to said I am better off getting a full assembly becaause the coils can wear out too. Is it worth buying a new coil (they are cheap) and having them replace that too when they swap the strut, or is really not necessary?

For reference, I have aa 2015 Yukon Denali with the 6.2L engine and 108k miles.

 

[Doubeleive]

Got it. The shop I was talking to said I am better off getting a full assembly becaause the coils can wear out too. Is it worth buying a new coil (they are cheap) and having them replace that too when they swap the strut, or is really not necessary?

For reference, I have aa 2015 Yukon Denali with the 6.2L engine and 108k miles.

yes that would my preferred method, kind of a best of both choice without buying a complete unit

 

[CMoore711]

Got it. The shop I was talking to said I am better off getting a full assembly becaause the coils can wear out too. Is it worth buying a new coil (they are cheap) and having them replace that too when they swap the strut, or is really not necessary?

For reference, I have aa 2015 Yukon Denali with the 6.2L engine and 108k miles.

No; Not completely true. How many miles are on your rig?

The real reason they told you that is because they don’t like to use spring compressors either.

 

[bobsaget]

No; Not completely true. How many miles are on your rig?

The real reason they told you that is because they don’t like to use spring compressors either.

108k miles (2015 Yukon Denali 6.2L)

 

[Joseph Garcia]

108k miles (2015 Yukon Denali 6.2L)

I replaced my front suspension at 150K miles. GM no longer makes/sells the front coil springs for my year truck, so I used a cross-referenced Moog coil spring for the replacement coil springs. The new coil springs lifted my front end by 1 inch, which I determined when I checked my headlights with my test jig.

Was it due to my original springs getting tired, or was it because the Moog coil springs were slightly different than the OEM coil springs? Who knows, but the front height did change. Your results may vary.

 

[CMoore711]

If you liked the way it rode when the shocks and struts were in good working order and operating as they should I would just replace with OEM.

It’s a Denali; Keep the magnetic ride control in tact or buy an SLT.

 

[91RS]

The K2 trucks are already quite rough, especially the 15 and 16 and more so with Magride. They handle better because of it but I think it was a bad choice GM made to do that because it isn’t a race car, it’s a road trip machine. I love the Auto/Magride on the GMT-900 but I would absolutely delete it on a K2.

I’m in the minority here but I do not like Arnott shocks. I like the cheap stuff and do not ride or handle well. If keeping the stock ride height: I’d buy new OEM springs and Bilstein 5100 shocks if on a budget. If not, Atomic Fab coilovers and matching rear shocks. I think I can recommend Fox coilovers also. I haven’t owned them personally but I have driven a stock height 14 Sierra with them on it and it drove fantastic on the crap stock 20” Bridgestones.

Also, springs absolutely do wear out over time. I bought the last two sets of front springs for the Autoride GMT-900 and the new springs raised my 08 3/4” and raised the 12 Denali we no longer have one inch and both rode significantly better with new springs.

 

[bobsaget]

The K2 trucks are already quite rough, especially the 15 and 16 and more so with Magride. They handle better because of it but I think it was a bad choice GM made to do that because it isn’t a race car, it’s a road trip machine. I love the Auto/Magride on the GMT-900 but I would absolutely delete it on a K2.

I’m in the minority here but I do not like Arnott shocks. I like the cheap stuff and do not ride or handle well. If keeping the stock ride height: I’d buy new OEM springs and Bilstein 5100 shocks if on a budget. If not, Atomic Fab coilovers and matching rear shocks. I think I can recommend Fox coilovers also. I haven’t owned them personally but I have driven a stock height 14 Sierra with them on it and it drove fantastic on the crap stock 20” Bridgestones.

Also, springs absolutely do wear out over time. I bought the last two sets of front springs for the Autoride GMT-900 and the new springs raised my 08 3/4” and raised the 12 Denali we no longer have one inch and both rode significantly better with new springs.

I dont really know what a new magneride feels like on the 2015 Yukon, since I just bought it used. So I am open to options.

Can you describe how the atomic fab would ride? I do not want anything that could be considered "bouncy".

Also, would I need to buy one of the magneride bypass sensors if I went with the Atomic Fab coilovers?

 

[91RS]

I don’t know that my description will to terribly helpful since I have an 08 but they felt pretty similar to the stock Auto Ride, which is great, but at the same time, I like the Auto Ride on the 900 and didn’t want to deal with the delete for it to feel similar when I had already replaced all of my shocks with new OEM. I ended up selling them to my father-in-law for his 08 Sierra and we got the matching rear shocks and his truck drives great. The Viking shocks are dual-adjustable for compression and rebound, many adjustable shocks only have one adjustment for both. Atomic Fab also has more options now for spring rates now than when I ordered so you can dial in what you want even more. So, be aware there will be some fiddling to get them setup.

The Bilstein 5100s are great shocks also though. We put those on my uncle’s truck. They will definitely be a softer ride than the Mag Ride.

 

[91RS]

Funny enough, an ad for this web site just popped up on FB. The prices seem pretty reasonable, too. Comes all assembled and with a module to turn off any lights. I’d honestly love to try that Fox 2.0 setup but my shocks are fine….

All

North America's Premier Supplier of Magneride Removal Kits for Sierra 1500, Yukon, Tahoe, Suburban, Escalade and more!

www.magdelete.com

 

[petethepug]

The majority of suspension as well as service issues ultimately related to aftermarket suspension installs are all over the fence you’re looking at right now. Questions like …

* Why doesn’t my truck go faster than 88 mph?
* My truck rides like ship.
* Service suspension light on, Why?
* Vibration in steering, Why?
* Cruise control stopped working, why?
* Why aren’t my Arnott or other cheap OEM replacement struts guaranteed for life like OEM?
* Why do I hate the ride on my truck?
* Why am I constantly chasing some way to get rid of the service suspension DTC and always chasing some way to fix this stupid suspension?!?!

 

[91RS]

There’s nothing wrong with aftermarket suspension but you have to spend the money for quality. Cheapo aftermarket “stock replacement” junk will result in a terrible ride and/or handling sure. Defeating the service light isn’t hard. There are plenty of plug in resistors that plug into the shock connectors, DLC jumper version, some plug into the height sensors also. I made my own resistors for my SS. Defeating the air on these is a little more involved but it isn’t hard either. People that want to be cheap are the ones that have problems. Suspension is a horrible place to go cheap.

 

[TollKeeper]

I found the cheapest place to buy the Arnott Shocks was SummitRacing.com

They also didnt charge a core charge.. This was a couple years ago thou.

This allowed me to call Arnott directly, and they bought them from me, and paid for shipping.

 

[linus2]

I replaced my front suspension at 150K miles. GM no longer makes/sells the front coil springs for my year truck, so I used a cross-referenced Moog coil spring for the replacement coil springs. The new coil springs lifted my front end by 1 inch, which I determined when I checked my headlights with my test jig.

Was it due to my original springs getting tired, or was it because the Moog coil springs were slightly different than the OEM coil springs? Who knows, but the front height did change. Your results may vary.

What scan tool can do the ride height trim relearn?

 

[Joseph Garcia]

What scan tool can do the ride height trim relearn?

Any quality bidirectional scanner should be able to perform this function for you. Giving your model year, I don't believe that a Tech 2 would be the best scanner for you and your truck, but Autel some scanners that are used by folks in this former Forum for trucks newer than 2013. You will need to budget about $500 to get the scanner that you need.