3" lift done. question

[Gamecocks]

I need some help guys. I have 04 tahoe z71. I've done my research and pulled the trigger. So I did the bielstein 5100 front and rear shocks, forged 3" keys, and 2" spacer for the rear. I'm not happy with the front end. It's extremely bouncy (stiff as a board). I did not have a torque wrench for when I installed front shocks. Could this be reason why it's bouncy? I haven't done alignment yet but will get that done after work today.

 

[Mechahead]

Sounds like the keys are cranked up to high. Have you tried backing them off a bit to see if the ride improves?

 

[TxDrewski]

Yeah FYI on the keys, I put some on my 3/4 Ton Dmax and cranked about 4 inches out of them, put new shocks on it and it drove just like yours, stiff as a board. About 2000 miles and i snapped the upper ball joint. Had to put on some Kryptonite UCA's with MOOG ball joints to fix the angles. Ride improved but only slightly. Thats the downside to keys I suppose....

 

[01Konvict]

I would suspect keys are too cranked and riding stiff, back them down some and see how it does

 

[justinlw]

You're not going to level the front to the 2" rear spacers. I have 1" spacers with the front cranked to .50" lower than level and it rides decent. Even at this height I'm not happy with the ball joint, steering, and cv shaft angles.

There's probably .50" between the UCA and droop stop on mine, so cranked up where yours are I'm sure yours is riding on the stops. Also, did you get the lift specific 5100's?

 

[TxDrewski]

You're not going to level the front to the 2" rear spacers. I have 1" spacers with the front cranked to .50" lower than level and it rides decent. Even at this height I'm not happy with the ball joint, steering, and cv shaft angles.

There's probably .50" between the UCA and droop stop on mine, so cranked up where yours are I'm sure yours is riding on the stops. Also, did you get the lift specific 5100's?

Agreed, i had 2 " spacers on my duramax with the aftermarket keys cranked to max and it still had lean. Like I said, the Kryptonite UCA's were a MUST on that truck after. Wish someone made them for my 1/2 ton specifically for lift key angles like Kryptonite or Cognito do for the 3/4 ton.

 

[Gamecocks]

You're not going to level the front to the 2" rear spacers. I have 1" spacers with the front cranked to .50" lower than level and it rides decent. Even at this height I'm not happy with the ball joint, steering, and cv shaft angles.

There's probably .50" between the UCA and droop stop on mine, so cranked up where yours are I'm sure yours is riding on the stops. Also, did you get the lift specific 5100's?

Yes I ordered the specific 5100 as I've read on the form. How tight are you to torque the nut on the front shocks? I don't have torque wrench so I got them pretty tight. Or does it even matter?

 

[TxDrewski]

Yeah I doubt the tightness of the nut has anything to do with your ride quality. Pretty sure you've just cranked too much on the keys, as most people (including myself) have done.

 

[Gamecocks]

Well I put the bolt back to "stock" where it was before. From ground to fender I'm at 40"

 

[TxDrewski]

How does it ride now?