My lift setup on 33s - and rancho 9k review

[fathoe]

Hello, I have a 08 tahoe and this is my current setup:

Stock rear suspension besides Monroe ma830 air struts

Front has all new everything,
Ksp UCAs (0-2 inch)
Chinese no name poly Lcas
Re man steering rack
A premium cv axles
A premium tie rods
Rancho rs9999xls 2inch lift
Slotted alignment sliders 304 stainless

1.5 inch wheel spacers all around
33 (275/70/18) sentinel r/ts all around

The ranchos ride Ok, there is definitely change whenever you do adjust the dampening, but i have two main complaints.

Rancho has a tri-tube design, and therefore has amazing compression dampening, but really bad rebound dampening, so whenever you go through whoops you have to get the speed just right otherwise it will feel like a car accident over every bump.
On the softest dampening, there is none. You can feel the springs bounce, and it almost feels like you are about to figure out a “tahoe space program”.
The adjustment knob is also super stiff. I had to cycle it back and forth with pliers before it became soft again.
Another complaint that doesnt really matter is that they arent white and red, they are just silver, so if you are trying to flex your new coilovers to your friends, they arent rancho colors.

Ucas and lcas being full poly does make your ride quality a lot worse. I know that this may make me think the ranchos ride bad, but i had a rc 2 inch spacer on the stock coilovers prior to this, and they didnt ride too much worse.

The monroe ma830s ride super well when they have air in them, but you either have to have a onboard compressor or refill them daily (im constantly loaded with just short of 1k lbs)

The air lines on the air kit were standard 1/8th inch air line, if you look to do this mod yourself (my tahoe wasnt factory opted with a air system, being a lt3 i think)

Ksp makes really good ucas and spacers, ive had both for about 6-7 months now, the only thing you have to do for poly ucas is the slotted alignment plates, because the oem ones will not hold a alignment.

 

[fathoe]

Hello, I have a 08 tahoe and this is my current setup:

Stock rear suspension besides Monroe ma830 air struts

Front has all new everything,
Ksp UCAs (0-2 inch)
Chinese no name poly Lcas
Re man steering rack
A premium cv axles
A premium tie rods
Rancho rs9999xls 2inch lift
Slotted alignment sliders 304 stainless

1.5 inch wheel spacers all around
33 (275/70/18) sentinel r/ts all around

The ranchos ride Ok, there is definitely change whenever you do adjust the dampening, but i have two main complaints.

Rancho has a tri-tube design, and therefore has amazing compression dampening, but really bad rebound dampening, so whenever you go through whoops you have to get the speed just right otherwise it will feel like a car accident over every bump.
On the softest dampening, there is none. You can feel the springs bounce, and it almost feels like you are about to figure out a “tahoe space program”.
The adjustment knob is also super stiff. I had to cycle it back and forth with pliers before it became soft again.
Another complaint that doesnt really matter is that they arent white and red, they are just silver, so if you are trying to flex your new coilovers to your friends, they arent rancho colors.

Ucas and lcas being full poly does make your ride quality a lot worse. I know that this may make me think the ranchos ride bad, but i had a rc 2 inch spacer on the stock coilovers prior to this, and they didnt ride too much worse.

The monroe ma830s ride super well when they have air in them, but you either have to have a onboard compressor or refill them daily (im constantly loaded with just short of 1k lbs)

The air lines on the air kit were standard 1/8th inch air line, if you look to do this mod yourself (my tahoe wasnt factory opted with a air system, being a lt3 i think)

Ksp makes really good ucas and spacers, ive had both for about 6-7 months now, the only thing you have to do for poly ucas is the slotted alignment plates, because the oem ones will not hold a alignment.

 

[Charlie207]

View attachment 472443

Did the spacers resolve tire rubbing in the front-side of the fender liner/splash guard?

 

[fathoe]

Did the spacers resolve tire rubbing in the front-side of the fender liner/splash guard?

No, made it worse actually. Without spacers i would have had to just trim the fender liner and the low ear at the bottom of the fender that wraps under the car, but i had to trim a little more on the inside of the fender to lower the rubbing.

The suspension at full jounce will rub some of the metal higher up in the fender, so if you are planning on braking hard whilst turning and hitting a bump, you would have to trim that up about a inch or so.
However, even though i have about maybe an inch at most from tire to fender, it never rubs the exterior.

In the photos, you can see the rub marks but i took these prior to trimming the rear of the fender liner. You would want to trim about 4 inches higher than the rubbing marks to have zero rub, or for the sake of continuity, just cut it where the fenderliner starts to drop down.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

@fathoe Do the norcal mod here in the video, it makes a big difference and when you do it right gives crazy clearance and isn't janky:

 

[Dirty looks]

Hello, I have a 08 tahoe and this is my current setup:

Stock rear suspension besides Monroe ma830 air struts

Front has all new everything,
Ksp UCAs (0-2 inch)
Chinese no name poly Lcas
Re man steering rack
A premium cv axles
A premium tie rods
Rancho rs9999xls 2inch lift
Slotted alignment sliders 304 stainless

1.5 inch wheel spacers all around
33 (275/70/18) sentinel r/ts all around

The ranchos ride Ok, there is definitely change whenever you do adjust the dampening, but i have two main complaints.

