coil over conversion installed

[04blackout]

ok guys, heres the scoop on how i ditched my torsion bars and installed qa1 coilovers up front...

first off... i've never been good at posting new threads about how i did suff, or making how to threads, so please take it easy on me. i didnt really take any pics other than what i sent to Mike (tahoewhat) to make sure i was doing shit right

NEXT...
a HUGE thank you to Richard (Atomic) for making these brackets, and bringing this conversion to our community. also a huge thank you to Mike (Tahoewhat) not only for being the first one to take the plunge and make this happen, but also for giving out his cell # and answering all kinds of ridiculous questions via text

THREADS I USED IN MY RESEARCH
any interest in 4wd front coilover conversion
coil over conversion installed
2000 silverado project charlie murphy
UCA and camber issues

MY SHOPPING LIST
Atomic conversion brackets (i only used lowers)
qa1 ds301 coilover shocks
Hyperco 7" 1200lb 2.5" ID coils ($160 ebay, free shipping)
spanner wrench and thrust bearings
upgraded steel shock bearings (2 of these)
top spacers
bottom spacers
bumpstops
pro comp shock mount conversion
belltech total alignment kit

i also picked up a set of qa1 rs702 adjustable rear shocks and 2 of the upper loop conversion kit to complete the rear shock swap

-----------------------------------------------------

i took my time and did this over the course of 2 days, but it could easily have been a 1 day project, as long as you know what ur doing and have it all planned out pretty good. for me, i had just installed my djm 3/5 a little over a year ago, so i knew all the ins and outs of tearing this beast down, so it was pretty simple. a 12lb sledge was my best friend for popping the lower ball joints loose and for breaking the rusty keys off the torsion bars

if you have read any of the above threads, they have pretty good pics of how to install all of the components, so i wont go into any of that unless someone has a specific question

THE MAIN THING I DID DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHERS, was i did not use any upper reinforcement, i bolted my coilover shock straight to the factory upper shock perch, using the pro comp adapter mentioned above

another important point is that if you use the factory LCA, you will need the belltech camber kit i listed up top. i ran my cams all the way out just to be able to drive it, and i still need more adjustment


MY REVIEW
so far, i have about 150 miles on my setup, and i am still adjusting it a little bit every day. at this point, i am pretty sure i like the front on 14/18 and the rear on 15/18, but i am still going to get new rear springs to replace my 5305 so that could change
of course i had to trim the universal bumpstop up front and spend a fair amount of time getting the ride height just right, but everything is so close to perfectly level that you could never tell just by looking at it. the responsiveness over bumps is stellar, and while it definitely still rides like a lowered truck, it is NIGHT AND DAY from what it was with the torsion bars!
after alot of reasearch, and finding out that ridetech uses the factory upper shock perch for their airbag shocks, i decided to take a chance and find out if it is a suitable coilover mount... so far, it is holding up just fine, and i have race car syndrome while taking the on/off ramps so its not like i just baby this thing along. it definitely gets a good workout

all in all, im very happy with the conversion, and i would definitely suggest it to anyone looking to go lower (or higher) than stock, to consider this as an alternative (though more expensive) to LCA's or psindles in the front. the fact that you can adjust the firmness by just hopping out and turning a knob is awesome, but they ride and handle way better than the stupid torsion bars... best of all, i kept my bars, keys, and crossmember, so IF i ever sell it, i can easily swap back to stock and sell these to someone

 

[Bomba02]

Great work bud, glad you got it done and like it! Your write up is on spot to! Keep us posted on how the upper bracket looks after some more DD. I do have one question what is your fender to ground measurements?? How much adjustment did you end up with. Thanks for the info
Billy

 

[Atomic]

Glad you like it!

 

[Tahoewhat]

Awesome. Was wondering when you were going to make a thread. -- Good job on it, not my fortee either, but sometimes simple and clean is the best way.

