Norcal_ss Lowering Kit Warning

[Modified]

If you are planning on going 4/6 with a Norcal_ss kit please be aware that there are several potential issues he will not tell you about.

On some models your axle will end up half an inch from your exhaust. Plan for that.

The sway bar has to be relocated and new holes drilled or else it will hit the panhard bar mount before it reaches the JDM links. Plan for that.

You need to cut a hole above the panhard bar mount on the axle to keep it from hitting as it is closer than the axle is to the frame. Plan for that.

You should cut off the bracket behind the upper control arm mount so you get even more clearance beyond the freetravel mod.

I went in blind. No warning from him on any of this. No instructions came with his kit. Which isn't even a kit. Its just a bunch of drop shipped parts from the manufactures. His "custom" springs might be legit, but I think they might just be Trailblazer drop springs from Belltech that he powdercoated black and slapped his name on. I may be wrong, but it seems like it.

All of this would be no issue if I had just been told what to expect so I didn't find out when it was too late to plan in advance for the work that really needs to be done.

When I pointed out these issues and asked for help he completely ghosted me and ignored my phone call. Literally hit ignore two rings in like a child. He does not support his product. I should have seen this coming after msging him back and forth before buying. It was like pulling teeth to get answers out of him. If I asked two questions in one msg he would only answer one. He was much more worried about getting paid.

I hope this post saves someone else the headache of dealing with Tony and helps them go into this with realistic expectations.

With that said, while it does ride OK, it does not drive like its stock. Thats a load of crap from a salesman. I went in assuming that was a lie anyways, as I have had tons of lowered trucks, so I'm not mad about that, but if you're expecting it to, don't. It rides fine, totally doable once everything is dealt with, but much rougher than stock.

Also, the Spohn Bars are overpriced crap. You don't need them to do it. They just push the axle back around a half inch overall to recenter and then come loose constantly and need to be readjusted. Another salesman pitch from Tony.

Do yourself a favor and just piece the kit together yourself. It will be cheaper anyways.

 

[Rocket Man]

Wow your first post and you came in just to badmouth a guy who has helped hundreds of people here. There’s always things that need to be done when you’re doing extensive suspension mods, or any extensive mods for that matter. If you’ve done this kind of work before you should have known better and planned accordingly. Tony is a busy guy, he sells a ton of stuff so I’m sure he’s super busy but if you think you’ll get better service from any company especially right now, or get better prices on stuff, go ahead and tell me who that is. Maybe he didn’t want to deal with a customer with a bad attitude, maybe he was busy with another customer or twenty since everybody and their brother are doing mods to their rigs now that nobody’s working and have all kinds of time. The company I bought my cam from is running 6 weeks behind, I heard intro wheels are now 16 weeks behind, my tranny builder can’t even get parts and when they do they’re backed up 12 weeks, etc etc etc. You might have been a bit more patient with Tony and tried to work with him a bit more before you go on a forum and try to bash his business. Just sayin. Nice first post, we learned a lot about you.

 

[Modified]

Ah yes, the fan boys have entered the room.

Maybe you didn't read the whole thing. I didn't expect to have to make these modifications because he doesn't bother to mention them. He promotes this as a bolt on kit. It isn't. Had I been told it would have been fine, I would have still done it, but I could have planned my install much better.

Then when I asked him what I would need to do to fix them he completely ghosted me. Didn't even want to address that the issues existed. Keep in mind I was mid install on my daily driver. What kind of man just leaves you hanging like that? Not one I'll ever do business with again.

 

[Modified]

Anyways, I won't be checking back in here. I'm a lurker. Have been for awhile now. First post because I use the search feature and find the info I need. I learned about Tony's kit from these forums so I posted this for other people doing the same. Take it for what it is. An honest review of my experience with Tony and his kit. I would never run one of my businesses this way and I would expect a bad review if I did. I don't leave my clients hanging just because I already have their money.

 

[Doubeleive]

how about more details like what year make model? 2wd/4wd/awd, short wheel base/long wheel base, air ride?, they are slightly different, some easier to modify than others, maybe you should have asked questions first? Like Mark said anytime you modify something unless you have experience with it no telling what you might run into
being you have just poked your head in here to complain why not offer up the details other than "some"
factory sway bar?
factory pan hard bar?
pictures of said mod's?
why not be helpful instead ?

