Jelorian's 03 Z71 Suburban Build

[Jelorian]

Am I right in presuming that upgrade would require 17" wheels minimum?

You are correct. 16" wheels will not fit on the front. Be mindful of the spare as well.

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I think I replaced mine with something similar - no stupid secondary latch! It was the easiest "fix" I've done on my 'Burb. It is literally held in with one bolt. It took me longer to figure out how to remove the plastic sleeve (slotted screwdriver, very carefully) than it did to replace the hoist.

I introduced Mr. Hoist to Mr. Angle grinder and Mr. Hoist works and feels great now!

 

[Jelorian]

The Burb is red underneath but solid. Thank God. Jelorian how does that light bar mount? Thanks

The N-Fab Pre-runner light bar mounts via 4 nuts and bolts directly to the bumper. You will have to drill the holes.

I might have to get rid of it unless I can figure out a way to modify it so that my new 12k winch can mount up to the new Curt front hitch.

 

[kojackJKU]

Jelorian, If I were you I would get a series 100 ARB bumper and modify to fit. The best front end solution for the burban. I need something that I can remove for the plow. So that sounds like a viable option. Or I might just put on a full grill guard to make it look a bit meaner! ha ha.

 

[Luquette]

New EP member here, and fellow 'Burban owner. Great to see other doing work on their trucks. I look forward to see what you have planned for your ride!

 

[Jelorian]

Jelorian, If I were you I would get a series 100 ARB bumper and modify to fit. The best front end solution for the burban. I need something that I can remove for the plow. So that sounds like a viable option. Or I might just put on a full grill guard to make it look a bit meaner! ha ha.

That is definitely an option that I have looked at. I even thought about getting the 200 series bumper as it is a little bit bigger and I think would match nicely with the Suburban. I think that the ARB Sahara bumper along with the Chevy mounting kit and a competent fabricator could make it happen.

The other route is finding a guy to do a custom bumper but I'm sure it will be more expensive.

As for the other bumpers that are out there, most of them are way too big and beefy and more than likely pretty heavy. Heck the Chevy/GMC specific ARB bumper looks way to big for our rigs.

New EP member here, and fellow 'Burban owner. Great to see other doing work on their trucks. I look forward to see what you have planned for your ride!

Luquette, welcome aboard. Would love to see your rig and what you've done to it. For me it's getting the sliders installed as well as figuring out how to mount my new winch.

 

[kojackJKU]

I agree, I need to replace my bumpers as they are Rusted TF! but....I have to replace with the stocker in order for my plow mount to fit on. If I could use the series 100, it would be on there for sure!

 

[kojackJKU]

Just looking at the ARB bumper for the suburban, yeah she's big and clunky, but I think I can make my plow mount work with it, because it mounts sort of under the stock bumper. I could notch the ARB to fit the bracket and even keep the winch. And the other bumpers are damn ugly!

 

[tbisaacs]

New EP member here, and fellow 'Burban owner. Great to see other doing work on their trucks. I look forward to see what you have planned for your ride!

Let's see the Burb!


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[boll_rig]

Jelorian,

How are you liking your tires after some time with them? Thinking about going up a size when I need new ones. Currently running the same all terrain size as the stock which are about 30.5 in diameter.

Im wondering what gear ratios you got your truck with? Did you notice much loss in power when you moved up? Any notice on MPG?

Thanks and still looking good!

 

[tbisaacs]

Jelorian,

How are you liking your tires after some time with them? Thinking about going up a size when I need new ones. Currently running the same all terrain size as the stock which are about 30.5 in diameter.

Im wondering what gear ratios you got your truck with? Did you notice much loss in power when you moved up? Any notice on MPG?

Thanks and still looking good!

I can't speak for Jelorian, but I have 3500 miles on 285/70R17 (just a hair under 33") Cooper Discovery ATP e-rated tires. Difference in power and mpg was negligible in my experience. No rubbing w/o a lift as well


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[Jelorian]

Boll_rig, no issues so far. No rubbing as well. Tires seem to be holding up well and still look brand new.

No real noticeable difference in performance or mileage. Seems pretty close to stock. If you look at the comparison pic of my stock tires and the new ones they are pretty close.

I have 3.73 gears. If I decide to go up to 35's then I'll consider going to 4.10's. By then I'm hoping to have a 14 bolt rear and a 4L80E trans.

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[boll_rig]

Boll_rig, no issues so far. No rubbing as well. Tires seem to be holding up well and still look brand new.

No real noticeable difference in performance or mileage. Seems pretty close to stock. If you look at the comparison pic of my stock tires and the new ones they are pretty close.

I have 3.73 gears. If I decide to go up to 35's then I'll consider going to 4.10's. By then I'm hoping to have a 14 bolt rear and a 4L80E trans.

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Thanks for the info. Might be going with some duratrac 33s. Seems it would actually be best to go up to 17 in rims then the overall tire weight could go down a bit. Oh well, will stick with my 16in rims even though I love yours.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Thanks for the info. Might be going with some duratrac 33s. Seems it would actually be best to go up to 17 in rims then the overall tire weight could go down a bit. Oh well, will stick with my 16in rims even though I love yours.

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Sticking with 16s will save you about $200 on a set of 4 tires. Just FYI.

 

[Jelorian]

Just an FYI. If there is any chance you think you might do the GMT900 front brakes upgrade, you will need 17's to clear the calipers and rotors.

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[bigskypylot]

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OMG, I completely know what you're saying now! Mine is pretty rusted underneath (thanks to 8 years in WI) and just this afternoon I tried and tried for 3 hours but could not get it to release! What a horrible, stupid, idiotic design! Whoever designed that latch should be tied, up, whipped, shot, whipped again and shot again.
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Anyway, I finally gave up, got out the angle grinder and just ground off the lobe of the carrier to let the tire drop. Now I'm looking into a hitchgate. Just want to make sure I can still pull a trailer with it (though our trailer's pretty light, maybe 2000lbs max.)

Haha. I know what you mean. My 06 X is the same way being from Wisconsin. Where were you in Wisco?