Have a 2015 PPV with Z56 suspension that I want to replace with a smoother ride suspension

[falconK]

Hi,
I"m new here.
I recently purchased this 2015 Tahoe PPV. The whole vehicle is in exceptional conditions as it was never used as a police car, and was never involved in any kind of pursuit. I had owened suburbans for many years, and I loved the ride. This time around I decided to try a shorter Tahoe, and found this amazing PPV at a very low price.
I knew that the PPV ride was going to be rougher than the civilian counterpart and I thought I could bear it. However, lately the wife and the kids started complaning already about the roughness of the ride. So I'll bite the bullet and try to fix that.
To begind with, would anybody here point me in the right direction about the following:
1) My understanding is that the set of parts I need to replace for a smoother ride includes the front struts and the rear shocks and coil springs. Is that right? or are there any other parts that need to be replaced as well?
2) I see that my PPV has the Z56 RPO for the police suspension. What are the equivalent civilian shocks and struts that I need to buy for a smooth ride? I understand that there some parts with electronic/magnetic/etc. features that many people avoid due to the high price, so I'd like to stay away from those. I just need regular basic parts that can make the ride smooth. None of my older suburbans had any fency technology suspension parts, and the ride was always smooth, so I'd like to do the same for this PPV.
3) Would anybody here be interested in upgrading? their civilian Tahoe smooth suspension to a PPV police suspension? I would be interested in swapping parts as long as they are in excelent conditions.

Thank you very much for your attention and any advise you could provide.
Al

 

[slupie]

https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/forums/police-package-specialty-service-discussion.142/

2016 Chevy Tahoe Police Package Suspension Questions

I have some questions hopefully someone can help me out with. Last year I purchased a 2016 Chevy Tahoe Police Package brand new. They come with a pursuit suspension package and its a pretty rough ride. You feel every bump because the suspension is real tight and it sits lower to the ground. Im...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

 

[falconK]

Thank you for the links above. However, even though those links describe a very similar situation that I was trying to solve I could not find specific model or ID numbers of the parts that would fit in a 2015 Tahoe PPV to make the ride smooth. So I had to do more research on my own, and finally decided to order the following items from Amazon. I just sent my order, so I will update when I get the parts in place and the results I obtain.
Found a package with the 2 front complete struts (shock + spring) plus the 2 rear shocks.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0756K2DFS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=AALFDUTOVTHOO&psc=1

"COMPLETESTRUTS - Front Complete Strut Assemblies with Coil Springs and Rear Shock Absorbers Replacement for 2007-2018 Chevrolet Tahoe - Set of 4"
And the rear set of coil springs:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BN6QXZ7Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2F8QH83YSA2LG&psc=1

GM Genuine Parts 23154237 Rear Coil Spring

Please note that although the rear springs are a "GM Genuine part", the set of struts and rear shocks where the most economical set I found in Amazon, so I'm not expecting high quality at all. My strategy was to try those cheap parts first and see if the fit as Amazon said they would, and secondly if they make my ride smooth.
Later on if these parts work I will order better quality ones knowing that they did actually make my ride smooth, as right now with the original PPV parts I can feel every sand grain on the road :=|

I will post my results later.

 

[BlaineBug]

Where are you located?

 

[TahoeHelp]

Thank you for the links above. However, even though those links describe a very similar situation that I was trying to solve I could not find specific model or ID numbers of the parts that would fit in a 2015 Tahoe PPV to make the ride smooth. So I had to do more research on my own, and finally decided to order the following items from Amazon. I just sent my order, so I will update when I get the parts in place and the results I obtain.
Found a package with the 2 front complete struts (shock + spring) plus the 2 rear shocks.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0756K2DFS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=AALFDUTOVTHOO&psc=1

"COMPLETESTRUTS - Front Complete Strut Assemblies with Coil Springs and Rear Shock Absorbers Replacement for 2007-2018 Chevrolet Tahoe - Set of 4"
And the rear set of coil springs:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BN6QXZ7Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2F8QH83YSA2LG&psc=1

GM Genuine Parts 23154237 Rear Coil Spring

Please note that although the rear springs are a "GM Genuine part", the set of struts and rear shocks where the most economical set I found in Amazon, so I'm not expecting high quality at all. My strategy was to try those cheap parts first and see if the fit as Amazon said they would, and secondly if they make my ride smooth.
Later on if these parts work I will order better quality ones knowing that they did actually make my ride smooth, as right now with the original PPV parts I can feel every sand grain on the road :=|

I will post my results later.

Looking forward to the follow up. Good luck hope it all goes smooth!