I love this statement "race car syndrome while taking the on/off ramps so its not like i just baby this thing along." Awesome. lol.

When you say you like the front on 14/18 etc, do you mean one side on 14 and other on 18 or do you mean 14 setting and 18 settings.

Im still moving mine all over while i wait for alignment. but think im on 16 front and 14 rear

Either way, great thread and looking forward to your reviews and how the upper holds up.

 

[04blackout]

When you say you like the front on 14/18 etc, do you mean one side on 14 and other on 18 or do you mean 14 setting and 18 settings.

i mean setting 14 out of the 18 positions. i turned it up to 6 in front today, and im pretty happy with it. the rear still sucks though. its alot better than it was with crappy shocks, but it is still rough back there. i did the whole getting rid of slop thing over the weekend, and it didnt do jack. only thing left is to get tony's new 6" springs and if that doesnt fix it, the rear adjustable arms are the absolute last piece of the puzzle. the panhard bar had some definite play in it but now has nothing. i thought it might be the sway bar, so i disconnected it, and it still sounds like its bottoming out on every little bump, but its not bc i have the free travel mod done... it just plain sucks

 

[04blackout]

I do have one question what is your fender to ground measurements?? How much adjustment did you end up with

Fender to ground is 32 3/4" on drivers and 33" passenger now but im not done adjusting bc I still have to install my camber kit. Here's a pic of how much adjustment I have left in it. When I finished the install it was like 32" on the pass side, and remember, my tires are pretty big. Plenty of room to go down, but I need some smaller rubber first, bc at not quite full lock, these tires get in a bind and literally stop the truck if I dont give it some gas... but they've been that way ever since I first dropped it

 

[digitalfiend]

This is an AWESOME thread. Even though you and 'Tahoewhat' did basically the same mod it's really helpful to read through your thread too. I love your collection of links at the top of your post. I was wondering about how many threads were used/unused on the shock body too, and your picture here helped me get a better idea. Mad props, yo!

As an aside, yesterday (3/24/2014) I called ridetech to chat with them about the lack of reinforcement of the upper shock mount when using their airbag kit. The tech I talked to said that normally the upper shock tower on the different vehicles they've done tends to be more than strong enough, and that usually it's the lower control arm that tends to need reinforcement. I don't believe that either of our front shock mount points (top or bottom) need reinforcement.

 

[04blackout]

Thanks, Andrew. Glad you like it. I intentionally titled this thread the same as Mike's that way anytime someone searches for one they will always find both threads

I got a plan im considering before I get my final adjustments made... def gonna get the new 6" rear springs, most likely gonna get the full adjustable rear arms at the same time. Thinking about going the full 6" in the rear, bringing the front down to match it and picking up some 285/35/24 tires and going really low. Gotta see if the new springs fix my rear woes first though

 

[Atomic]

A note about the threads left on the bottom of the shock. When I installed mine I was very careful to make sure that at ride height the shock sat right in the middle of its travel range. I made a little mark on the shaft with a sharpie before I put things together. The reason for this is you dont want the shock hanging out around the bottom of its range since you risk bottoming out. Same with the top except you risk over extension. I have also seen 40% down from the top so you have 60% travel for compression.

My point is, simply adjusting it to where it sits right might have other consequences, especially on a really short shock.

Bump stop adjustment is also critical here.

 

[04blackout]

My point is, simply adjusting it to where it sits right might have other consequences, especially on a really short shock.

That's why im still watching that charlie murphy thread. I would love for him to come up with something to use the stud top mount to get the extra 1.5" of travel

 

[Atomic]

What yall have is obviously working fine since yall seem to like it. If you bottom out the shock you will definitely know it lol. I am probably overthinking it.

He updated his thread and said his new bushing was working good so far, but wants to put more miles on it before he makes a final judgment.

