Clacking noise on lowered Hybrid (Belltech)
- Thread starter CYKBC
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I'll have my honest feedback on this entire experience centered on modifying the suspension, wheels and tires on my hybrid once I get the final bits and pieces done up to my liking. Tony's availability is truly 24/7, but you're not just buying service. You're buying the product (which Tony resells) + service and if you can read between the lines, my feedback isn't gung-** stellar like some of you make it seem to be. But I do thank Tony and others on here for the helping hand. We're all enthusiasts of these rides at the end of the day. Nothing personal. All business.
Please stay tuned!
Please stay tuned!
So i followed tony's advice and used heater hose to wrap the two belltech rear springs secured by a bunch of zip ties. never once on this forum (browsing lowering threads) or from anyone else was i advised that this "mod" may be necessary. hopefully this thread sparks some discussion and resulting resolution.
i have some obvious concerns. i am just a customer and have no gripes of any kind with anyone to be quite clear. i ***know*** tony's trying his best and it may well be a learning process for him since there arent many hybrids to begin with.
if you look above, you'll see that the actual paint on the springs has been worn away. this is over probably two to three days of driving and testing it out on speed bumps at your local malls, parking garages and the like when i happened to come across them. nothing abusive. just very normal driving. i baby all of my cars.
the driver side shows more of this wear than the passenger side. i'm concerned about the metal being exposed underneath esp over time. i live in rainy pnw and there's inevitably going to be dirt and moisture trapped in there even with the heater hose covering it. given the heavier hybrid compared to the ltz, im' thinking belltech should supply springs with properly engineered plastic covering like the ones you see on stock springs or simply not sell them at all.
as you can extrapolate, i'm kinda stuck here. i am enjoying the lowered look and not sure if there's any hybrid specific lowering springs out there or lowering springs with proper spring wraps. the only real outcome i can see that may work is to get a set of new springs and cover them up with heater hose from the get go.
thoughts? thx!
i have some obvious concerns. i am just a customer and have no gripes of any kind with anyone to be quite clear. i ***know*** tony's trying his best and it may well be a learning process for him since there arent many hybrids to begin with.
if you look above, you'll see that the actual paint on the springs has been worn away. this is over probably two to three days of driving and testing it out on speed bumps at your local malls, parking garages and the like when i happened to come across them. nothing abusive. just very normal driving. i baby all of my cars.
the driver side shows more of this wear than the passenger side. i'm concerned about the metal being exposed underneath esp over time. i live in rainy pnw and there's inevitably going to be dirt and moisture trapped in there even with the heater hose covering it. given the heavier hybrid compared to the ltz, im' thinking belltech should supply springs with properly engineered plastic covering like the ones you see on stock springs or simply not sell them at all.
as you can extrapolate, i'm kinda stuck here. i am enjoying the lowered look and not sure if there's any hybrid specific lowering springs out there or lowering springs with proper spring wraps. the only real outcome i can see that may work is to get a set of new springs and cover them up with heater hose from the get go.
thoughts? thx!
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Honestly Ben I know next to nothing about lowering, and I had my own kit on for just a few days before I took it off ... I hated the stiffness of the ride and was unwilling to cut my bump stop brackets. But this is relevant more to the more aggressive 2/4 drop kit on a Hybrid that I had compared to what you have.
Quite honestly I never even knew this problem existed, but to be honest, you know that I think you've overcomplicated this drop. All you really wanted was an inch/inch and a half drop in the back to rid the massive gap and keep some rake. The simple McG 30014 kit and a spacer would have accomplished all that for $250 with no shocks or anything else needed, and another Hybrid owner on the forum has run it without any of the issues and complications you've encountered. Or without a spacer and the one inch front drop you have.
It's a bit late for all that of course, and I'm sorry I have no helpful input to offer.
Quite honestly I never even knew this problem existed, but to be honest, you know that I think you've overcomplicated this drop. All you really wanted was an inch/inch and a half drop in the back to rid the massive gap and keep some rake. The simple McG 30014 kit and a spacer would have accomplished all that for $250 with no shocks or anything else needed, and another Hybrid owner on the forum has run it without any of the issues and complications you've encountered. Or without a spacer and the one inch front drop you have.
It's a bit late for all that of course, and I'm sorry I have no helpful input to offer.
