2006 tahoe ls 4x4 w/ ranch hand rear bumper sags

[EMSTahoe]

hey all! i have a 2006 tahoe ls 4x4 that with 102,*** miles on it and I DO NOT HAVE AUTO RIDE! ( i know this for a fact) So i just replaced all of the stock shocks with bilsteins and the ride in proved alot but i noticed that now my ranch hand bumper seems to weigh the rear down more. what can i do, wanting to stay stock, possibly the z71 coils? please let me know!

 

[Screwd up 6]

I know you say no auto ride but if bad shocks were replaced and now you sag.. .you sure you didn't have nivomat shocks?

How much does it sag. Z71wont make huge diff unless yours are worn. I'd measure up your front and back and get a spacer for that amount.

If you really want coils get z71 the should net 25-.50" according to posts

 

[Jeff d]

Look at your "Service Parts Identification" sticker in the glove box. Do you see ZW7 in that list of codes? Then you had Nivomat rear shocks. They're self leveling (NOT the same as AutoRide) shocks that are noticably larger in diameter than "normal" shocks. They do bear some of the weight on the rear suspension so if you change them out with conventional shocks you will likely sag. The coils that are paired up with the Nivomat shocks on the ZW7 package are intentionally softer than normal to allow the auto leveling shocks to do their job. If you remove the weight bearing capacity of the shocks they you're transferring all of that load back to the softer springs and therefore getting more sag.


You've got a couple of options. 1) put the Nivomats back on if you still have them 2) replace your rear coils with coils from a non ZW7 tahoe.

You could do spacers to make up for the new "sag" but your ride is probably already squishier with more body roll and the spacers won't help that. They'd probably make it worse since you'd be raising the center of gravity.

 

[EMSTahoe]

Ok update for all who have looked at this. Did some research, yes i had the nivomat shocks, my tahoe had the zw7 package. that explained alot about why the ride was so rough after the ranch hand and before i ever changed the suspension in any way. so due to having the zw7 package and changing the the shocks only and leaving old zw7 springs on it with the ranch hand it actually compressed the new bilstein about 3/4 all the time, in turn the rear end sagged a bit and rode terrible! luckily for me my local chevy parts guy is cool and helped me out, i decided to change my suspension parts to that of a 2006 ssv(special service tahoe) 4x4. we looked up the part number for the springs and i ordered the moog version, the shocks called for bilstein shocks. looking at the parts diagram the ssv tahoe is just a stripped down z71 tahoe with a 160 amp alternator and larger radiatior and with a transoil cooler. i have a 160 amp alt already so i figured what the hell why not.

now let me stress this, the ssv tahoe is just a stripped down z71 tahoe. the springs i got were the moog heavy duty springs, they were actaully almost 2 inches taller than the zw7's! they take the weight of the bumper great and the tahoe has never ridden better! thanks to jeff d for the helpful reply!

 

[01Konvict]

Yup Z71 springs do the trick and ride better with a little load on them