2012 Tahoe rear 1.5 lift shock question

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.

Dustin Jackson

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2018
Posts
1,544
Reaction score
1,741
ok just order a pair of es9000s because they are low cost and I'm curious. I have run Bilstein 5100s before on my Tacoma and yup they are very nice but lets see how these are......dun dun dun!
I almost went crazy and ordered the skyjacker black max HYDRAULIC shocks so I could pretend my Tahoe is from the 70s but I couldn't quite do it. I'm almost regretting not trying to see what it would be like.
@redshift I have not heard of those but from Google I can see that a set of 4 costs as much as a single Bilstein 5100 which has me questioning the quality of the es9000s
 
OP
OP
redshift

redshift

TYF Newbie
Joined
Jul 15, 2020
Posts
19
Reaction score
13
@redshift I have not heard of those but from Google I can see that a set of 4 costs as much as a single Bilstein 5100 which has me questioning the quality of the es9000s
Yup, that is the experiment. I'm familiar with the 5100s so I will try something new, still almost wish I had went hydro to see just how cloud like the ride is and how car sick inducing :)
 

Dustin Jackson

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2018
Posts
1,544
Reaction score
1,741
Yup, that is the experiment. I'm familiar with the 5100s so I will try something new, still almost wish I had went hydro to see just how cloud like the ride is and how car sick inducing :)
@redshift So you have a spacer for the rear, what are you going to use to lift the front?
 

bill1013

Full Access Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2020
Posts
456
Reaction score
979
Location
Waianae, Hawaii
I would stick with the air shocks as they absorb and disperse the shock better than the hydraulic ones. Fluid would transfer too much of the shock and you would definitely feel it. From a strictly analytical/scientific perspective, fluid & air/gases are basically the same in that they react in the same relevant manner. Fluid is denser, so it transfers more of the motion, or in this case shock/motion, more effectively. Gases absorb the shock better because gases are infinitely compressible. Common hydraulic fluid compresses .01% at 10k psi. It transmits the shock whereas the air/gas absorbs it. Just my opinion...
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
redshift

redshift

TYF Newbie
Joined
Jul 15, 2020
Posts
19
Reaction score
13
Hi all. Ok I finally got the parts and did the lift. I used motofab's 2 inch lower strut spacer up front and their 1.5 inch coil spacer in the rear. The front went from 36 inches to 38 and the rear went from 37.5 to 39. I also replaced my rear shocks with pro-comp ES9000s. The install in the front was standard stuff although I did need to disconnect the ball joint and tie rod to get enough room to install the bolts the correct way. In the back I ended up using my spring compressor to save time. Since the coil spacers are powder coated aluminum I lined the inside of surface that sits on the frame with some leftover sticky back rubber windows flashing in case there would be any metal on metal noise. So far so good. Although I'm afraid that I must try and curtail my instinct to go bigger/higher in the pursuit of long travel. :)


tahoe2 (3).jpg
 
OP
OP
redshift

redshift

TYF Newbie
Joined
Jul 15, 2020
Posts
19
Reaction score
13
Came out great! - What kind of rims are those?

You know they came with the truck and I had a heck of a time figuring it out, but they are discontinued liquid metal gaitlins 17x9 with, I think a -10 offset.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
132,406
Posts
1,867,546
Members
97,066
Latest member
mingo8706
Top