 

[falconK]

UPDATE:
I ended up purchasing the following rear springs since these are cheaper than the "Original OEM" part 23154237 from my previous post.
These ones are

Moog 81071 Coil Spring Set​

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00498UJ0U?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

My understanding is that 81069 are stiffer for pulling trailers, but even though I intend to pull my small boat once in a while I preferred the somother 81071.
I just installed the rear springs and shocks, and my wife is like OMG!! (the Tahoe PPV is my wife's car). With only half of the parts installed is already like night and day in terms of the smoothness of the ride. We had a banging noise somewhere under the plastic cover under the back seat or 3rd row seat that was driving us crazy because it would bounce on every little bump on the road. I've spent a lot of time looking for what that was with no luck. Then studently, with the rear parts installed, that banging noise is GONE! I could not be any happier already. I'm even questioning if I still need the new FRONT parts installed. But since I already have them I will still get them installed. Since the front will need alignment after the installation I decided to have somebody else do the installation and the alignment at the same time for me.
I did install the rear parts myself in one afternoon, it is really easy to do, as long as you have the car high enough for the rear axel to drop down enough so the new springs fit right in. In my case I didn't crank the jack high enough and the tire touched the ground so it didn't allow the axel to drop enough, so I had to use the spring compressor to make the new spring fit in the space (I could have removed the tire, but I didn't). Then for the other side I did lift the car high enough, the axel dropped enough and the new spring went right in. No problem at all.
Just make sure that if the break hoses are not long enough you will have to detach the holder from the axel, so the axel can drop enough.

Another thing that I wanted to mention is that the height at the rear gained about 2.5 inches with the Moog 81071 springs I purchased. I was not intending for that to happen, I was hoping the height would remain the same, but in the end my wife hasn't even noticed the difference in the height, so I'm not going to complain. But just be aware if you don't want your height to change then you need to purchase different springs. I think the shocks are ok either way.

I will post again when I have the front struts installed and see if that gains additional inches in height.

NOTE: When I purchased the rear springs I did notice that the new ones had more coils per spring than the existing ones (about 8 vs 5), but I figured that that was the reason the ride would be smoother since more coils allow the spring to be less rigid and compress more smoothly. Also, the new springs were about 2 inches taller than the old ones when compared uninstalled side to side. I was kind of expecting that the additional coils would compress and keep the car at the same height. However that was not the case and I ended up gaining the 2 inches or so in height.
So I was thinking that if you don't want any additional lift, maybe you have to find springs that are the same height as the old ones.

 

[tom3]

Those new springs might sag a bit in time. And you're right that more coils genreally equals a better ride.

 

[falconK]

Where are you located?

Central coast California

 

[falconK]

UPDATE:
I ended up purchasing the following rear springs since these are cheaper than the "Original OEM" part 23154237 from my previous post.
These ones are

Moog 81071 Coil Spring Set​

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00498UJ0U?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

My understanding is that 81069 are stiffer for pulling trailers, but even though I intend to pull my small boat once in a while I preferred the somother 81071.
I just installed the rear springs and shocks, and my wife is like OMG!! (the Tahoe PPV is my wife's car). With only half of the parts installed is already like night and day in terms of the smoothness of the ride. We had a banging noise somewhere under the plastic cover under the back seat or 3rd row seat that was driving us crazy because it would bounce on every little bump on the road. I've spent a lot of time looking for what that was with no luck. Then studently, with the rear parts installed, that banging noise is GONE! I could not be any happier already. I'm even questioning if I still need the new FRONT parts installed. But since I already have them I will still get them installed. Since the front will need alignment after the installation I decided to have somebody else do the installation and the alignment at the same time for me.
I did install the rear parts myself in one afternoon, it is really easy to do, as long as you have the car high enough for the rear axel to drop down enough so the new springs fit right in. In my case I didn't crank the jack high enough and the tire touched the ground so it didn't allow the axel to drop enough, so I had to use the spring compressor to make the new spring fit in the space (I could have removed the tire, but I didn't). Then for the other side I did lift the car high enough, the axel dropped enough and the new spring went right in. No problem at all.
Just make sure that if the break hoses are not long enough you will have to detach the holder from the axel, so the axel can drop enough.

Another thing that I wanted to mention is that the height at the rear gained about 2.5 inches with the Moog 81071 springs I purchased. I was not intending for that to happen, I was hoping the height would remain the same, but in the end my wife hasn't even noticed the difference in the height, so I'm not going to complain. But just be aware if you don't want your height to change then you need to purchase different springs. I think the shocks are ok either way.

I will post again when I have the front struts installed and see if that gains additional inches in height.

NOTE: When I purchased the rear springs I did notice that the new ones had more coils per spring than the existing ones (about 8 vs 5), but I figured that that was the reason the ride would be smoother since more coils allow the spring to be less rigid and compress more smoothly. Also, the new springs were about 2 inches taller than the old ones when compared uninstalled side to side. I was kind of expecting that the additional coils would compress and keep the car at the same height. However that was not the case and I ended up gaining the 2 inches or so in height.
So I was thinking that if you don't want any additional lift, maybe you have to find springs that are the same height as the old ones.

UPDATE:
I finally had a chance to take my PPV to the shop to have the new front struts installed.
After a few rides with the new struts installed, we came up to the conclusion that those struts DID NOT make a noticeable difference.
My ride was already smooth with ONLY THE REAR springs and shocks installed, and after the new front struts were installed the ride was almost the same.
So my advise for anyone looking at this post is: Just replace the REAR spring and shocks, it is not worth it to replace the front struts. The new rear springs and shocks made my ride as smooth as it could get. Now we are really happy with our PPV's ride.
I hope this helps anybody out there

 

[falconK]

ALSO:
I have the original PPV (police grade) REAR shocks and springs.
If anyone is interested I can give them to you for free, you just pay for the shipping, or if you are in the California Central Coast area you can pick them up for free. Let me know at [email protected]