Sausey
TYF Newbie
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2019
- Posts
- 9
- Reaction score
- 6
2004 Tahoe LT AWD.
So about 2 months ago, I decided in order to clear some larger tires, I'd raise my Tahoe a bit. I went with some Discoverer AT3s 285/70R17. I also installed:
1. Rough Country leveling keys
2. Bilstein 5100 shocks all around
3. Stiffer Bilstein coil springs, as my Tahoe was originally equipped with the Premium Smooth Ride package and self-leveling shocks
4. 1.5 inch coil spring spacers
I then went straight to an allignment shop. Since then, I've had 2 major issues.
Firstly, when accelerating, the steering is dangerously unstable. Under light acceleration, the truck wants to wander to the left, forcing me to turn the wheel almost 45° to the right to keep it going straight. Under heavier acceleration, the truck snaps from side to side, almost like I was driving on ice even when the pavement is bone dry. It's impossible to stay in my lane when trying to pass or merge.
Secondly, my traction control is on the fritz. Almost everytime I start forward from a stop sign or red light, "Traction Active" will appear on my dash and cut my throttle. This also happens when going around turns, but usually only when starting from a stop. I'm not mashing the throttle at every stoplight either, even at a crawl traction control wants to kick in.
I've also noticed a lot of uneven wear on the outer edges of my front tires, way beyond what you'd expect to see after only 2 months or so.
So what's going on? I figure the traction control issue could just be that the computer is programmed with the factory tire size, but the steering issue has been making the truck almost un-driveable. Is this just a matter of the allignment shop not properly alligning the tires? Would a steering stablizer remedy this? (I'm planning on installing one anyway.) Did I not install these parts correctly, or is this an issue with the suspension that was brought to light when I upsized my tires?
Any help is hugely appreciated.
So about 2 months ago, I decided in order to clear some larger tires, I'd raise my Tahoe a bit. I went with some Discoverer AT3s 285/70R17. I also installed:
1. Rough Country leveling keys
2. Bilstein 5100 shocks all around
3. Stiffer Bilstein coil springs, as my Tahoe was originally equipped with the Premium Smooth Ride package and self-leveling shocks
4. 1.5 inch coil spring spacers
I then went straight to an allignment shop. Since then, I've had 2 major issues.
Firstly, when accelerating, the steering is dangerously unstable. Under light acceleration, the truck wants to wander to the left, forcing me to turn the wheel almost 45° to the right to keep it going straight. Under heavier acceleration, the truck snaps from side to side, almost like I was driving on ice even when the pavement is bone dry. It's impossible to stay in my lane when trying to pass or merge.
Secondly, my traction control is on the fritz. Almost everytime I start forward from a stop sign or red light, "Traction Active" will appear on my dash and cut my throttle. This also happens when going around turns, but usually only when starting from a stop. I'm not mashing the throttle at every stoplight either, even at a crawl traction control wants to kick in.
I've also noticed a lot of uneven wear on the outer edges of my front tires, way beyond what you'd expect to see after only 2 months or so.
So what's going on? I figure the traction control issue could just be that the computer is programmed with the factory tire size, but the steering issue has been making the truck almost un-driveable. Is this just a matter of the allignment shop not properly alligning the tires? Would a steering stablizer remedy this? (I'm planning on installing one anyway.) Did I not install these parts correctly, or is this an issue with the suspension that was brought to light when I upsized my tires?
Any help is hugely appreciated.
