PPV Front and Rear Coil Spring Replacement

[spectralen]

Has anyone replaced their tight police package springs with something a little softer? I'm not talking about converting to a civilian suspension, just a replacement spring that would give more than the ppv's. There are so many vehicles with struts and rear coils that there has to be one that interchanges and still keeps the rest of the componants in play. Not wanting to lose the stance too much.

I will continue to research this and post any findings.

 

[CrashTestDummy]

I believe most of the reported ride harshness comes from the shocks/struts.

 

[Lightning 95]

The huge sway bars don't help the ride either, especially on uneven roads.

 

[spectralen]

I've talked with a few PPV owners and the ride is coming from the stiffness in the spring. The spring is so unforgiving that it is almost impossible to rock the vehicle up and down by lifting the rear wheel well. My 02 Avalanche is easy to do this compared to the Tahoe. The sway bars are taking away any independance that you could get from the springs, so I do believe they play a roll for sure.

 

[techbiker]

I've talked with a few PPV owners and the ride is coming from the stiffness in the spring. The spring is so unforgiving that it is almost impossible to rock the vehicle up and down by lifting the rear wheel well. My 02 Avalanche is easy to do this compared to the Tahoe. The sway bars are taking away any independance that you could get from the springs, so I do believe they play a roll for sure.

It sounds like the PPV is built to handle somewhat like a sports car. I drove mine over 200 miles and found the ride fairly comfortable, but then I drive a sports car with stiff coilovers and the largest sway bars I could find.

Len, I would try to find the spring rate. The PPV springs appear to be progressive but we need to know the spring rate before making an informed change. Also, please note that any change in spring rate should be matched with proper shock valving. If you just drop the spring rate the struts will still be "tuned" to the stiffer PPV springs.

 

[Rocket Man]

The huge sway bars don't help the ride either, especially on uneven roads.

Sway bar size has nothing to do with the ride, but they do help with cornering and nose-diving.

 

[Lightning 95]

Sway bar size has nothing to do with the ride, but they do help with cornering and nose-diving.

Sway bars have nothing to do with nose dive, and the only time it doesn't add stiffness is when going straight down the road and both wheels hit the same bump. When cornering they add a lot of spring stiffness which is how they resist body roll. I drove my PPV for several days after I got it thinking it rode pretty good, until I noticed on front sway bar end link was missing. Definitely noticed a much rougher ride after connecting it back up. Cornering improved though, but not the ride. Big front rear sway bars also make the whole chassis shudder on bumpy roads trying to twist the whole truck. On one wheel bumps not only is the spring/shock getting compressed it is also trying to twist the sway bar adding spring rate to that corner.

 

[RichardCranium]

I went with Belltech, specifically the kit 752SP. It retains the stock front coil springs, but it replaces the rear coils. And new shocks on all 4 corners. The stock PPV spring rate is pretty high, so those springs are definitely unforgiving. But it doesn't take a whole lot to wear out the shocks, which only worsens things. Just with the rear coils and all 4 shocks replaced, my ride is much more pleasant. I'm also a little more than an inch lower that stock PPV height, but definitely no "low rider".

Another factor that contributed to the better ride was increasing the profile of the tire. I went from the stock Goodyear RSA size of 265/50, to a "mileage" tire being Continental at 265/70. There are more pics of my truck in the build thread (link in sig) if you want to see mine sits, but I'm pretty dang happy with the looks as well as the ride, since I like the PPV for its stance.

 

[Dmascari1984]

The huge sway bars don't help the ride either, especially on uneven roads.

I heard sway bars are same as Civi hoe

 

[Dmascari1984]

I went with Belltech, specifically the kit 752SP. It retains the stock front coil springs, but it replaces the rear coils. And new shocks on all 4 corners. The stock PPV spring rate is pretty high, so those springs are definitely unforgiving. But it doesn't take a whole lot to wear out the shocks, which only worsens things. Just with the rear coils and all 4 shocks replaced, my ride is much more pleasant. I'm also a little more than an inch lower that stock PPV height, but definitely no "low rider".

Another factor that contributed to the better ride was increasing the profile of the tire. I went from the stock Goodyear RSA size of 265/50, to a "mileage" tire being Continental at 265/70. There are more pics of my truck in the build thread (link in sig) if you want to see mine sits, but I'm pretty dang happy with the looks as well as the ride, since I like the PPV for its stance.

I’m in the process of doing this also and have already done the rear. Rides like a diffirent suv. Much more comfy but didn’t loose much handling.

 

[Rocket Man]

Sway bars have nothing to do with nose dive, and the only time it doesn't add stiffness is when going straight down the road and both wheels hit the same bump. When cornering they add a lot of spring stiffness which is how they resist body roll. I drove my PPV for several days after I got it thinking it rode pretty good, until I noticed on front sway bar end link was missing. Definitely noticed a much rougher ride after connecting it back up. Cornering improved though, but not the ride. Big front rear sway bars also make the whole chassis shudder on bumpy roads trying to twist the whole truck. On one wheel bumps not only is the spring/shock getting compressed it is also trying to twist the sway bar adding spring rate to that corner.

I disagree completely. I upgraded my swaybars to DJM from stock Denali's and the new ones are much heavier. The ride is exactly the same however cornering is nearly completely flat and nosedive under heavy braking is nearly nonexistent. I've upgraded swaydars on many vehicles throughout the years and the result has been the same. Its what they're meant to do. But if you want to disconnect your front swaybar completely by removing the endlinks, that's not the same as comparing a smaller swaybar to a bigger one.

