Boomer73
Boom Boom
I wanted to post my experience with my street suspension after riding with it for 5 months now. I have about 6K miles on it. I've received probably a dozen emails/*** with inquiries about how it turned out, and its high time I provide some feedback. However, I didn't want to put the drop on, drive a mile down the road and then provide a review that didn't represent reality (either for good or bad) - I wanted to be able to do a "fair and balanced" review. Pictures at the end.
I have the following setup:
DJM Trailblazer Springs (old style)
1" Spring Spacer
Belltech Street Performance Shocks (Silver)
Belltech 2" Drop Spindles
DJM Rear Hardware Kit
Total cost was $900 for the listed parts. I had a local GM tech install the springs/shocks at his house and then I installed the rear hardware kit, cut the jounce brackets, and adjusted the keys at a friend's indy shop a few days later.
Originally I bought everything but the hardware kit from NORCALSS/Tony. I had heard good things about the TB springs and that there had been no complaints - everyone LOVES them I was told. I let Tony know that my suspension benchmark was my BMW M3 with ZCP/Competition Suspension package and that I had expectations for whatever he sold me. He assured me I would be very happy with the TB springs. However, after I drove away from the shop, I wasn't in love. The ride totally sucked unless the pavement was perfectly smooth. After talking to Tony some more it became clear that I needed to cut the jounce brackets and install the hardware kit and that is why the install of the parts listed was done on two separate days. Folks, this kit and the jounce bracket removal are not "optional". This was not mentioned during the first purchase and he kind of had the attitude that this was my problem, not his. I admit, it was my problem to solve, but he's done many of these drops and I had done none at that point, so he's the expert, not me. Given that fact, I expected a different attitude and better customer support. I understand he talks to a lot of people and gets a lot of requests and that I'm just one customer. But still, I'm spending $900, act like you care about my experience. In his defense, he has very fair prices, he delivered quickly, and I got what I ordered. It was his customer service when I encountered a problem that left something to be desired. (I will assume Tony will read this and respond accordingly.)
Anyway, so the addition of the hardware kit and the removal of the jounce brackets made a HUGE difference. It went from a lot of body sway and harsh, suspension-on-frame slamming jolts when driving over highway depressions at highway speeds and speed bumps at creeping speeds to something much more manageable. Does it "handle like its on rails"? Heck no, not even close, but there is far less "bounce" than the factory attenuation, its much flatter in the turns thanks to less body roll and the lower center of gravity, and it doesn't pitch/dive so much when accelerating/braking. Basically it handles like a big car now rather than a truck. It does NOT handle like a sports car. Unfortunately, this setup has had no affect on bump steer whatsoever. In my opinion bump steer is terrible in these vehicles and this particular drop did nothing to improve it.
In addition to the front spindles, I backed the torsion keys out 2 turns which gave me about another 1/2" of drop. Right now I'm about 3"-3.5" lower than factory in the front and 4.5" lower in the rear. The vehicle appears level but actually is about 3/4" higher in the rear than in the front. I wish it was a little higher. I put a hitch mounted cargo carrier on the back with about 400lbs of luggage, ammo, and guns for a recent 1400 mi trip and the vehicle sat about 1/2" lower in the back than in the front. It didn't affect the ride/performance, but it didn't look "cool". If I was going to tow something, this drop would suck. On the plus side, my 2 year old has no problem getting in and out of the vehicle on his own now.
I think expectations have a lot to do with your satisfaction with a drop on a vehicle like this. If you want to get low no matter what its going to cost your wallet/ride quality/performance, then you'll probably be happy with any drop so long as it looks good. But if you want better ride quality/handling while also getting low, you're going to have to make some trade-offs because these vehicles we're not designed to go 5 below.
I fully intend to keep this drop, I might even enhance it as I'm looking at an adjustable panhard bar and a beefier sway bar at the moment which I'll probably buy from Tony if I do it (second chance, buddy). My wife likes it, I get a lot of comments on it, and don't regret it. However, if I had to do it all over again, I would probably go with a 2/3 drop and would probably use all factory PPV parts except for maybe the shocks. That's just me. I like to try new things and I like improving my 'Hoe, but I'm 38 and and have 4 kids - getting low isn't the most important thing for me even if I do admire those of you who do get low.
One other thing, Ferr1s and MHorn0817 have both driven my 'Hoe with this drop and can comment on how the ride compares to the stock Tahoe ride, to the stock Denali ride, and to the Tahoe with other spring/shock setups.
