Coil Over Conversion Installed

[NORCAL SS]

No wonder was a great increase in ride. Thought you had djm arms with belltech shocks in front.

 

[M Hankel]

this is the answer i was looking for. thanks mike, that makes alot of sense now that you put it that way. i never considered the lateral force acting on the mounts, thats why i couldnt understand it

nice picture too, that gives me a pretty good idea of what im shooting for here. im determined to make this work one way or another

Glad to help out. I figured a quick drawing would help understand. There's only so much you can describe through words. I'm sure bracing the stock tabs would work too.

Mike

 

[Tahoewhat]

No wonder was a great increase in ride. Thought you had djm arms with belltech shocks in front.

Yeah, wrong shocks wasnt that bad, even with the keys, which were not turned down hardly, mostly just installed it has been a great ride thus far. Just need to fine tune the shocks.

also installed your rear bump stops at the same time. Very easy to install and work great. lol

Glad to help out. I figured a quick drawing would help understand. There's only so much you can describe through words. I'm sure bracing the stock tabs would work too.

Mike

I think that pic helped out quite well. Got me to visualize it better also.

 

[Tahoewhat]

Going for an alignment monday. Well see what they say.

200+ miles so far, still going strong. No issues

 

[Atomic]

The first guy I took mine to didnt want to touch it even though he could reach all the bolts just fine, so be warned

 

[Tahoewhat]

The first guy I took mine to didnt want to touch it even though he could reach all the bolts just fine, so be warned

I remember you saying something along those lines. It will be at a old school shop where they do it by hand, not lasers and all that mess. They do all custom cars, lifted, slammed, buggys, rvs etc.. So i have hope they can handle it.

Not today, hopefully tomorrow align will get done.

 

[Bomba02]

Any more DD miles, did the align go well?
Billy

 

[Tahoewhat]

Any more DD miles, did the align go well?
Billy

Oh yeah, the DD miles go up everyday. Sorry for not updating, been sick and really want to make post 2 my review section and have it actually all make sense and organized first. Plan on Friday afternoon cleaning this up and getting my reviews on POST 2.

1. No alignment, need inner tie rods first. Next week

2. I have around 300 miles on them now and still rides great. Been on side roads, bumpy roads, pot holes, speed bumps, off road, and freeway. Which brings me to one thing i noticed this A.M.

When getting on the on ramp here i always hit, there is a decent sized dip in it and before would jar the truck, well today i hit it kind of fast, (late for work) and on setting 13 on the qa1's adjustment, it felt a little weird, it almost bottomed out. Guess best explanation is truck did fine, was not a jarring feeling at all, just like it was not stiff at all when it hit the dip at that speed. (more than 45 is all im saying) It felt like it just jammed the wheels up in a floating sensation. (if that makes sense.) Im thinking the 1200 lb spring may not be enough for this truck. I may need 1300 or higher if they make one.

Also noticed that when freeway driving, 70 to 80 the steering is different now. It will turn very easily when you move the wheel as before it took a little effort for it to move side to side, now i feel as though i will flip this beast if i have to make a real quick movement. Some think im crazy, but i swear turning has improved as well with this mod.

But keep in mind, i have not had a alignment yet and have not fine tuned the suspension (firmness etc of the shocks)

Just a few little things i have noticed lately. Otherwise absolutely NO REGRETS. My bro has rode in it everyday since then and cant believe how smooth it is and wants me to change his truck to coil overs.

Noticed today as well, right front is actually at 31.6 and drivers at 32 & rear has gone down since replacing with the correct length shocks, with no re-locators, little below 32" with no gas, only fumes. lol

 

[Atomic]

Did you ever get the bumpstops installed? I have 1300lb springs in minr. Glad you still like it

 

[Bomba02]

Tahoe what ~ I like what I hear!! Why do you think the fronts are different heights?
When you speak of ride being soft do you mean
1. The truck doesn't seem planted and rolls like top heavy and dips? If that makes sense. OR
2. Just rides nice and soft over bumps and road conditions etc. like an old caddy?
Thanks Billy

 

[04blackout]

Look what showed up in the mail today

 

[Bomba02]

Look what showed up in the mail today

Lucky bastard!! What did you decide to do about your lca mount? I see going with out top brace. What weight springs did you go with? Plan on installing soon? If you don't mind me asking how much did the parts run you? Sorry for all the questions.
Billy

 

[04blackout]

