New-B here. Whats the right way to lower

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tnezukon

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Just bought an 05 yukon and im trying to put together some ideas on things to do. I know I want to lower it. I just want it to look good and maintain the nice ride. What can you guys suggest. I want to do this right so I can maintain the ride. Money isnt an issue. Thanks in advance
 

LVYUKYUK

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From a noob to a new-b, I have been researching online, through magazine, and through local shop (702motoring.com) and they all steer me here...

http://www.mcgaughys.com/

I don't have experience, but they are the only suspension company to obtain an award from GM. (use the spindle kit is the reccomendation) :thumbsup:
 

matt14

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First of all, welcome to the forums both of you! There are lots of usefull info on here. Now, it all depends on how low you want to go. I lowered my 06 kon 3/5. Thre are many different ways to lower yours. U can do front keys, spindles, or control arms. And the rear is springs with either shock extenders or different shocks. My lowering kit was front lower control arms from djm. the only reason i went with the a arms and not spindles, was because i was still running 16" wheels at the time. with 2" drop spindles, the minimum you can run is a 17" wheel. after i replaced the front shocks with the lower shokcs from djm, hte ride got a lot better than before. If you can go with spindles. that way you can still keep your alighnment specs. IMO, dont go with the a-arms. i know of a guy with a 08 silverado and he also put the lower a-arms and was not completly satisfied. First find out what drop you want and start from there. Search this section of hte forums and check what other yukons/tahoes look like with there drop. if your lookin at stepping up to bigger wheels, search with drop.here is a link to a thread i started after i put wheels on my truck. they are before and after wheel pics, but shows my drop.

http://www.tahoeforum.com/showthread.php?t=9279
 

tnezukon

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Nice truck

Matt i took a look at those pics. Thats about how low i would want mine. I dont want it to ride like crap. I just want it to look and ride a little more sporty. Your truck looks great. What lowering kit did you go with? Are there certain brands that are better than others? Thanks for the help. By the way, I really like your tail lights. Where can i get a pair? They are just what im looking for. Everything im finding are too gay looking i just dont like the amber color on the stock light and i just want red and clear. Thanks
 

matt14

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The ride is ok. The rear is stiff, but it is tolerable to me. My wife does not really like the way it rides, but I like the way hte truck looks way to much to change it.The front rides pretty good though. I used a DJM calmax kit. if you do decide to use this drop. do change the front and rear shocks with the ones from djm. And hte taillights are from ebay and cost about $160 shipped? they are LED's and look great. A lot of guys are running these tails on this forum.
 

tnezukon

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Thanks Matt

yea i was reading your earlier posts from when you were lowering it. I saw that someone said to replace the bump stops with smaller ones. Did that help and did you replace the shocks on the rear with the kit that you used? I also saw that you had issues with the shock mount on the front. I just dont want to run into a lot of problems when I do this, or have to make a whole lot of alterations to the truck itself. Thanks for all your help. ;)
 

matt14

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Yea i did end up replacing the shocks in the rear. the company that i bought the kit through quoted me the incorrect shocks, so when i ordered them i ordered those. after a little more research after i already had the shocks in for a while, i found out that the new shocks were not the correct size. the shocks should have been a 18 inch shock, but they got me 20inch shocks. so i went ahead and orderd the correct shocks for the front and rear and made a big difference. i still have not cut the bump stop brackets out yet, but i am going to. after you cut out the brakcet, you install a shorter profile bump stop.so far i have not rode with more than 5 people in the truck because i am worried about bottoming out. after i cut the bracket, i should be good though
 

tnezukon

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Cool deal. Well keep me posted on how everything is going. Ive learned alot over the weekend about this stuff. As far as wheels are concerned, Im looking for something around a 31 mm offset, the same as the factory wheels to avoid rubbage. I know you have 22's on yours, have you had any issues with scrubbing since you lowered it. Do you know what the offset is on your wheels. I also dont want the wheels to stick out past the fenders. How are yours.
 

CHISTOSO

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lkhvf.jpg


McGaughys 3-5 drop. Shaved bump stops. 30mm offset 24's w/ minimal rubbing only when turning sharp.. Rides very smooth and no body roll, a little stiff but I like to turn the corner and not feel it tilt. Overall I'm extremely happy with the set up..
 

matt14

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My kon rubs a little bit on hard turns and on some bumps in hte rear. they only rub on the inner fender liner, just havnt got around to trimming the rest of the liner. they to rub on the front lower contorl arms when its at lock to lock. the offset is +20mm i think. im really not to sure. they do not stick out at all. they actually line up almost perfect with the fender. check out the last pic on my post.

http://www.tahoeforum.com/showthread.php?t=9279
 

Boarsheadburban

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If you want to lower, and maintain ride quality, stick with spindles, and/or torsion keys. spindles will obviously raise the spindle height, with no effect on ride quality, and keys will re-index your torsion bars without increasing tension/reducing travel. In the rear, shackles and hangers will raise your axle, and maintain your original spring rates. higher pressure shocks are better suited to more extreme drops (and handling) to control compression and rebound in limited travel situations. In any scenario, bump stop heights must be addressed (reduced) as well.
Another major factor is tire profile, the shorter the sidewall, the stiffer the ride. This is the most overlooked area concerning ride quality. Shorter profile tires with huge rims are a look, but 30, 40, and 45 series performance tires are not known for thier ride characteristics.
Everything is a comprimise, and you have to weigh how much how much you are willing to give up for the look/performance that you want.
 

boostaholic

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I've had low profile bumpstops sitting in my shop along with 7 lifts and an alignment rack for a minute, sometimes people are just lazy.
 

Turbizzy

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I've had low profile bumpstops sitting in my shop along with 7 lifts and an alignment rack for a minute, sometimes people are just lazy.

**** tell me about it, i've had all the parts to do my headgasket job on this 89 240SX I bought like 6 months ago sittin on my workbench for a few weeks now and my SVO all it needs is a dang steering ragjoint and itll be a runner again.

Nah seriously though, this guy Matt.... lazy foo! Ill show yall some pics of what he does all day watch! :thumbsup:
 

exxxtrem

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Hi guys. Im new here. Figured I would post my experiance. I bought the bell tech kit. lower keys, rear 4" lower springs, and shock extenders... with the keys all the way down no one could align my front end. I also didnt want to do the spindals becase my winter tires are 16". i just ordered the upper and lower djm a arms and installed them. i still have in my lower keys but have them all the way up so my suspension is not botomed out. I am going to order the calmax shocks because im so close to bottoming out. going for an alignment this weekend. on to the rear. belltech springs are very soft.. so even though there 4" drop mine sits more like 5 1/2" due to speaker box. I wanted lower to I just tried the djm springs. they are much more firm but i actualy sit higher in the back now. I am going to do the good old fassion cutting spring. I would rather have the stiffer spring for towing my boat. the belltech dropped about an inch and a half with my boat on. as i said belltech is a very soft spring. nice ride but if you really wanna go low go with djm.
 
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