Going domestic, project vanilla aka the family tankster, 2004 Suburban 2500

[upcruiser]

Bummer, I spaced that all out to make it easily readable but the forum compresses the spacing out of it all making it tougher to read.

 

[snowblind]

The attachment didn't work for me but I saw a pic you posted in your thread. I think that will work fine. I like the fact they slide easily fore and aft along the roof rails. Makes adjusting it for different uses easy.

It was just the same pic from my thread so you saw it. And you're spot on about the fore/aft adjustment with that style of foot being useful.

Also, I hear what you are saying about the way the body tapers, I think mounting mud flaps the way that you would mount something like the Rally Armors where you kick it out off of the side of the body a ways could help with that but then you would need a thicker, stiffer type of mudflap like that. I see Weathertech actually makes mud flaps for the Burbs too.

You and I have a lot of common reference points. I had a 1991 Celica All-Trac with coil-overs and a big turbo back before Subaru even brought the WRX to the USA. The Rally style flaps are what you need for the problems we are seeing. There is a specific spot at the rear of the front wheel wells - where the body tapers and the running boards begin. This is the area that all the dirt is spaying through.

I'll post a photo of my mudflaps tonight. I still have them on the rear but took them off the front because the tires rubbed on them. They are factory GM. I think they even have a bowtie on them. They are very similar to the weathertech ones.

I will also post some fender flare photos this weekend. They are Xenon brand and while they only add about 1/2" of increased coverage I think it's the most you can add without making the truck look strange. I bought mine locally but here is a product page. http://www.carid.com/2001-chevy-tahoe-fender-flares/xenon-fender-flare-1648413.html








Matt

 

[upcruiser]

It was just the same pic from my thread so you saw it. And you're spot on about the fore/aft adjustment with that style of foot being useful.



You and I have a lot of common reference points. I had a 1991 Celica All-Trac with coil-overs and a big turbo back before Subaru even brought the WRX to the USA. The Rally style flaps are what you need for the problems we are seeing. There is a specific spot at the rear of the front wheel wells - where the body tapers and the running boards begin. This is the area that all the dirt is spaying through.

I'll post a photo of my mudflaps tonight. I still have them on the rear but took them off the front because the tires rubbed on them. They are factory GM. I think they even have a bowtie on them. They are very similar to the weathertech ones.

I will also post some fender flare photos this weekend. They are Xenon brand and while they only add about 1/2" of increased coverage I think it's the most you can add without making the truck look strange. I bought mine locally but here is a product page. http://www.carid.com/2001-chevy-tahoe-fender-flares/xenon-fender-flare-1648413.html

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Matt

Ah man, I love Celica Alltracs! That was my first rally car love before Subies. Still would love to find a nice one of those one day. Do you get to the track at all? Millermotorsports? When I lived in SLC I did some of the local region autocrosses with my STi, super fun, very competitive region for sure.

Those flairs look about the same size as the ones on my truck. Not sure if mine are a factory option or aftermarket but they have a clean factory appearance. They have a more squared off top edge on them.

 

[njtacoma]

In my limited research into purchasing a Suburban it seems that the 2500's all came from the factory with flares, and some of the 1500's have flares. This seems to be true of the 2000 - 2006 GMT-800 and 1992 - 1999 GMT- 400 Trucks.

Personally I think the 2500's wear the flares better when completely stock, but the 1500 z71's look good as well.

 

[snowblind]

Ah man, I love Celica Alltracs! That was my first rally car love before Subies. Still would love to find a nice one of those one day. Do you get to the track at all? Millermotorsports? When I lived in SLC I did some of the local region autocrosses with my STi, super fun, very competitive region for sure.

They hadn't built Miller yet. :-( But I didn't have the cash for road courses anyways. This was 1998-2003. I used to do RallyCross back then. Like AutoCross but in a dirt parking lot. Lot's of fun!

Those flairs look about the same size as the ones on my truck. Not sure if mine are a factory option or aftermarket but they have a clean factory appearance. They have a more squared off top edge on them.

ALL the 2000-2006 2500s have the factory fender flares. All the photos of my truck that have the stock ones still mounted. These Xenon ones are an EXTRA 1/2" wider than the stock ones. Mine are sitting in a box in the garage.



Matt

 

[upcruiser]

I hear yah, about the costs, thus the reason I just do autocross. Have wanted to try a rally cross but sold the STi last summer. Trying to refurbish my old 944 to take to the cones this summer though to feed the hunger for speed a bit.

Ok, that makes sense about the fender flairs and pretty much sums up what I was seeing when shopping Suburbans. The guy I bought this from had a mention in the add about it having body colored fender flairs like it was a big deal when all of them I had seen had them. Extra half inch could be key. I think your tires are a bit wider than mine though. I will snap a pic tomorrow looking down the side of the truck, really the only place the tires are exposed is the bottom half of the front tires. The stock wheels with these tires lies pretty well inside the wheel wells.

 

[snowblind]

Ok, that makes sense about the fender flairs and pretty much sums up what I was seeing when shopping Suburbans. The guy I bought this from had a mention in the add about it having body colored fender flairs like it was a big deal when all of them I had seen had them.

ALL the 2500s had the flairs but not all had BODY COLORED flairs. Most LS models have black flares to match the other black trim eg: side moldng, mirrors, bumper top, etc. All the LTs get body colored trim.

Extra half inch could be key. I think your tires are a bit wider than mine though. I will snap a pic tomorrow looking down the side of the truck, really the only place the tires are exposed is the bottom half of the front tires. The stock wheels with these tires lies pretty well inside the wheel wells.