 

[RichardCranium]

I’m in the process of doing this also and have already done the rear. Rides like a diffirent suv. Much more comfy but didn’t loose much handling.

I agree with the handling, but know I did sacrifice a lot of handling with my tire choice. I didn't have an issue giving up the higher speed rated tire though, not when seeking better ride comfort and mileage from the tires. It's definitely all in what you want out of it, but with the Belltech setup I got from @NORCAL SS you really can still the best of all 3 worlds combined (looks, ride, handling). Tony hasn't steering me wrong (pun not intentional) with any of my Trailblazer SS's over the years, so when he recommended this kit for my PPV I didn't think twice....and I am definitely a happy customer.

 

[Lightning 95]

I disagree completely. I upgraded my swaybars to DJM from stock Denali's and the new ones are much heavier. The ride is exactly the same however cornering is nearly completely flat and nosedive under heavy braking is nearly nonexistent. I've upgraded swaydars on many vehicles throughout the years and the result has been the same. Its what they're meant to do. But if you want to disconnect your front swaybar completely by removing the endlinks, that's not the same as comparing a smaller swaybar to a bigger one.

I don't want to argue, but I would like to hear an explanation as to how a front sway bar could possibly resists nose dive, when anti-dive geometry is only designed into the suspension pivot points. Spring/shocks have some effect, but not the sway bar.

 

[992dr]

Another contributor to the roughness is the jounce pads out back.

 

[jmm121783]

I agree with the handling, but know I did sacrifice a lot of handling with my tire choice. I didn't have an issue giving up the higher speed rated tire though, not when seeking better ride comfort and mileage from the tires. It's definitely all in what you want out of it, but with the Belltech setup I got from @NORCAL SS you really can still the best of all 3 worlds combined (looks, ride, handling). Tony hasn't steering me wrong (pun not intentional) with any of my Trailblazer SS's over the years, so when he recommended this kit for my PPV I didn't think twice....and I am definitely a happy customer.

Did you have to replace any other suspension parts to get that Belltech Kit installed? Ive heard nothing but good things about all Belltech Products. I have lowered every single car Ive ever owned and I promised myself I would not do it to the Tahoe because I wanted a 4x4 fun truck for the winter, this isn't going to be a daily driver in the summer months, my HHR SS is quite fast and gets twice the MPG of my Tahoe.

With that in mind, how far did the BT drop your car from PPV height? Could you take a few measurements on ground clearance for me?

1) Closest body part to ground, and how much clearance (in inches or something)
2) Height of the front door handles from the ground.
3) front and rear clearance (from the lowest part on each end)

Thanks a lot, I think your Tahoe looks amazing, I really love that gray metallic color and the BT springs/suspension make it look even more sick!

Happy Turkey Day!

 

[balln2k11]

I know this is an old thread, but did anyone confirm that the front and rear sway bars played a role in the stiffness of the ride comfort? I know the PPV sway bars are heavy duty vs. the civilian models and designed for better cornering.

I just ordered Eibach 2” drop rear springs to see if it helps with my harsh ride as others have mentioned with the Belltech brand. I already changed all shocks/struts with Belltech Street Performance and made very little difference.

Oh, Eibach is closing out production of their springs for 07-2014 Tahoe/yukons and fire selling them. They already sold out on the fronts but still have the rears. Check out their website.

 

[Eod1]

Look if you wanted a great ride you should have bought a civilian model. These ppv's are just that. They were made to be pursuit vehicles. They were built with race track suspension to help give that big vehicle an edge over the civilian vehicles. If they need to keep up with a Corvette or other cars that huge the road they can. If you want a nice ride , find a ssv. They are more like a civilian tahoe. I know you can get the ppv's cheap but it would take a lot of money to make them ride like a civilian model. Then when you do that you are taking away from what a ppv is. What's that? A bad mother f@#$er on the road. Just my opinion, so I'm ready for the hate.

 

[73TA]

Old thread that I am glad that was revived. Always wondered what the spring height length difference was between the two models.

Mike

 

[balln2k11]

Look if you wanted a great ride you should have bought a civilian model. These ppv's are just that. They were made to be pursuit vehicles. They were built with race track suspension to help give that big vehicle an edge over the civilian vehicles. If they need to keep up with a Corvette or other cars that huge the road they can. If you want a nice ride , find a ssv. They are more like a civilian tahoe. I know you can get the ppv's cheap but it would take a lot of money to make them ride like a civilian model. Then when you do that you are taking away from what a ppv is. What's that? A bad mother f@#$er on the road. Just my opinion, so I'm ready for the hate.

Just a simple question on the sway bars. Purchased Eibach rear 2” drop springs. Hope to get to them next weekend and take photos of the different in size and what note.

 

[Ilikemtb999]

Look if you wanted a great ride you should have bought a civilian model. These ppv's are just that. They were made to be pursuit vehicles. They were built with race track suspension to help give that big vehicle an edge over the civilian vehicles. If they need to keep up with a Corvette or other cars that huge the road they can. If you want a nice ride , find a ssv. They are more like a civilian tahoe. I know you can get the ppv's cheap but it would take a lot of money to make them ride like a civilian model. Then when you do that you are taking away from what a ppv is. What's that? A bad mother f@#$er on the road. Just my opinion, so I'm ready for the hate.

They handle well for their size (compared to other common SUV’s) but they’re still quite slow and sluggish. You’re not catching a vette or anything remotely quick.