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appreciate the candor, serge, and i don't believe i've overcomplicated anything given my wants/needs:
-the rear with the belltech springs/shocks + 1" spacer ends up being a 1.5-1.75" drop which is perfect. a half inch less and it sits too high for me. sans spacer, the 2" lowering becomes 2.5"+ on the hybrid --> rubs even with liner trimming. i would knock a 2/4 lowering straight outta bed and into the gutter.
-i order to keep the rake that's pleasing to me, i had to lower the front by .5"
all the above necessitates that i source a good aftermarket strut/spring setup and then go through the trial/error process. everyone else in hybrid land goes at it too level or too aggressive a drop. if i had someone who wanted to retain stock ride quality, attain a slightly less aggressive rake, i would've gladly followed their process down to the T! believe me, my time is important to me and going back and forth to shops around town and taking calls with less than ideal results was not my idea of fun. it was simply an outcome of the vetting process.
additionally, i do not like matching stock shocks to aftermarket springs esp when the lowering is that aggressive in the rear coupled with the fact that i am running a heavier/bigger wheel/tire setup. with the hybrid as-is today, i can say confidently that it rides very similar to stock which is a great result. by going with one reseller and one brand, i have less throats to choke so to speak. can you imagine the real added complexity if i went with x spring brand and y shock brand? no thx.
the only reason why i'm here documenting this is because i haven't found anyone else with a hybrid with my specs. given how much you and others have been so generous with yoru time, it's my way of repaying the community.
-the rear with the belltech springs/shocks + 1" spacer ends up being a 1.5-1.75" drop which is perfect. a half inch less and it sits too high for me. sans spacer, the 2" lowering becomes 2.5"+ on the hybrid --> rubs even with liner trimming. i would knock a 2/4 lowering straight outta bed and into the gutter.
-i order to keep the rake that's pleasing to me, i had to lower the front by .5"
all the above necessitates that i source a good aftermarket strut/spring setup and then go through the trial/error process. everyone else in hybrid land goes at it too level or too aggressive a drop. if i had someone who wanted to retain stock ride quality, attain a slightly less aggressive rake, i would've gladly followed their process down to the T! believe me, my time is important to me and going back and forth to shops around town and taking calls with less than ideal results was not my idea of fun. it was simply an outcome of the vetting process.
additionally, i do not like matching stock shocks to aftermarket springs esp when the lowering is that aggressive in the rear coupled with the fact that i am running a heavier/bigger wheel/tire setup. with the hybrid as-is today, i can say confidently that it rides very similar to stock which is a great result. by going with one reseller and one brand, i have less throats to choke so to speak. can you imagine the real added complexity if i went with x spring brand and y shock brand? no thx.
the only reason why i'm here documenting this is because i haven't found anyone else with a hybrid with my specs. given how much you and others have been so generous with yoru time, it's my way of repaying the community.
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Well, your rear drop is an unaggressive as it can really be ... pretty much akin to putting my in-laws on your 3rd row seat and driving around, so i'm pretty sure that ride quality would have been retained with the factory shocks.
Once again I don't know enough about shocks and their characteristics, but is it possible that the BT ones are the reason the springs are tapping on themselves? Perhaps the factory ones are stiffer and don't allow for that much compression? I dunno.
Once again I don't know enough about shocks and their characteristics, but is it possible that the BT ones are the reason the springs are tapping on themselves? Perhaps the factory ones are stiffer and don't allow for that much compression? I dunno.
Then it'd be too level. Then I'd be running stock rear suspension parts with aftermarket fronts. I've done my drilling down here bud. Plus none of your in laws can simulate the added unsprung mass per wheel but hey maybe you have some special in laws.
All I know is none of us will ever know because none of this backed up by anyone's warranty. My wallet is the primary caretaker. You guys provide public oversight to a certain extent. Lets say tony and belltech say its noy our problem. Would you guys agree here?
Only the factory bumper to bumper is golden. So I know full well the benefits and concerns of going aftermarket.
Like I stated I'm very happy with the results. I just want some coverage/opinion on worn paint on springs! I know it won't blow up on me tomorrow (knock on wood) but again as stated I'm thinking long term as this tahoe is my beater truck.
All I know is none of us will ever know because none of this backed up by anyone's warranty. My wallet is the primary caretaker. You guys provide public oversight to a certain extent. Lets say tony and belltech say its noy our problem. Would you guys agree here?