Rancho has a tri-tube design, and therefore has amazing compression dampening, but really bad rebound dampening, so whenever you go through whoops you have to get the speed just right otherwise it will feel like a car accident over every bump.
On the softest dampening, there is none. You can feel the springs bounce, and it almost feels like you are about to figure out a “tahoe space program”.
The adjustment knob is also super stiff. I had to cycle it back and forth with pliers before it became soft again.
Another complaint that doesnt really matter is that they arent white and red, they are just silver, so if you are trying to flex your new coilovers to your friends, they arent rancho colors.

Ucas and lcas being full poly does make your ride quality a lot worse. I know that this may make me think the ranchos ride bad, but i had a rc 2 inch spacer on the stock coilovers prior to this, and they didnt ride too much worse.

The monroe ma830s ride super well when they have air in them, but you either have to have a onboard compressor or refill them daily (im constantly loaded with just short of 1k lbs)

The air lines on the air kit were standard 1/8th inch air line, if you look to do this mod yourself (my tahoe wasnt factory opted with a air system, being a lt3 i think)

Ksp makes really good ucas and spacers, ive had both for about 6-7 months now, the only thing you have to do for poly ucas is the slotted alignment plates, because the oem ones will not hold a alignment.

Dobenson rear coils will fix your sag problem in the rear. 80% more capacity than stock yet nice and supple. Totally worth it.

 

[Charlie207]

Dobenson rear coils will fix your sag problem in the rear. 80% more capacity than stock yet nice and supple. Totally worth it.

What is the part number for those rear coil springs? Their website is bad.

 

[Dirty looks]

What is the part number for those rear coil springs? Their website is bad.

I looked through my old pics but didn't catch a good shot of the box they came in. Bummer.
I installed them 3 years ago so recollection is foggy. I think they were Dobson. Can't find any record of who or where I purchased them from, sorry.. I do clearly recall that the manufacturer was based in Canada.
A little digging on the net makes me think it was these, although I'm sure the ones I bought were claimed to be 80% stronger and these are 70%.. I know I didn't get them through NAPA. Summit has a similar listing but the part number is different, lower capacity I believe.
I'll ponder a bit more on it but I would focus on these..possible try and find a cheaper supplier.

 

[Charlie207]

I looked through my old pics but didn't catch a good shot of the box they came in. Bummer.
I installed them 3 years ago so recollection is foggy. I think they were Dobson. Can't find any record of who or where I purchased them from, sorry.. I do clearly recall that the manufacturer was based in Canada.
A little digging on the net makes me think it was these, although I'm sure the ones I bought were claimed to be 80% stronger and these are 70%.. I know I didn't get them through NAPA. Summit has a similar listing but the part number is different, lower capacity I believe.
I'll ponder a bit more on it but I would focus on these..possible try and find a cheaper supplier.

Cool cool, thanks.

 

[Dirty looks]

Cool cool, thanks.

The 2+ inch lift on these and the price look better. More in line with what I recall paying. Larger diameter wire as well.
Wish I could have been more help.

 

[Dirty looks]

The 2+ inch lift on these and the price look better. More in line with what I recall paying. Larger diameter wire as well.
Wish I could have been more help.

Currently I have them set up with a 3" rough country spacer on top of the spring and a 2" spacer under the spring. It gives me a good ride height when loaded real heavy. Ignore the bungee holding the sway bar up, it's a work in progress..
I currently have rough country 3" longer shocks with a 3" rough country extension backet bolted to the axle. 6" more axle droop. I raised the axle bump stops with some 3" rubber bushings ment for a Bad Boy zero turn mower. If it bottoms out it's really soft. (Improvise,adapt, overcome)

 

[Charlie207]

The 2+ inch lift on these and the price look better. More in line with what I recall paying. Larger diameter wire as well.
Wish I could have been more help.

It's all good. I currently have 1.5" rear spacers installed with stock rear springs, to help combat the slight Carolina Squat with the Bilstein 5100s on their highest setting up front.

I should have gotten a .75" rear spacer, because I hate rake, and there's a little rake in the rear now. But.... I'd rather have longer coil springs than a spring/riser combo.

 

[Dirty looks]

The ride height in the rear varies so much depending on how much gear is crammed in it. When stripping down and dirty for trail work I definitely have rake, but I'll gladly accept that to minimize dragging the giant rear overhang around. The chassis unlimited rear bumper is ridiculously expensive but it seriously improved the departure angle. And shrugs off rock strikes like a champion.