 

[04blackout]

I noticed that its alot better the more I cranked it up, but it just doesnt have a lot of up travel... well not enough for me to really feel good about lowering it

If he gets it dialed in I will for sure follow suit

 

[digitalfiend]

...

def gonna get the new 6" rear springs, most likely gonna get the full adjustable rear arms at the same time. Thinking about going the full 6" in the rear, bringing the front down to match it and picking up some 285/35/24 tires and going really low. Gotta see if the new springs fix my rear woes first though

I really like my 6" drop springs that I got from Tony, and I highly recommend them.

A note about the threads left on the bottom of the shock. When I installed mine I was very careful to make sure that at ride height the shock sat right in the middle of its travel range. I made a little mark on the shaft with a sharpie before I put things together. The reason for this is you dont want the shock hanging out around the bottom of its range since you risk bottoming out. Same with the top except you risk over extension. I have also seen 40% down from the top so you have 60% travel for compression.

My point is, simply adjusting it to where it sits right might have other consequences, especially on a really short shock.

Bump stop adjustment is also critical here.

Thanks for the reminder on the position of the shock (40/60). I also strongly agree with your point on the bump stop adjustment. This further reinforces my concerns on not having to run the procomp adapters because 1.5" could be the difference between a good or a terrible ride.

That's why im still watching that charlie murphy thread. I would love for him to come up with something to use the stud top mount to get the extra 1.5" of travel

I wonder how well the bushings from the djm front shocks would work out:

http://djmsuspension.com/products/1315/

Or even the bushings from the top of the stock shocks. However, maybe with the full load of the springs & shocks they wouldn't hold up.

 

[04blackout]

I wonder how well the bushings from the djm front shocks would work out

they wont hold up. the guy over on PT.net has tried a whole slew of different bushings and they just arent strong enough to support the weight. apparently his new method MIGHT be suitable, and if so, this will open up all kinds of possibilities for us

---------- Post added at 06:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:36 PM ----------

I just checked in on charlie murphy... seems that his new method is holding up pretty well. Looks like he has 4340 steel as a washer under the 95a polyurethane then another big washer, all as one piece smashed together, and thats the bottom "bushing" and then same for the top. I looked it up on ebay, and cost would be $20 for the polyurethane $8 for the piece of steel rod... I think I might order a piece of each and give it a shot. Worst case scenario it doesnt hold up and I swap back to the pro comp adapter

 

[Atomic]

If it works out for you I could have some washers cut for basically nothing from whatever thickness steel.

 

[04blackout]

If it works out for you I could have some washers cut for basically nothing from whatever thickness steel.

o'rly?

i just sent a PM to digitalfiend about cutting up some 4340 like that guy did. im willing to pay for the materials and guinnea pig this stud top for the tahoes if i have someone to cut it for me. i have access to the same kind of band saw he used and cutting it would be no problem, but a nice, perfectly square cut would be ideal

 

[Atomic]

I just have to draw it up in autocad and email it to the place I have laser cut the main brackets. Two concentric circles should take about 3 seconds to draw lol. I was thinking 1/4" thickness. Any idea what size you want? Only thing though is there is a $50 minimum order.

 

[04blackout]

I just have to draw it up in autocad and email it to the place I have laser cut the main brackets. Two concentric circles should take about 3 seconds to draw lol. I was thinking 1/4" thickness. Any idea what size you want? Only thing though is there is a $50 minimum order.

the polyurethane was 1 1/2" and the 4340 steel was 1 3/4". i would think 1/4" would be plenty for what were doing, but to be honest, that $50 minimum is gonna make it a little cost prohibitive

i may just end up ordering some and cutting it with the bandsaw... if i take my time (lol) it should go pretty smooth

 

[Atomic]

I was thinking if his deal works out I could have a bunch cut and include it with my brackets.

Or much easier for you, a williams washer, http://www.northwesterntools.com/-c-343_259.html

 

[04blackout]

Or much easier for you, a williams washer, http://www.northwesterntools.com/-c-343_259.html

I think we're on to something here