Dobinsons Suspension Upgrade 07 Tahoe 4x4

[tahjoe]

I recently decided to lift the front of my 07 Tahoe using Bilstein B8 6112 adjustable struts [47-310858] set to 2”.

For the rear, I was looking at installing Dobinson’s 2” rear coil springs [C09-045]. Any recommendations on rear shock absorbers that can handle the added rear coil spring height + 2” front end lift? From what I can tell, the Bilstein rear shock absorbers are only made to handle a 1” rear lift.

(May not be necessary, but I also plan to replace the OEM front upper control arms with Freedom Off-Road control arms for 2” lift [50-6703FU])

Thanks in advance

 

[Drgracin72]

I don't have an answer for your question, but was curious on your impressions of the 6112? on road and off-road.

 

[89Suburban]

@Trey Hardy @randeez

 

[tahjoe]

I don't have an answer for your question, but was curious on your impressions of the 6112? on road and off-road.

My bad, should’ve been more clear. I haven’t purchased the front 6112's yet. Holding off until I figure out the plan for (and cost of) the rear shock absorbers.

My thought process is that the 6112s set halfway would be a more comfortable ride than the 5100s set at the highest notch, but I could be wrong. Will let you know how they perform if I decide to go with that setup.

 

[Trey Hardy]

My bad, should’ve been more clear. I haven’t purchased the front 6112's yet. Holding off until I figure out the plan for (and cost of) the rear shock absorbers.

My thought process is that the 6112s set halfway would be a more comfortable ride than the 5100s set at the highest notch, but I could be wrong. Will let you know how they perform if I decide to go with that setup.

Bilstein should have rear shocks for a 2-3” lift maybe look for some for a Silverado if they ain’t popping up under a Tahoe
If you got the money foxs are supposed to ride good also but bilsteins are half the price of foxs and I’ve had good luck with the 5100s in my past experience
The control arms are a good idea but not really needed until you get up to 3+” of lift but it won’t hurt. If you want the best ride quality uniball control arms are the way to go though I run fabtech uniballs and they have been great so far these are 3-4 years old and no issues what so ever!

Beware though I ran the adjustable bilstein lift struts in the past on my Tahoe and they ride like shit my Monroe’s were too soft and spongy the bilstein 6112 were too damn stiff if anything I’d opt for the 5100 series with a 2” leveling kit under the strut so you don’t have the same experience as me and doing the job 2-3 times

 

[tahjoe]

Update: After looking at @Trey Hardy older posts ( thanks @89Suburban ) it seems the Silverado 5100s should fit a 2" rear lift. Just ordered them (24-285896) and will follow up once I install. Appreesh.

 

[Trey Hardy]

Some quality Coil overs are the way to go though in my opinion between the coil overs and uniball uca the ride was night and day difference but at the same time most coil overs are around 1500$ plus the control arms puts you at around 2000$ or so. So it’s definitely the more expensive option but the best way to go through my past experiences

 

[tahjoe]

Damn, bummed to hear the 6112s didn't work out. I looked at the Fox 2.0 Performance Series Coilovers but liked the adjustability concept of Bilstein. I figured with the 6112s I'd be able to account for any imbalance in the settling rate b/w the front and the rear. The concern is that the front would settle faster causing a more aggressive rake than I'm after.

What setting did you have your 6112s on? And were they always paired with the Silverado 5100s in the rear? I'm wondering if the stiffer rear shocks could've contributed to the rough ride.

Appreciate the rec on the uca - I'll look into the fabtechs. This is my "weekend driver" so I have some time to upgrade the components, but I would like to do it right. Will start with the struts / shocks / springs and do the rest over time. Installing a new rack and pinion / intermediate drive shaft tomorrow so it's been an expensive week for the 07.

Edit: If I were to go with the 5100s in the front, could I just buy a new coil spring instead of using the spacers?

 

[Project Workshop]

On the rear I have used the Fox 2.0's paired with Moog 81069 springs and Fox 2.5 DSC's paired with the Dobinsons C09-037. Both worked great on and off road.

I run the C09-037 due to the constant extra weight I am hauling (spare tire carrier, cargo box, etc.) If you are not carrying the extra weight the C09-045 are recommended.

It took a bit of trial and error to get a combo I was happy with, but I highly recommend this setup.

 

[Trey Hardy]

Damn, bummed to hear the 6112s didn't work out. I looked at the Fox 2.0 Performance Series Coilovers but liked the adjustability concept of Bilstein. I figured with the 6112s I'd be able to account for any imbalance in the settling rate b/w the front and the rear. The concern is that the front would settle faster causing a more aggressive rake than I'm after.

What setting did you have your 6112s on? And were they always paired with the Silverado 5100s in the rear? I'm wondering if the stiffer rear shocks could've contributed to the rough ride.