I might have a slightly different front wheel offset than you but the tires are the same 285 width. I do have 2" spacers on the rear though. The prob comes from lifting the front end. Now most of the front wheel is moved down into that "bottom half of the front tires"




Matt

 

[snowblind]

Mud Flaps and Spacers

Here are a couple of shots of the factory mudflaps before and after adding 2" wheel spacers. Tires are 285/70/17 Michelin LTMS2.

First photo shows no spacer on driver's side and spacer already installed on passenger side.
















Matt

 

[Bojak]

Do you notice them while driving? Does ir feel like it tracks differently or no noticeable difference? Did you do the spacers for esthetics or performance? What brand did you use? Sorry for the bombardment of questions but I have been considering spacers on my truck.

 

[rayra]

Typically they are needed for front wheel well clearance when turning to the stops with too-big tires. But sometimes they make the clearance problem worse on the lower rear portion of the front wheel well opening / edge.

eta

I read of some folks having rubbing problems on my vehicle with 285s so I stuck with 265/70-17 Yoko Geolanders. No problems at all, yet, but haven't fully compressed things yet. New/old truck to me, so I'm taking it easy for a while still.

I happen to have a pic that shows the front factory fender flare pretty well. '02 K1500 Z71

 

[snowblind]

Do you notice them while driving? Does ir feel like it tracks differently or no noticeable difference? Did you do the spacers for esthetics or performance? What brand did you use? Sorry for the bombardment of questions but I have been considering spacers on my truck.

No noticeable difference in driving to me. In "theory" the rear end will have more traction and cause the vehicle to oversteer when pushed to the handling limits. In reality no difference for my driving.

For me spacers are mainly for looks and also a little piece of mind. The rear end of the 3/4 ton Suburbans never looked "right" to me. The front tires stick way out and the rears are tucked... and there is no way to fix this with wheel offset unless you run two different offsets front to back. Then when I added my winter wheel and tire combo I realized the rear tires where getting pretty close to the inner wheel wells. I don't know if they would have rubbed but with spacers I know they never will.

I bought aluminum spacers on amazon. The quality and finish are very good. They came with all hardware. No modifications to your existing wheel studs necessary. -> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AU7HTZ2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If I was towing heavy loads or experiencing balancing problems I might look at higher priced aluminum or steel spacers but mine have performed flawlessly.



Matt

 

[upcruiser]

Good info, thanks for sharing. I am thinking I am just going to forego the bother with the mud flaps, at least for this upcoming trip. I am thinking tires, onboard air, front lift, and seeing how the truck works on this trip. Probably going to order up a cargo liner for the back from the second row to the back of the truck to keep muddy bikes and gear from gunking up the decor. haha Oh, and a new stereo head unit that is USB compatible. Thinking we are just going to ground tent it for awhile and I will mess with building a rear sleeping platform that can fold in half essentially to allow bikes in the back this summer after we get home. Its been a long winter, I am looking forward to hitting the road for awhile.

 

[snowblind]

Probably going to order up a cargo liner for the back from the second row to the back of the truck to keep muddy bikes and gear from gunking up the decor.

I have a WeatherTech full rear cover and it's OK. Fit is good but the material is a little soft and it can gouge and tear when used with sharp metal.

I bought the full Weathertech set. I love the WeatherTech front matts but my middle row matts sucked. They didn't clear the folding seat properly and the mechanism shredded them. I replaced with Husky and I am much happier http://smile.amazon.com/Husky-Liner...8-1-0&sr=1-3&ymm=2005:chevrolet:suburban+2500

Thinking we are just going to ground tent it for awhile and I will mess with building a rear sleeping platform that can fold in half essentially to allow bikes in the back this summer after we get home. Its been a long winter, I am looking forward to hitting the road for awhile.

The suburban is the constant idea sparker... Almost big enough build anything in but not quite big enough at the same time.

When I started mine it was me, 2 kids and 1 dog. Now I need ALL SEVEN seat belts and we're cramming in TWO dogs! No room in the rear because that is filled with a 63qt fridge, camp stove, water jugs, etc.

I'm glad the 3/4 Burbs can tow because I think my next step might need to be an Airstream!


Matt

 

[Bojak]

Thanks for the info regarding the spacers. I am going to give them a try.

 

[upcruiser]

I have a WeatherTech full rear cover and it's OK. Fit is good but the material is a little soft and it can gouge and tear when used with sharp metal.

I bought the full Weathertech set. I love the WeatherTech front matts but my middle row matts sucked. They didn't clear the folding seat properly and the mechanism shredded them. I replaced with Husky http://smile.amazon.com/Husky-Liner...8-1-0&sr=1-3&ymm=2005:chevrolet:suburban+2500




The suburban is the constant idea sparker... Almost big enough build anything in but not quite big enough at the same time.

When I started mine it was me, 2 kids and 1 dog. Now I need ALL SEVEN seat belts and we're cramming in TWO dogs! No room in the rear because that is filled with a 63qt fridge, camp stove, water jugs, etc.

I'm glad the 3/4 Burbs can tow because I think my next step might need to be an Airstream!


Matt

Yeah, I noticed that with the second row floor liner I just got. If the front seat is all the way back on its track it pushes into the mat, and if you do the quick release and slide the second row seat forward for egress to the 3rd row it runs right into the mat as well. Oh well, we won't be using the 3rd row anyway. 7 people! Holy cow thats the real deal! No wonder you need the 8.1. It definitely is good for us to have so many options for how to set the truck up since its just 4 of us, well 3 of us for another month. I think I should be able to keep it all pretty modular so I can set it up differently for different needs. Thats the goal at least.

The Airstream is the dream here too. We bought our camper last summer and it was a blessing, we used it to go on mountain biking trips and it made a great base camp and place to chill and cook with our 1 year old. Cold, rain, bugs, didn't matter. We love ours, someday an Airstream would be great, going to use this thing for a decade or more in the mean time. haha