Only the factory bumper to bumper is golden. So I know full well the benefits and concerns of going aftermarket.
Like I stated I'm very happy with the results. I just want some coverage/opinion on worn paint on springs! I know it won't blow up on me tomorrow (knock on wood) but again as stated I'm thinking long term as this tahoe is my beater truck.
Actually my in-laws can do a lot with their shifting weight.
Seriously tho ... your factory shocks are built to handle 22s as they are an accessory option for autoride and non autoride trucks alike. Having run 22s with your exact tire dimensions and with the truck full of people ride quality was surprisingly close to stock. Plus my in-law analogy is a poor one anyway as there's a difference between shlepping extra weight and simply dropping the truck without added weight.
Anyhoot, I hope the heater hose solution solves the issue for you ... although on its face it seems more of a treating the symptom than curing the disease sort of approach.
Seriously tho ... your factory shocks are built to handle 22s as they are an accessory option for autoride and non autoride trucks alike. Having run 22s with your exact tire dimensions and with the truck full of people ride quality was surprisingly close to stock. Plus my in-law analogy is a poor one anyway as there's a difference between shlepping extra weight and simply dropping the truck without added weight.
Anyhoot, I hope the heater hose solution solves the issue for you ... although on its face it seems more of a treating the symptom than curing the disease sort of approach.
Actually my in-laws can do a lot with their shifting weight.
Seriously tho ... your factory shocks are built to handle 22s as they are an accessory option for autoride and non autoride trucks alike. Having run 22s with your exact tire dimensions and with the truck full of people ride quality was surprisingly close to stock. Plus my in-law analogy is a poor one anyway as there's a difference between shlepping extra weight and simply dropping the truck without added weight.
Anyhoot, I hope the heater hose solution solves the issue for you ... although on its face it seems more of a treating the symptom than curing the disease sort of approach.
c'mon, you're not stupid, serge! chauffeuring the in-laws over the holidays might as well be mars to long term reliability/comfort's venus.
neither you and i know or care to do the research to figure out whether in fact the hybrid strut/springs share the same part numbers as those that are not whether running 18s or 22s. thinking it thru espn style here, pls correct me if i'm wrong ,but i believe the only other gm hybrid suv that doesn't have autoride like the tahoe is the yukon and they 2come with 18s stock. both the denali and escalade hybrids come with 22s w/ autoride. so how do you suppose the stock hybrid tahoe shocks are built to handle 22s? did hillybilly PM you?
not sure how many times i need to restate this here that i'm very happy with the ride and looks of my current setup. no other setup could get me the same results i'm getting with the belltechs. the only reason why i'm even tolerating home depot heater hosing the belltech springs is because the rear hybrid springs come with plastic wraps (you and likely no one else knew this either or you simply never shared it).
if i had an issue with the very unpopular mcG's (one hybrid sample? who's to say these won't clack too?), who do i call for support? certainly wouldn't bother tony! the list goes on and on. i just want to know if tony/belltech feel it's OK to run the springs in their current condition. i've sent an email to belltech pointing them to this thread via their website
of all people on this site, i thought you'd be gung-** about my documented approach to this! i'm totally cool with agreeing to disagree though i'm not sure exactly what we're blabbering on about. i know what i want and i get it done. allin good fun.
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neither you and i know or care to do the research to figure out whether in fact the hybrid strut/springs share the same part numbers as those that are not whether running 18s or 22s. thinking it thru espn style here, pls correct me if i'm wrong ,but i believe the only other gm hybrid suv that doesn't have autoride like the tahoe is the yukon and they 2come with 18s stock. both the denali and escalade hybrids come with 22s w/ autoride. so how do you suppose the stock hybrid tahoe shocks are built to handle 22s? did hillybilly PM you?
Actually, other than the fact that I ran them I know the ride characteristics first hand, I have it in writing from GM that my Hybrid suspension is/was not adversely affected by running 22s. I sought this in writing before I ordered them to be assured that my warranty will not be affected. I'm happy to dig out the email through my archives for you should you find it necessary. So perhaps a little check on the snarkiness would be advisable, as well as attempting to quote me in a seeming contradiction.
True I did not know that stock shocks come with isolators, but as I conceded at the start that's one of a plethora of things I don't know about suspension.
Anyhoot, I'm done here.
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