Appreciate the rec on the uca - I'll look into the fabtechs. This is my "weekend driver" so I have some time to upgrade the components, but I would like to do it right. Will start with the struts / shocks / springs and do the rest over time. Installing a new rack and pinion / intermediate drive shaft tomorrow so it's been an expensive week for the 07.

Edit: If I were to go with the 5100s in the front, could I just buy a new coil spring instead of using the spacers?

All you gotta do is adjust the collar to raise and lower the fox or any aftermarket coil over? It adjusts the preload on the coil spring

And yes you can get the mood heavy duty spring and I believe it’s an inch.
Are you scared of leveling kits or something? Because I have THREE stacked on my 13” lifted Silverado and Dailey drive it and ALWAY ran a upper AND lower leveling kit on my Tahoe from the time she was stock till I lifted it (I like to stretch my lifts obviously) also the coil overs I have on my truck came off the Tahoe and are too short for the lift that’s why I have 2 stacked on top once I get home and get buddy 7-9” coil overs on that he sent me I’ll only have the 2” on the bottom or possibly the 3” up top depending on how she sits with them.

TBH the 6112s are kinda a pain to adjust there’s a clip on there that’s only got 2-3 slots on the shock to adjust but you have to compress the spring to do so and I’ve had some sketchy experiences using coil spring compressors plus you would have to pull them off the truck to adjust them where the coil overs you can just take the weight off the shock and adjust the collar with your spanner wrench.
I got my fabtech arms off amazon when they went on sale I believe they were like 500-550$ but usually 600-700$
Also a side note my uca came off a 2018 Silverado so if you happen to find a cheaper deal on the fabtechs for the
14-18 years they will work on your Tahoe no problem. I also got my icon coil overs used off a 2019 gmc at4 and they worked no issues the at4 are 2” higher from the factory so instead of being 3.5” they were more like 5.5” coil overs so with the leveling kit on them I was able to pick my lift up to 8.5” give or take

As far as the settings I tried all the settings of the 6112 and was not happy with the ride at all I felt like I was being beat to death and my new Monroe’s I replaced them with felt like I was riding on a sponge way too soft. Before I would hit this one set of doubled up train tracks every week going to work and I would slow down to 40 with both hands on the wheel and felt like I was dancing left to right on the road where after I did the coil overs and control arms I hit that biotch going 75 driving with my knee sipping coffee and ain’t skipped a beat she stayed planted the whole time due to the extended downward travel she gained it felt way more controlled then the previous setups. This was also with the upper 2” and lower 1.5” leveling kits installed I’ve Baja this Tahoe down the beach and on the side of the road a couple times going 60-70 and she just soaked it up like it weren’t shit!

Note the fabtech arms require you to ream your spindle out some for the tapered pin in the uniball but that’s no big deal but may be a issue if you ever decide to go back stock which I doubt you will once you see how big a difference it’ll make. I weren’t spending 50-100$ on a reamer bit I ended up using a drill bit and “wollowed” the hole out a lil at a time until I got it where it needed to be. If your worried about this you could always swing by a machine shop and they could help you out with this part if you feel uncomfortable but it’s really not hat hard at all

Also I highly recommend getting locking alignment cam plates so you never have to worry about knocking your alignment out of wack once you get her all together and get it aligned the stock slider ones SUCK

to be honest I don’t remember the last time I’ve even greased these bushings on the control arms! Once in a blue moon i spray some lubricant in the uniball joint but I ain’t even done that in a good while! I got them June of 2021 and they were USED when I got them and I’ve put probably 100,000 miles on them since then and again zero issues with the joint or the bushings and they don’t make a sound! Before the RC arms I had would creek and squeak and would drive me insane

Don’t let the reviews on those uca scare you off of them there’s one guy with a blue truck who said they were junk cause the bolt broke on a dirt road but from the looks of the pic he obviously diddnt ream the spindle to fit the tapered bit into it so it had too much leverage and wasn’t fully seated into the spindle (operator error) my buddy has these same uca in his Silverado and travels all around nc he’s had em since 2019 and never had one issue out of his either he’s the one who put me on to them

 

[tahjoe]

Good to know, thanks @Project Workshop. What do you run in the front? And how much lift did you get out of the rear dobinson’s, was it a true 2”?

I ordered the following parts earlier today:

Front:
Bilstein 5100s (Tahoe-specific): 24-86940
Dobinson 2” Coils: C09-044

Rear:
- Bilstein 5100s (Silverado): 24-285896
- Dobinson 2” Coils:C09-45

Excited about the Dobinson’s, but a little nervous about how the rear’s will pair with the truck shocks. Hoping to install everything this weekend so I’ll report back after trying out the new setup.