Lucky bastard!! What did you decide to do about your lca mount? I see going with out top brace. What weight springs did you go with? Plan on installing soon? If you don't mind me asking how much did the parts run you? Sorry for all the questions.
Billy

after talking with a 40yr+ master welder from work, i ended up buying new oem lca's and atomic's bombproof brackets, and yes i am just going for it on the top mount

went with 1200lb springs, and after reading the latest review, im second guessing myself AGAIN.

i got about $1400 in the whole thing, and i bought everything on tahoewhat's list (from summit), except the upper atomic brackets, but i also bought new lca's from rockauto which cost $230, and i got new rear qa1 shocks as well, even though i ordered the wrong part # and have to send them back

and IF my new lca's get here early enough saturday morning, this will be happening over the weekend... if not, it'll have to wait a week

 

[Tahoewhat]

Did you ever get the bumpstops installed? I have 1300lb springs in minr. Glad you still like it

No not yet, I have been sick and not had much time for anything. But i am going to very soon and cutting off that pocket the stop was in.
How did you mount yours in the LCA? I.E. how did you drill a hole in it?
I'll keep in mind that you have some 1300lb springs, but i dont think 100lbs will make much difference would it?

Tahoe what ~ I like what I hear!! Why do you think the fronts are different heights?
When you speak of ride being soft do you mean
1. The truck doesn't seem planted and rolls like top heavy and dips? If that makes sense. OR
2. Just rides nice and soft over bumps and road conditions etc. like an old caddy?
Thanks Billy

Thanks, Im sorry i have not really posted up good reviews yet on the drive.
1. The fronts are different heights, b/c i kind of just threw the coil overs together and just bolted them up. Have not adjusted height at all yet. One coil is all the way down and the other side i may not of had all the way down. thats all, nothing major. Just no adjustment yet.

2.Here is where i need to clarify all and put it all down in my reviews. If you get qa1's they have the adjustablity of firmness and harshness. (damper i think is what is it.) I have single adju. not dual. If I put the setting to 0 (zero) the softest setting the ride is like a caddy, it will literally float. --see VIDEO in 1st post, that is set at 0. It rides just like that. lol.
To answer your question though. 1) In no way does my Tahoe feel not planted. It actually feels much more planted than before. Only when driving on the freeway does it tend to seem that it could be top heavy. But today i did some fast lane changes to see if maybe it was just the wind blowing (been really windy here) and today was just fine, i did not have that same feeling i did the other day. Very quick lane change and did not feel unsafe or top heavy. But also have come to light that my tie rod ends are bad. ( i do not know about tie rods at all, and not sure if they could effect my turning. But something to take note of)
2) YEP, depending upon the setting of shocks. But im at 13 out of 18 adjustment and still goes over bumps nicely. Not harsh at all. Not exactly like an old caddy, but like going over a speed bump with a regular car. It just absorbs the impact.

Look what showed up in the mail today

CONGRATS.... I reeled someone to the dark side. Keep me informed or keep it up in my thread. Dont mind at all. All one place could be better.

Lucky bastard!! What did you decide to do about your lca mount? I see going with out top brace. What weight springs did you go with? Plan on installing soon? If you don't mind me asking how much did the parts run you? Sorry for all the questions.
Billy

I thought i put a price on my setup. Really the shocks you use will depend upon pricing. If you get the ride techs, you will be well above 04blackouts price and way above mine. But at the same time i also bought rear shocks. Most when i read have done this ranging from $600 and up. Just depends what you get.

after talking with a 40yr+ master welder from work, i ended up buying new oem lca's and atomic's bombproof brackets, and yes i am just going for it on the top mount

went with 1200lb springs, and after reading the latest review, im second guessing myself AGAIN.

i got about $1400 in the whole thing, and i bought everything on tahoewhat's list (from summit), except the upper atomic brackets, but i also bought new lca's from rockauto which cost $230, and i got new rear qa1 shocks as well, even though i ordered the wrong part # and have to send them back

and IF my new lca's get here early enough saturday morning, this will be happening over the weekend... if not, it'll have to wait a week

TOP mount, awesome, I surely want to see results of that. I wanted to, but was too late. lol.
Stop 2nd guessing your self. You will be just fine with the 1200lb springs. Trust me. I am just not good with writing things up and how i feel the ride is. so STOP IT. ha ha.

blackout did the same thing as i, and ordered rear adjustable shocks as well. The ability to tune the front and back is going to be awesome i'll tell you that now. B/c my rear is kind of low and putting that on a soft setting has helped ride quality. Wait till you get them and put all shocks on the highest setting. You will be amazed, that mug will not move when you turn or go over something. ( not sure of your suspension mods) but its a cool feeling, i thought.

Saturday, saturday, saturday. I'll be waiting if im not out checking out TK14

 

[digitalfiend]

Look what showed up in the mail today

Shocking.

