Suspension lift, engine upgrades and Hello!

[SouthernHoe]

Hello guys and gals, glad to be here. I hate for newbies to pop in a forum and fire away with questions and leave as I'm sure any veterans here may as well. All I can say in defense of that is I plan on being around awhile though and hope to give back. I'm a mechanic and do allot of my own fabrication work as well so Ill do my best to help others as much as possible. I've been lurking though and see a wealth of knowledge here.

I am kind of venturing into unknown territory here that I figured some have been through so I thought it best to seek some wisdom. I'm in a strange place in life in that my wife is going to pay off her car in another year and it will be my turn to buy a newer truck. However, at 34 YO with a wonderful wife and kids and all I feel I "need" I can honestly say that I am as happy with my life as a man can be and I really dont WANT a new truck. I love my 99 Tahoe. The history with it is as follows: Found it with a blown motor abandoned and forgotten, paid a grand for it and fell in love. It is a 99 4wd 4door, pewter in color. Its bone stock with 212K except has a new tranny (about 6k miles) and I built the motor when I drug her home. I went through it RIGHT. New crank, pistons, heads, water pump, spider harness, etc, etc, etc... It runs great and I really love the truck. Its my daily driver and hunting/fishing/tow vehicle. The new motor is up to about 40ishK


Now the thoughts Im having instead of upgrading to a newer truck. I'm going to do some interior stuff like carpet, etc but that's cut and dry.

I'm thinking about a 6" lift just because I know the torsion lift is crap and dont like body. I want a capable, well made lift and to run 33's or 35's for hunting. What are yalls thought on RCX or should I go with super-lift?

Any ideas on bolt on engine upgrades to help the old girl gain a little more "pep" as I keep her pretty loaded with tools/hunting gear, etc...?

I was thinking some headers with a new exhaust system may wake her up a little.


The only concern I have about above mentioned plans are three things:

1. am I going to have front end parts wearing badly running up to 35's?

2). will power loss be severe if engine is left stock without re-gearing?

3). How much worse will MPG suffer. As most know I get 12-13 going downhill with a tail wind depending on whether or not there's a current hummingbird migration, heavy mosquito population or any other possible Biblical Plagues.



One last question...am I the only man that willingly drives and older vehicle instead of a 40K truck or are there more of you "crazies" on here?

 

[Gzes]

Ill take an old truck vs new any day. No style. If you lift you are gonna want to put new bushings and what not because they are gonna go after more stress. Yes you want to reheat if not you force the trans more giving it less life. Rcx is a great affordable kit. Super lift is also a good kit but costs more. Headers are a good upgrade but go long tubes. I'm gonna put my long tubes and run a real dual one on each side.

---------- Post added at 11:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:51 AM ----------

Also a cam and some other engine upgrades and a tune will wake it up a lot. I'm obd1 so would hve to chip mine but ou can get a tune. Air intake mods are good as well. I'm running an eddlebrock cleaner on mine

 

[SouthernHoe]

Gzes, great truck, love the 2ds. A guy I recently bought used BFG tires for mine had a 95 that was as clean as I ever seen. It was red, still had the factory plastic on the carpet.


Oh and "reheat" Im sorry I dont follow.

 

[Gzes]

Thanks sorry meant regear damn iPhone autocorrect

---------- Post added at 12:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:19 PM ----------

Mines lifted 3in on body lift but i like it. Gonna lift maybe 7in when I replace the axles for better dana 44s or dana 60s

 

[Chevrolado]

My 95 has the 4" RCX lift and I think it's a great setup. I'm sure their 6" is just as good. Make sure you get the complete kit and get it done right. I have had no issues with my RCX lift.

As for MPG's.. 12-13 seems about normal. hah.
I just finished my motor swap into my 95 and I'm hoping to see 12-14 when I go to fill up my next tank later this week. I've BEEN getting 8-10 but thats because I had some serious issues going on with sensors and vacuum leaks and all kinds of bugs I was working out with the motor.

As for if you are crazy. No sir. You are not (to me anyway). But then again.. I bought my 95 for $2k, then dumped another $3k+ into the motor and trans.. So some would call me crazy. hah.

 

[SouthernHoe]

My 95 has the 4" RCX lift and I think it's a great setup. I'm sure their 6" is just as good. Make sure you get the complete kit and get it done right. I have had no issues with my RCX lift.
.

Thats a beautiful truck. What size tires you running with a 4" lift?

 

[Chevrolado]

Thats a beautiful truck. What size tires you running with a 4" lift?

Thanks! They are just 265/75/R16's. Could probably go up to 285/75/16, but Since its mostly a road runner right now.. the 265/75's are working well.

 

[Donnie Yukonie]

I run a 6 inch superlift . no complaints. I was the same way with deciding between the two , I chose super lift because IMHO the parts seem to be beefier , Esp the skid plate its double the thickness . 6 inch lift will fit 35s just fine with minimal if any trimming Variable with what type of offset the aftermarket rims you may use .


since you said you were a mechanic and a Fabricator I would HIGHLY Recommend a SAS (straight axle swap) you will gain the most Reliability and Capabilities . IFS sucks for Dependebility off road unless you dump some MAJOR money into it . Even then Most IFS trucks cannot Flex and articulate as well as a Straight axle can . This means less traction when going over obstacles. If its just for Hunting I would say IFS is OK . but If you plan on really testing that thing you will end up like me Replacing Hub bearings every 6 months . since you cannot Repack them Like you would be able to with a different setup Once these hubs loose their Greasing ability Thats it

 

[SouthernHoe]

Thanks Donnie. My off road use will be very limited to just hunting so going to stick with IFS. What are your thoughts on gearing? I dont want to regear if I dont have to but dont want it to be a slug either in the mud or climbing some of the hills on my hunting lease.

Mostly its a DD and I drive interstate about 1.5 hours to hunt. Would it be sluggish with the 35's and stock gearing? Should I stick to no more than 33's?

 

[Gzes]

Yes regear. 4.56 should be fine for what ua want