2004 Tahoe (Suspension Advice) OR buy another Vehicle

[coolrunnings22]

Point of

The Cargo:

1. Need to Haul 3 Kids 1 Wife (all I can handle ) and 1 Dog
2. I have an Intech Explore Trailer (2000-2200lbs loaded)
3. Cargo in the Tahoe will be ~700lbs (family weight and gear)

Use Type: Off Road camping on Forest Service Roads. Some may not be gravel which means dirt and if it rains (its the PNW...) some mud. I also commute, drive the kids around and have a good time with this vehicle.

The Budget: I hate buying the wrong thing and having to do things twice. That said I am realistic and DON'T have $5K to spend. I would like to keep suspension under $2k.

The Problem: I am unhappy with the suspension setup I have. It is too low and will limit confidence/capability of the vehicle in several area's I want to travel to. There does not seem to be a good supplier of suspension in the 4" category.

Brands I am considering: BDS, only one I have seen so far that looks to fit the mold. I am looking for the groups collective experience here? Anyone have other suggestions?

 

[lilkia]

Go with a 3" coil spring and torsion key kit and a set of 33" tiress. Should give you all the clearance you need for the terrain you mentioned above. Plus it will be as much as your trailer if not more. Or you could do a little fender rolling and trimming and throw on some 35"s. I dont know about any of the diff drop kits.

 

[Martinjmpr]

^^^ What he said. Z71 springs and maybe - MAYBE - a small spacer in the rear, keys up front should get you a good 2 - 3". That's the cheap part - spend $$ on good shocks (I have Bilstein 5100s on mine and like them.) Get the longer version that is designed to fit a lifted GMT 800. I went ahead and replaced my front sway bar links as well.

33's are about as big as you can go without fender trimming thanks to the square wheel wells but there are plenty of 33 size tires available. I'm running Falken Wildpeaks in LT285/75/16 but I see you have 17" wheels (you have the same wheels my 'Burb came with. I switched from 17's to 16's.)

There really is no lift at the 4" mark that I'm aware of (at least not for a 4x4 - 2wd guys can get away with a spindle lift of whatever size they want.) You basically can do the 2 - 3" coil/t-bar key lift or go for the very expensive 6" lift. I would think the 6" lift would also seriously compromise the utility of your truck - make it harder to tow and possibly accelerated wear on components like the CVs.

Even with brand new shocks a spring/t-bar-key lift should be under $600 out the door and can be done with basic tools in your driveway in a day.

I'll also ask the question I always ask when people are thinking of modifying a vehicle: What is it that your vehicle CAN'T do now that you WANT to be able to do? A Tahoe is a big rig - you aren't likely to be taking it on any gnarly trails without some serious modifications and while those mods would make it a great rock crawler, they would seriously reduce capability as a trailer tug, family hauler and grocery getter. Like it or not, vehicles are always a compromise. You have to be able to decide between what is NECESSARY for your intended use and what is "nice to have" but not necessary.

From what you've described a mild lift and 33" tires would give you a slight increase in capability while still retaining the ability to do the mundane stuff your vehicle needs to do.

 

[CrazyDrei]

I second Lilkia and Martinjmpr,

Start with torsion bar keys up front for $20. This will level out front and rear.

Next, disconnect rear sway bar, jack up the truck, pull out rear coils and measure them. If they are under 17" tall get yourself a pair of HD coils found on Z71 or trucks with towing package. Moog part is $60 shipped for 2 coils. HD coils are approximately 17.5" tall regular coils are approximately 16.5" tall.

See if you like how the truck sits and looks. Load your truck with the 700lbs of gear and see how it sits, the rear will drop, front will come up.

Measure the top of fender height of all the wheels. Are you happy with it? If not then add 1" or 2" rear coil spacers $25. I recommend the 2" for Tahoe in your case. See how it looks and sits.

As of right now you should have a very good idea of how the truck sits and looks for around $100. Are you happy? If you are not start looking at diff drop kits which will "lift" the truck but decrease your ground clearance.

If you are happy get new shocks. Bilstein 5100 are $69 shipped and will last a long time, along with lifetime warranty. You Wil need stock length up front and 1-3" lift rears.

At this point you are a couple hours of elbow grease and under $400 for a 2.5-3.5" lift including shocks!

Drive the truck, does it drive, handle and look how you want it to?

Next: get some 33" tires. 33x12.5 will fit but you have to get the offset correct in the front. You can use factory wheels but you will need to run 1.25" wheel spacers to avoid rubbing on the frame in the front and to get the correct rear wheel articulation.

Finally the last and most fun part. Trimming the rear part of front wheel wells to actually get the tires to fit and turn without rubbing. Pretty easy and straight forward, just cut and hammer, you have 2" that you can fold back safely.

This will be the most affordable 3-4" lift that actually increases your ground clearance unlike thee differential drop lifts.

Hope this helps.

 

[tennesseewj]

I'd turn those keys up to clear 285/75/16s (or equivalent) and spend that 2K on good tires...