Now go forth and kick ass!

And don't forget to write your own writeup on it.

---------- Post added at 10:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:21 PM ----------

Saturday, saturday, saturday. I'll be waiting if im not out checking out TK14

What is this TK14 you speak of?

 

[Tahoewhat]

Shocking.

Now go forth and kick ass!

And don't forget to write your own writeup on it.

---------- Post added at 10:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:21 PM ----------



What is this TK14 you speak of?

Come down here and you can ride in my tahoe and see some serious HP cars running around crazy here. Or google it on youtube TK13 last year, youll see.

http://tx2k.com/

 

[Atomic]

for the bump stop I just got under there with the drill and drill straight up through the middle of the lower control arm so the bump stop hit flat against the upper part. It's very easy to drill actually. The bump stop has a 3/8 inch bolt that you just bolt to the whole you just drilled. you want to tune the bump stop so it in gauges right before the shock bottoms out. The whole point of it is to make sure you don't damage the shock if you had a really big bump.

I don't think a hundred pounds Springs will make that much of a difference. I started out with a thousand pounds springs and they were too soft so I went to the 1300s. I think i keep mine set to 15. last weekend I was driving through an apartment complex and it was pretty funny because I had my traction bars preloaded in the rear so the rear was super stiff. Everytime I hit a bump the front end just glided over but the rear end when it hit about broke your neck cause I have no give in the rear suspension with the bars turned up (was driving from the track).

 

[Goodinblack]

Great thread

 

[04blackout]

Dont worry, ill have a thread on the whole thing once I get it done. Want to give a huge thank you to Atomic for bringing this conversion to us and Tahoewhat for being the guinea pig and taking the plunge on this mod. I had been actually thinking about selling the rig bc the ride was so bad, but I have high hopes now that it can be back to the smooth rig I once had, and still look mean as F

i'll be sending the wrong rear shocks back today and I already ordered up the proper ones, so really hoping I can get into this thing tomorrow morning. Would LOVE to be able to report back monday morning with some good news

 

[Tahoewhat]

for the bump stop I just got under there with the drill and drill straight up through the middle of the lower control arm so the bump stop hit flat against the upper part. It's very easy to drill actually. The bump stop has a 3/8 inch bolt that you just bolt to the whole you just drilled. you want to tune the bump stop so it in gauges right before the shock bottoms out. The whole point of it is to make sure you don't damage the shock if you had a really big bump.

I don't think a hundred pounds Springs will make that much of a difference. I started out with a thousand pounds springs and they were too soft so I went to the 1300s. I think i keep mine set to 15. last weekend I was driving through an apartment complex and it was pretty funny because I had my traction bars preloaded in the rear so the rear was super stiff. Everytime I hit a bump the front end just glided over but the rear end when it hit about broke your neck cause I have no give in the rear suspension with the bars turned up (was driving from the track).

Sounds easy enough for the stop. I'll do that when i put in the tie rods, i'll be in that area anyway. Thanks,

Didnt think the 100lb spring would make much difference from the 1200lb one. I drove around with the settings on 16 today to work, few errands and back home. Just a few clicks really stiffens it up. Still rode quite well. THinking of going to 18 later and trying that out. lol. What you explained about the rear is funny b/c that is about how it was when i was first messing around, i forgot to change the rear from hard to soft and it just bounced over things. First bump and i instantly knew i forgot to change them. lol.

Great thread

Thank you

Don't worry, ill have a thread on the whole thing once I get it done. Want to give a huge thank you to Atomic for bringing this conversion to us and Tahoewhat for being the guinea pig and taking the plunge on this mod. I had been actually thinking about selling the rig bc the ride was so bad, but I have high hopes now that it can be back to the smooth rig I once had, and still look mean as F

i'll be sending the wrong rear shocks back today and I already ordered up the proper ones, so really hoping I can get into this thing tomorrow morning. Would LOVE to be able to report back Monday morning with some good news

Make your thread or not or ***** mine up is cool as well. But your own may be a better idea so we have a couple different threads for people. Once you do, i'll link this thread to yours as well for more guidance. Also since you have a burban for those that have a big body. lol

No thanks needed, i had the exact same feeling as you. I have been contemplating selling the hoe and getting a g8, ctsv or 14 sierra and doing one of those. But now i actually enjoy driving it, next up is performance for this beast. Really thinking of slapping in a turbo and keeping the 5.3. To assure you, yes it will ride much smoother than before and there are many different shocks you can choose from if you choose to try other ones.

You will enjoy it again. Its much better riding and with the ability to adjust the firmness is even better.