Here it is BEFORE:
Here it is AFTER:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
I have the following setup:
DJM Trailblazer Springs (old style)
1" Spring Spacer
Belltech Street Performance Shocks (Silver)
Belltech 2" Drop Spindles
DJM Rear Hardware Kit
Total cost was $900 for the listed parts. I had a local GM tech install the springs/shocks at his house and then I installed the rear hardware kit, cut the jounce brackets, and adjusted the keys at a friend's indy shop a few days later.
Originally I bought everything but the hardware kit from NORCALSS/Tony. I had heard good things about the TB springs and that there had been no complaints - everyone LOVES them I was told. I let Tony know that my suspension benchmark was my BMW M3 with ZCP/Competition Suspension package and that I had expectations for whatever he sold me. He assured me I would be very happy with the TB springs. However, after I drove away from the shop, I wasn't in love. The ride totally sucked unless the pavement was perfectly smooth. After talking to Tony some more it became clear that I needed to cut the jounce brackets and install the hardware kit and that is why the install of the parts listed was done on two separate days. Folks, this kit and the jounce bracket removal are not "optional". This was not mentioned during the first purchase and he kind of had the attitude that this was my problem, not his. I admit, it was my problem to solve, but he's done many of these drops and I had done none at that point, so he's the expert, not me. Given that fact, I expected a different attitude and better customer support. I understand he talks to a lot of people and gets a lot of requests and that I'm just one customer. But still, I'm spending $900, act like you care about my experience. In his defense, he has very fair prices, he delivered quickly, and I got what I ordered. It was his customer service when I encountered a problem that left something to be desired. (I will assume Tony will read this and respond accordingly.)
Anyway, so the addition of the hardware kit and the removal of the jounce brackets made a HUGE difference. It went from a lot of body sway and harsh, suspension-on-frame slamming jolts when driving over highway depressions at highway speeds and speed bumps at creeping speeds to something much more manageable. Does it "handle like its on rails"? Heck no, not even close, but there is far less "bounce" than the factory attenuation, its much flatter in the turns thanks to less body roll and the lower center of gravity, and it doesn't pitch/dive so much when accelerating/braking. Basically it handles like a big car now rather than a truck. It does NOT handle like a sports car. Unfortunately, this setup has had no affect on bump steer whatsoever. In my opinion bump steer is terrible in these vehicles and this particular drop did nothing to improve it.
In addition to the front spindles, I backed the torsion keys out 2 turns which gave me about another 1/2" of drop. Right now I'm about 3"-3.5" lower than factory in the front and 4.5" lower in the rear. The vehicle appears level but actually is about 3/4" higher in the rear than in the front. I wish it was a little higher. I put a hitch mounted cargo carrier on the back with about 400lbs of luggage, ammo, and guns for a recent 1400 mi trip and the vehicle sat about 1/2" lower in the back than in the front. It didn't affect the ride/performance, but it didn't look "cool". If I was going to tow something, this drop would suck. On the plus side, my 2 year old has no problem getting in and out of the vehicle on his own now.
I think expectations have a lot to do with your satisfaction with a drop on a vehicle like this. If you want to get low no matter what its going to cost your wallet/ride quality/performance, then you'll probably be happy with any drop so long as it looks good. But if you want better ride quality/handling while also getting low, you're going to have to make some trade-offs because these vehicles we're not designed to go 5 below.
I fully intend to keep this drop, I might even enhance it as I'm looking at an adjustable panhard bar and a beefier sway bar at the moment which I'll probably buy from Tony if I do it (second chance, buddy). My wife likes it, I get a lot of comments on it, and don't regret it. However, if I had to do it all over again, I would probably go with a 2/3 drop and would probably use all factory PPV parts except for maybe the shocks. That's just me. I like to try new things and I like improving my 'Hoe, but I'm 38 and and have 4 kids - getting low isn't the most important thing for me even if I do admire those of you who do get low.
One other thing, Ferr1s and MHorn0817 have both driven my 'Hoe with this drop and can comment on how the ride compares to the stock Tahoe ride, to the stock Denali ride, and to the Tahoe with other spring/shock setups.
Here it is BEFORE:
Here it is AFTER:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Last edited:
Unfortunately these trucks will still behave in accordance to the laws of physics so comparing a highly modified truck to a sports coupe weighing 3000lbs less will leave anyone with a sour taste in their mouth. I would highly recommend installing a larger set of sway bars (I prefer the eibach 35mm front and 32mm rear) as well as shorter end links for the rear sway bar.