 

[tahjoe]

@Trey Hardy

Well I think I’m sold on the uca haha will add those to the list. And will definitely be replacing the stock alignment cam plates - thanks for the tip. My Tahoe is currently on jacks so that shouldn’t be an issue. Also waiting on some overpriced seal to install the new steering rack so may as well knock it all out at once.

I heeded your advice and stayed away from the 6112s. Went with the 5100s instead - figured it wasn’t worth the extra $$ after hearing how they rode.

And yeah pretty wary of lift kits haha. New to this whole thing and just assumed a heavy spring was preferred when you could get away with it. Good to know those are a viable option tho.

 

[Trey Hardy]

Good to know, thanks @Project Workshop. What do you run in the front? And how much lift did you get out of the rear dobinson’s, was it a true 2”?

I ordered the following parts earlier today:

Front:
Bilstein 5100s (Tahoe-specific): 24-86940
Dobinson 2” Coils: C09-044

Rear:
- Bilstein 5100s (Silverado): 24-285896
- Dobinson 2” Coils:C09-45

Excited about the Dobinson’s, but a little nervous about how the rear’s will pair with the truck shocks. Hoping to install everything this weekend so I’ll report back after trying out the new setup.

May still have a lil be of a nose down rake with the 2” rear springs you may want to still throw a 1”-1.5” leveling kit under the strut to “level” it out that won’t be a issue since your getting the uniball control arms

 

[tahjoe]

May still have a lil be of a nose down rake with the 2” rear springs you may want to still throw a 1”-1.5” leveling kit under the strut to “level” it out that won’t be a issue since your getting the uniball control arms

I'll keep that in mind. Alignment cams should arrive tomorrow so I'll throw those on after getting an alignment.

Dumb q, but after doing more research I'm not sure I understand how the front lift is achieved with this setup. Do the "2in lift coils" provide a "lift" simply because they have a higher spring rate / eliminate the sag of stock coils? Or are lift coils longer than stock? Based on the need for longer rear shocks, I assume the coil itself will be longer than stock..

If the lift is (at least partially) achieved by increasing the coil length, does that mean my front 5100s will be "extended" at normal ride height? If so, that suggests installing longer springs would reduce the amount of available upward travel on the front struts. I don't plan on doing anything too extreme with this tahoe, but is there a risk the 5100s over-extend and fail?

Also, since I do not plan on using a spacer under the front struts / rear shocks, can I keep the stock bump stops?

Thanks again for all your help!

 

[Trey Hardy]

I'll keep that in mind. Alignment cams should arrive tomorrow so I'll throw those on after getting an alignment.

Dumb q, but after doing more research I'm not sure I understand how the front lift is achieved with this setup. Do the "2in lift coils" provide a "lift" simply because they have a higher spring rate / eliminate the sag of stock coils? Or are lift coils longer than stock? Based on the need for longer rear shocks, I assume the coil itself will be longer than stock..

If the lift is (at least partially) achieved by increasing the coil length, does that mean my front 5100s will be "extended" at normal ride height? If so, that suggests installing longer springs would reduce the amount of available upward travel on the front struts. I don't plan on doing anything too extreme with this tahoe, but is there a risk the 5100s over-extend and fail?

Also, since I do not plan on using a spacer under the front struts / rear shocks, can I keep the stock bump stops?

Thanks again for all your help!

For the rear yea just a higher spring rate for the front putting the lift springs onto the new bilsteins I couldn’t tell ya but I’ll tell you it won’t hurt them that bad if its only a inch or two of lift I wouldn’t worry about damaging the new shock and I’ve never changed bump stops ever I wouldn’t worry about that either unless it becomes a issue/wears off

 

[tahjoe]

Update: 4x4 mechanic, Dobinson corporate, and my local mechanic all said Dobinson front coils [C09-044] were way too long for Bilstein 5100’s [24-186940]. Returning all 4 Bilsteins and ordering Dobinson shocks.

Also, fyi - for anyone trying to re-use their strut hardware when doing a Bilstein swap, make sure your stock struts don’t run a welded spring plate…

 

[Trey Hardy]

Update: 4x4 mechanic, Dobinson corporate, and my local mechanic all said Dobinson front coils [C09-044] were way too long for Bilstein 5100’s [24-186940]. Returning all 4 Bilsteins and ordering Dobinson shocks.