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[DailyExpedition]

I Disagree, the stock keys will get you just as high as aftermarket, don’t waste your money on new keys. The 5100 bilsteins are a great choice, the 2in spacers for rear should be sufficient. Before you go any higher you’ll need to see how you like the ride and whether or not you want to cut fenders or bumpers, and just how big of tires you’re going to want to go with. I’ve got a 98 Yukon and I did 2 1/2 blocks in the rear and cranked the bars in front. I’ve got 285/75/17’s and I didn’t have to do any trimming, but due to the previous wheels and tires I had, i did, but nothing drastic or really noticeable. If you go bigger in the lift department you will lose ground clearance, that’s why I haven’t lifted mine beyond the height I am now, besides it’s better when doing trails because of the lower center of gravity and better ground clearance


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[Martinjmpr]

Drei makes a good point with regard to measuring your springs.

On a 15 year old vehicle the stock springs are probably sagging pretty bad anyway. Rather than put a band aid on it with lift spacers under your old, tired springs, why not just put in new springs?

The procedure is exactly the same and the cost difference isn't more than $30.

 

[Overlandtowater]

stock keys on my suburban only lifted 1.5"~ toped out the keys and barely lifted the bump stops from the lower arm, I bought cheap keys on amazon that lifted the front way more than stock keys but I also topped the lift keys out. In the rear I went with H2 springs... I have yet to put on a set of 33's but the 265's look ok with the lift keys and coils.

 

[rayra]

Depends how fatigued your torsion bars are. 'leveling' keys will re-index the torsion bar fit enough that you can get some more out of tired torsion bars and get more before the 18mm adjusting bolt bottoms out. But you don't want to do that regardless and maxing the crank gives you a jouncier ride in general and puts your upper control arms practically right on the upper stops, also impacting (literally) your ride on the rebound.
I'm somewhere shy of +2" using Rough Country leveling keys - I've got about 3/4" clearance in both the upper and lower bump stops - and put in 2" spacers on my stock original Z71 springs. I'm farting around on rutted / eroded fire roads in the SoCal mountains and dry river beds / washes. I've got just over 14" of clearance under the frame rails and I'm running stock size replacement tires.

still looks about like this, still has a very comfortable factory-like ride, too -

OP, you wouldn't need to do more for transporting your family anywhere your trailer can go. The only other thing I'd suggest is some airbags to hold the rear up if your tongue weight / trailer load is bad. But the stock ClassIII hitch / tow package is only rated for a max 500# tongue weight, too.

My other key suggestion for you is to upgrade your external trans cooler if you are hauling that full load+trailer up any mountain grades. Anecdotes seem to indicate the 4L60E craps out under extended heavy load / temps exceeding 275F. Which isn't that hard to do with a full load in summertime where the in-radiator loop of the trans cooler (it's actually designed to be that way as a trans-WARMER) will cause the trans to run at around 205F normally. And the tiny factory trans cooler in the tow package is very poorly placed, too, mostly behind the bowtie logo in the grill.
I went the maximum aftermarket cooler replacement and my temps are ridiculously low. Instead of 60-70 degs of heat margin, it's more like 130. It's rarely more than 45deg over ambient.

We drove and hauled all sorts of stuff for many years with our '05 Z71 Tahoe, bought new. Just sold it to a boardmember last Halloween with 200k mi on it. Very little trouble and all easy to fix or maintain. Much of that and the trans cooler and all the rest are detailed in the 'vortec guys' topic in my sig.

 

[usanumber1]

Upgrading IFS off-road capability is like most things: Cheap, good, easy. Pick 2. That’s why I built mine the way I did.

 

[XJLI]

Upgrading IFS off-road capability is like most things: Cheap, good, easy. Pick 2. That’s why I built mine the way I did.

The torsion bar setup is pretty damn simple. If you want 2-3" of lift, crank and put on aftermarket upper control arms and the correct length shock, get an alignment. You now have the lift and more travel than stock. You can fit 35s easily (or 37s, as one of our crazier contributors has shown... lol) with that. Want more lift? Then the "cheap" goes out the window and you need a BDS or RC or whatever kit.

 

[ejwebb]

Cognito leveling Kit with the upper control arms is the way to go, the upper arms help with wheel travel and having the upper ball joint at the proper angle with the lift. The upper ball joint is also replaceable. Get the steering brace kit also if its in the budget it helps with supporting the steering components on the Tahoe.

 

[ejwebb]

has any one else looked at going 07 lower a arms and the 07 upper strut support and then going with a Fox coilover that is made for the 07 Tahoe with dampening adjustable setup??? I have been looking at this idea.

 

[ejwebb]

2007-2015 Chevy Tahoe 4wd & 2wd (aftermarket upper control arms required) - Fox 2.5 Factory Series Coil-Over Reservoir - Adjustable - (0" to 3" Lift - FRONT / PAIR).

Authorized Dealer
Our Price

• $2049.95

 

[XJLI]

has any one else looked at going 07 lower a arms and the 07 upper strut support and then going with a Fox coilover that is made for the 07 Tahoe with dampening adjustable setup??? I have been looking at this idea.

To do it "right" you should check out JD fab's stuff. You don't need new LCAs unless you want long travel.

https://jdfabrication.com/collectio...to-06-chevy-1500-4x4-mid-travel-coil-over-kit