 

[Rocket Man]

This post was edited in order to be a bit nicer to the OP.

 

[Rocket Man]

how about more details like what year make model? 2wd/4wd/awd, short wheel base/long wheel base, air ride?, they are slightly different, some easier to modify than others, maybe you should have asked questions first? Like Mark said anytime you modify something unless you have experience with it no telling what you might run into
being you have just poked your head in here to complain why not offer up the details other than "some"
factory sway bar?
factory pan hard bar?
pictures of said mod's?
why not be helpful instead a whiny *****?

Because it’s easier to complain than to document and describe exactly what needed to be done. FWIW the last time I checked a “bolt on kit” is something that doesn’t need to be welded. I didn’t see @Modified getting out a welder so the description is accurate. Cutting, grinding, drilling bolt holes is all part of installing a bolt-on modification.

 

[Rocket Man]

Anyways, I won't be checking back in here. I'm a lurker. Have been for awhile now. First post because I use the search feature and find the info I need. I learned about Tony's kit from these forums so I posted this for other people doing the same. Take it for what it is. An honest review of my experience with Tony and his kit. I would never run one of my businesses this way and I would expect a bad review if I did. I don't leave my clients hanging just because I already have their money.

Maybe try to work with him and also if you’re going to be a member of the forum post something besides what sounds more like a complaint than an honest review. Pictures of what you needed to do, a better explanation and less complaining.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Anytime I plan suspension mods I expect to need the grinder

 

[soulsea]

RocketMan,

I’m not sure why you are being this aggressive. He’s not reviewing your product.

That’s his experience it’s his right to share it without being personally attacked, whether he has just joined or had a million posts.

If you or anyone disagrees with him, argue his points without insults.

And @NORCAL SS is a big boy ... he is more than able to respond if he wishes to.

Everyone play nice.

 

[Kee Fuller]

I will chime in since i recently dealt with Tony. The pulling teeth to get answers is pretty accurate. I had to specify the set up i wanted about 3 or 4 times til he finally understood. It seems like he skims over his messages instead of fully reading them which gets frustrating. I had to reach out numerous times a day to find out when my stuff was getting shipped. I never got a receipt for my coilover rebate and ended up using a screenshot for proof to belltech.

Products are good as well as the price, but his communication skills need work.

 

[Rocket Man]

You’re right. He just struck me wrong being his first
“contribution” to the forum. I have edited my posts in order to show consideration. Nice it is.

 

[Rocket Man]

I will chime in since i recently dealt with Tony. The pulling teeth to get answers is pretty accurate. I had to specify the set up i wanted about 3 or 4 times til he finally understood. It seems like he skims over his messages instead of fully reading them which gets frustrating. I had to reach out numerous times a day to find out when my stuff was getting shipped. I never got a receipt for my coilover rebate and ended up using a screenshot for proof to belltech.

Products are good as well as the price, but his communication skills need work.

Yep, he’s a small-time guy whose business has grown and although he used to give us personalized service we got used to, it’s obvious to me we can’t expect that from him anymore. He’s on a lot of forums and imo his business has outgrown his ability to give great customer service. But like I explained before, and you can ask several members here, pretty much every company is crushing under the weight of their huge increase in business due to Covid and it’s effect on how many people are stuck at home and are working on their projects every day now instead of just a day a week. Plus add in all the suppliers who can’t get parts made because people have to work 6 feet from each other. If you’ve shipped much lately you’d know there’s now issues with all the shipping companies. Performabuilt transmissions told me UPS has LOST 6 transmissions lately, and they’ve never lost a single one in years prior. They told me to insure mine for full replacement cost, $4000. It’s getting worse and I’m seeing it get even more worse in the future. Everybody better crank their patience level way up because it’s not business as usual and it is going to get worse before it gets better, just like Covid is.

 

[Danny3737]

I’ve been in sales for over 30 years for manufacturers and distributors. The customers that complain the loudest are the ones you take care of first. Lack of communication will always drive a customer or potential customer away. With social media the way it is, bad reviews will kill you and you will never know exactly how much business you’ve lost until you are out of business altogether.

