Getting so sick of a bad ride in the tahoe

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Cocotits

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2011
Posts
53
Reaction score
1
Location
Bay Area CA
I have bilsteins hds they are rough, or firm i guess. I personally dont care for the ride. More control of the road, but here in houston, lots of potholes, uneven roads, all around junk roads and always construction, dont go well with them, for my experience with them. Had them for quite some time now.

So you sayin if you ever hit a pothole or go over a uneven area on the freeway the they knock you around? I'm in bay area in Cali. For the most part it smooth but I always find potholes or other crap. Specially worried about it when I put my 26"s on. I want smooth n don't want spill drink in fly outa my seat but still want more performance feel then stock.
 

Tahoewhat

Ballin' on a Budget
Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2009
Posts
3,720
Reaction score
24
Location
TX
So you sayin if you ever hit a pothole or go over a uneven area on the freeway the they knock you around? I'm in bay area in Cali. For the most part it smooth but I always find potholes or other crap. Specially worried about it when I put my 26"s on. I want smooth n don't want spill drink in fly outa my seat but still want more performance feel then stock.

Its hard to explain, its not harsh, its just real firm, sports car feel if you will. I mean your not going to spill your drink, unless you hit a big bump, but then shocks arent going to help. lol. Maybe i made them sound bad, they arent bad, just to firm for me. But good for feeling control of the vehicle. Going over bumps is not jarring or anything like that, just you feel it.

i really dont know how to explain it, its not terrible, just firm riding, to me. We all have different ride likes.
 

vatahoelt

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2009
Posts
1,014
Reaction score
13
Location
NoVa
Its hard to explain, its not harsh, its just real firm, sports car feel if you will. I mean your not going to spill your drink, unless you hit a big bump, but then shocks arent going to help. lol. Maybe i made them sound bad, they arent bad, just to firm for me. But good for feeling control of the vehicle. Going over bumps is not jarring or anything like that, just you feel it.

i really dont know how to explain it, its not terrible, just firm riding, to me. We all have different ride likes.

i've heard this as well with the bilsteins. that they are on the stiffer side.
 

Cocotits

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2011
Posts
53
Reaction score
1
Location
Bay Area CA
I am thinking that I will go with the h3 replacements in the front and the soft belltech sp's in the rear and if I want a little stiffer then I'll fill up the helper bags I'll be installing in the rear to stiffin up a little. I will be running the new redesigned belltech tb 4" drop coils and have 3" keys up front.
 

fire730

Full Access Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
Posts
979
Reaction score
29
Location
Louisiana
IMO - If you drop the front 3in with keys that will be more of a problem than how the rear suspension feels.

Mine is a little over 2in with keys and the bumpsteer is horrible. Ive got spindles waiting to be put on when I have the time.
 
OP
OP
N

Nickleahy23

Full Access Member
Joined
May 5, 2009
Posts
924
Reaction score
5
Location
Portage/Menomonie, WI
ya keys suck in the front..keys compared to my arms is a night and day difference..

imo arms, tb springs, helper bags and good shocks with the relocation kit is the best ride..

that being said, it still doesnt ride like stock, but thats just what you will have to deal with if you are low on small tires..
 

TahoeSSer

Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2010
Posts
43
Reaction score
0
I am thinking that I will go with the h3 replacements in the front and the soft belltech sp's in the rear and if I want a little stiffer then I'll fill up the helper bags I'll be installing in the rear to stiffin up a little. I will be running the new redesigned belltech tb 4" drop coils and have 3" keys up front.

Are the H3's stiffer than the HD's? I wouldn't mind going with the full set as a replacement. Don't know if anyone has ordered the full set of H3 Bil's and mounted them on their ride.
 

Max

Mile High
Joined
May 3, 2009
Posts
3,570
Reaction score
33
Location
Denver
The H3 shocks are bilstein's HD series stock replacement but for some reason they decided to include a built in bumpstop to compensate for the torsion bar's lack of natural rebound:

IMG_0462.jpg
IMG_0463.jpg


They're the same length as the tahoe/yukon direct replacement shocks, which is slightly shorter than a stock autoride shock:


IMG_0282.jpg
 

Tahoewhat

Ballin' on a Budget
Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2009
Posts
3,720
Reaction score
24
Location
TX
I am thinking that I will go with the h3 replacements in the front and the soft belltech sp's in the rear and if I want a little stiffer then I'll fill up the helper bags I'll be installing in the rear to stiffin up a little. I will be running the new redesigned belltech tb 4" drop coils and have 3" keys up front.

i have the h3's as max said above and regular bilstein hd in rear for our tahoe. For drop, i have spindles.
 

Cocotits

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2011
Posts
53
Reaction score
1
Location
Bay Area CA
Yea so most of you guys are recommending goin with bilstein all the way around?

And my front is totally the cheap way in. But spindles or a arm I'm not sure what woul be better?

And how much I really need it. I know I would gain a lot of my travel back.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
132,380
Posts
1,867,082
Members
97,017
Latest member
97ext
Top