Also, fyi - for anyone trying to re-use their strut hardware when doing a Bilstein swap, make sure your stock struts don’t run a welded spring plate…

This is why I like the loaded struts better you just slap em on in 30 min you’re ready to ride! Its more expensive but evens out in the long run if your having to run back and fourth to a shop to do the work

Sorry your having a hard time man hopefully you’ll get it straight

 

[tahjoe]

This is why I like the loaded struts better you just slap em on in 30 min you’re ready to ride! Its more expensive but evens out in the long run if your having to run back and fourth to a shop to do the work

Sorry your having a hard time man hopefully you’ll get it straight

All good brother, got the rear springs and extended stabilizer bar links installed today so we’re making progress. Forgot to measure before installing, but the rear sits at 40.5” now and is noticeably higher. Close to 3” of lift I think. Old rear springs were in pretty bad shape.

Will post a cost analysis after the install, but the cost savings definitely weren’t as much as expected. Coilovers may be the move next time around.

 

[Trey Hardy]

All good brother, got the rear springs and extended stabilizer bar links installed today so we’re making progress. Forgot to measure before installing, but the rear sits at 40.5” now and is noticeably higher. Close to 3” of lift I think. Old rear springs were in pretty bad shape.

Will post a cost analysis after the install, but the cost savings definitely weren’t as much as expected. Coilovers may be the move next time around.

That’s what I was saying if your not doing the work yourself after you pay for a swap to swap over your new struts with the old springs and hardware or simply assembly them and install them your already at the price of a set of coil overs just about… plus again it’s pretty easy to swap in I got my coil overs on in about 30-45 min and rear shocks maybe 20 min? It don’t take long at all

 

[tahjoe]

Front Suspension Components:
- Dobinsons 2" Front Lifted Coils = $487.14
- Dobinsons Gas Strut [GS09-170] = 481.22
- Freedom Off Road Upper Control Arms for 2-4" Lift [FO-G703FU] = $360.00
- Monroe Shocks & Struts Strut Mount [905910] = $78.24
- Autotacc Front Bump Stops [] = $31.26
- GM Shock / Strut Bellow [25940741] = $25.81
- GM Spring Insulator [15808594] = 39.32
- Front Subtotal = 1,502.99

Rear Suspension Components:
- Dobinsons 2" Rear Lifted Coils [C09-045] = $481.72
- Dobinsons Gas Shock Absorbers [GS09-171] = $401.02
- Rancho (Extended) Suspension Stabilizer Bar Link [RS6753B] = $76.97
- Rear Upper Coil Spring Insulators [15251980] = $35.00
- Rear Lower Coil Spring Insulators [ ? ] = $35.00
- Rear Subtotal = $1,029.71

Labor Costs:
- Strut Assembly = $100.00
- 4x4 Alignment = $185.00
- Labor Subtotal = $285.00

Misc. Components:
- Upper Arm Alignment Cams [DK-632919] = $66.05
- Rear Upper Suspension Control Arm Outer Bolt [11548683] = $15.46
- Misc. Subtotal = 81.51

Lift Specs:
- Front: 35.5" --> 38.3"
- Rear: [forgot to measure, but probably 37.?"] --> 40.0"

----------

All together, this suspension upgrade cost just over $2900. Pretty damn expensive. I do feel like I got a lot for the $$ though. The front suspension components totaled $1600 and gave just under 3" of lift. The Fox 2.5s cost almost 1k more (cheapest I found was $2700) for about the same height gains. By going with Dobinsons over the Fox 2.5s, you free up a good chunk of cash to spend on the rears / misc. components. That said, procuring all the hardware for the strut assembly took some time, so you do earn whatever you save. (Pro Tip: Dealership sells OEM spring insulators for around $16/ea)

Will post an update on ride quality / pics once I've had a chance to take the 07 off road, but a few extra things below:

Misc. Notes:
- I placed three separate orders to Dobinsons due to the initial mix-up re: the Bilstein 5100s. Doing so added about $100 in unnecessary shipping fees.
- I could have saved around $200 by reusing my old front strut hardware. My brother's 09 tahoe was in need of some new struts though, so I decided to donate the old ones.
- Installing the extended front strut assembly was a pain in the ass and took way longer than expected. What I thought was going to be a 45m job turned into a 4hr ordeal because I could not get the strut seated without disconnecting the uca. I'd recommend installing the front struts / swapping ucas at the same time.
- Stabilitrak / T/C / ABS came on after installing the fronts, so I will be replacing wheel sensors soon. Will update when the issue gets resolved, but if anyone has any suggestions please lmk. EDIT: After changing the front ABS wheel sensors, the issue persisted. When I went to change the left rear, I realized that the sensor had come unplugged from the chassis harness during my install. Plugging that sensor back in resolved the issue.

Future Plans:
- Tyger Star Armor Rock Sliders
- Morimoto X8 LED Fog Lights
- New stabilizer bar
- Ranch Hand grille guard

Thanks to everyone on here (especially @Trey Hardy ) for all y'all's help. Had a blast learning how to do all this stuff and am stoked with the 07's new look.