I understand the frustration when somebody spends their hard earned dollars and don’t feel they are getting the support they feel they deserve. It’s always best to take a few steps back and take a deep breath before posting negative comments and that’s not to say they don’t deserve to be said to warn others. It happens in every industry.

The best way to get results is to pick up the phone and call first which seems to be a lost art especially with the younger generation. That’s not to say anything bad, it’s just how they learned and their is nothing wrong with that. Emails, texts, etc are a quick way to communicate, but unfortunately those types of communication are often taken out of context and exasperate something simple in to a larger problem. Sorry for the rant, but glad to see cooler heads prevailing.

 

[gat0r]

that sucks OP, sorry to hear.

Tony took care of me when i asked ?'s of him... then again it was well before all this crazy kung fu beer flu stuff too.


by chance do you have any pics to show the trouble areas? that may also help others out in future.

 

[Da90]

Not going to lie I had a similar experience. It ******* sucks having issues and everyone else loves the guy. My issues were on my 2006 Tahoe with a 3/4 drop. I just bought a 4-5/6 drop kit for my 93 Cheyenne. I’m looking at buying a 2/3-4 for my 2017 Suburban. After Tony not reading my messages and giving half ass responses I decided to give up and go elsewhere. His service after the sale SUCKS! Not again for me.

I don’t give a shit about cutting or running into problems like described above. It’s when you have legit questions and the guy is a complete flake. Doesn’t read the full message and you think to yourself wtf kinda half ass answer was that!? I told tony what I purchased from him per his request. He didn’t read shit and proceeded to tell me I need these parts that didn’t fit my suspension. Got the shit myself after like 2 days of getting nowhere via text and phone calls.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Chert_Detective]

Do yourself a favor and just piece the kit together yourself. It will be cheaper anyways.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. This is exactly what I did. No "kits" were going to drop it the way I wanted, replys to messages were very short or lacking information, and I noticed nothing was proprietary in his packages so I researched and gathered parts myself. Nothing wrong with his business model, just wasn't the place for me. 5F/6.5R, stock front and rear sway bars in stock location, all brackets in oem locations, pinion angle corrected, axle centered left to right, stock front strut, -0.3° camber up front on oem camber plates. Only cutting was to do the free travel mod and bolt 1.25" bumpstops to the axle.

To be fair though, when you do a drop as large as a 4/6 you're going to run in to things like exhaust clearance, or this is now close to that, etc. Would it be nice if you were given a heads up, sure.. but lowering a vehicle is not like lifting a vehicle.

Feel free to message me if you would like any assistance with the parts you currently have.

 

[Kee Fuller]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. This is exactly what I did. No "kits" were going to drop it the way I wanted, replys to messages were very short or lacking information, and I noticed nothing was proprietary in his packages so I researched and gathered parts myself. Nothing wrong with his business model, just wasn't the place for me. 5F/6.5R, stock front and rear sway bars in stock location, all brackets in oem locations, pinion angle corrected, axle centered left to right, stock front strut, -0.3° camber up front on oem camber plates. Only cutting was to do the free travel mod and bolt 1.25" bumpstops to the axle.

View attachment 253369 View attachment 253365 View attachment 253366 View attachment 253367

To be fair though, when you do a drop as large as a 4/6 you're going to run in to things like exhaust clearance, or this is now close to that, etc. Would it be nice if you were given a heads up, sure.. but lowering a vehicle is not like lifting a vehicle.

Feel free to message me if you would like any assistance with the parts you currently have.

what bumpstops did you get? I didn't know i need ones that have to be tapped in. I thought the ones that came with the springs would do

 

[Chert_Detective]

what bumpstops did you get? I didn't know i need ones that have to be tapped in. I thought the ones that came with the springs would do

I'm not sure what you have. I ordered Belltech 4922's, they're listed as 1.26", I have yet to bottom out the shock or bumpstop though. There is a hole on the bumpstop pad on the axle already, I just bolted them on there.

 

[NORCAL SS]

Thanks for input

1. Gm used 2 different tabs above panhard mount drivers side so you trim the lip left over on the mount not upper crossmember

2. Bumpstops bolt thru the holes already on axle pads. Also can cut down for more clearance


3. Im around 24/7 text 415 519 2432 im sorry you feel I ghosted you but im here.