How do I get my Tahoe to ride/handle like my 3500HD?

[dbphillips]

the lean and sway is from the suspension at standard height the widest tire you will most likely fit is a 305 that will still rub at full lock and will do practially nothing as far as handling
you "might" get a little better grip (accelerating/braking) depending on the tire, wider tires are heavier, might cause less response, they are less efficient and can cause oversteer and might actually feel less stable in sharp turns

Yeah, I never suggested wider tires, just stiffer sidewalls. It always depends, but it was amazing what I had to do to my Volvo C70 with 17" rims to get similar feel to a friend's with 18". 18's were undesirable, as he had already destroyed a couple wheels because of the 45 series sidewall, and Volvo generated road holding via excessive camber in the back, which destroyed tires.

 

[Doubeleive]

Oh, duh, OP should just go test drive a Tahoe with 22" rims...

LOL, i'm guessing that's what he has already. In stock form handling isn't "great" but beats a ford.
The newer T2's have so many nannies you can't do anything with them by comparison, there crippled.

 

[dbphillips]

LOL, i'm guessing that's what he has already. In stock form handling isn't "great" but beats a ford.
The newer T2's have so many nannies you can't do anything with them by comparison, there crippled.

He has 18's. On 22's, mine is stupid good handling, and it's an RST, so no air.

 

[Doubeleive]

Yeah, I never suggested wider tires, just stiffer sidewalls. It always depends, but it was amazing what I had to do to my Volvo C70 with 17" rims to get similar feel to a friend's with 18". 18's were undesirable, as he had already destroyed a couple wheels because of the 45 series sidewall, and Volvo generated road holding via excessive camber in the back, which destroyed tires.

low profile.... still won't stop body roll & sway
if you have to make a quick manuever on the highway for instance a swerve to avoid hitting a object in the road or a stopped vehicle it's going to wig wag on you, firming up the suspension will help prevent that or make it much less instrusive/faster correction. better shocks/struts, better sway bars, air suspension bags.
the oem struts on the k2's can start going bad at 40k miles, that's been reported since they came out new, they lock up and ride like crap, leak, etc

 

[Doubeleive]

He has 18's. On 22's, mine is stupid good handling, and it's an RST, so no air.

the z71 probably does have 18's... but tires are only going to do so much, suspension is what needs to be addressed. If it has those crap rancho shocks that would explain a lot
** I missed where he stated it does have 18's those are standard for z71

 

[Bill Barnes]

hellwig sway bars front & rear. bilstein 4600/5100, maybe some airlift 1000
the pickup has leaf springs so different system

I concur with you on the Bilstein shocks. My Yukon XL SLT had the ZW7 Premium Smooth Ride option, so in addition to the 4600 shocks I had to buy the Bilstein rear coil springs, but it made a big difference from the factory ride and handling. Very small spend for a big improvement.

 

[vcode]

low profile.... still won't stop body roll & sway
if you have to make a quick manuever on the highway for instance a swerve to avoid hitting a object in the road or a stopped vehicle it's going to wig wag on you, firming up the suspension will help prevent that or make it much less instrusive/faster correction. better shocks/struts, better sway bars, air suspension bags.
the oem struts on the k2's can start going bad at 40k miles, that's been reported since they came out new, they lock up and ride like crap, leak, etc

From a Car and Driver test in 2018...... "The Tahoe RST generated 0.75 g of grip around the skidpad and showed moderate understeer. That’s exactly the same amount of grip available in a standard Tahoe, a disappointing performance considering the RST’s massive P285/45R-22 Bridgestone Duelers and its performance-tuned dampers." I bet a 3500 would be lucky to reach 0.68 g's......

 

[Doubeleive]

From a Car and Driver test in 2018...... "The Tahoe RST generated 0.75 g of grip around the skidpad and showed moderate understeer. That’s exactly the same amount of grip available in a standard Tahoe, a disappointing performance considering the RST’s massive P285/45R-22 Bridgestone Duelers and its performance-tuned dampers." I bet a 3500 would be lucky to reach 0.68 g's......

There is always some room for improvement on the stock suspension, it can be a matter of how much do you want to sacrifice for it and how much you want to spend.

 

[dbphillips]

From a Car and Driver test in 2018...... "The Tahoe RST generated 0.75 g of grip around the skidpad and showed moderate understeer. That’s exactly the same amount of grip available in a standard Tahoe, a disappointing performance considering the RST’s massive P285/45R-22 Bridgestone Duelers and its performance-tuned dampers." I bet a 3500 would be lucky to reach 0.68 g's......

Interesting. I'd have to check the specs on the LS, but i find it highly unlikely the results would truly be the same if the tires are wider and have shorter sidewalls and the dampers are upgraded.

Maybe different days, different weather, rubber build up, moisture... I can drive awfully stupid with our RST and have plenty of control. Heck, even with the trailer it's super solid.

*Ohhh... 2018. That's previous generation. You are only going to do so much with a solid axle. But that doesn't necessarily correlate to a stiffer ride.

** Wandered out of latest gen forum. Mea culpa! Closest i got is going to 16 inch wheels from 15 on Astro took out a lot of roll...

 

[Marky Dissod]

Didn't Car&Driver have something to say about suspecting that GM tuned not only the suspension, but also the stability control intervention to protect the engine?
Don't quote me on the exact details ...