I’m back with an Esky this time

[Snowbound]

If they ride good and if you'll be looking to offload them, @S1W99 might could use those struts when your Magneride ones go in.

I have no issue with that. I bought these as well as the magneride struts from Suncore. That’s the same company that I bought my rear shocks and compressor from. I can’t say for sure when my magneride struts will be here but I’m definitely swapping to the OEM struts as soon as they come in. I didn’t buy a automatic suspension control module and the OEM rear shocks to bypass the front. I only paid $218 for these so I’ll let them go cheap when the time comes. I’ll also report back on how they ride and also if they sit higher and if they settle in. She don’t put many miles on so hopefully they’ll have less than 1000 miles on them, I don’t wanna wait all summer to get the OEM struts.

Edit: I always do this! I forgot to measure fender height with old struts to see what the new ones do for ride height and to see if they settle in. I’ll take a measurement as soon as I get rim back and set vehicle on ground. And then I’ll measure again after a month or so.

 

[iamdub]

I have no issue with that. I bought these as well as the magneride struts from Suncore. That’s the same company that I bought my rear shocks and compressor from. I can’t say for sure when my magneride struts will be here but I’m definitely swapping to the OEM struts as soon as they come in. I didn’t buy a automatic suspension control module and the OEM rear shocks to bypass the front. I only paid $218 for these so I’ll let them go cheap when the time comes. I’ll also report back on how they ride and also if they sit higher and if they settle in. She don’t put many miles on so hopefully they’ll have less than 1000 miles on them, I don’t wanna wait all summer to get the OEM struts.

Edit: I always do this! I forgot to measure fender height with old struts to see what the new ones do for ride height and to see if they settle in. I’ll take a measurement as soon as I get rim back and set vehicle on ground. And then I’ll measure again after a month or so.

He's been trying to get his to ride better and even bought OE ZW7 (Premium Smooth Ride) struts. His has the regular, inactive suspension. It'd be nice to know of a good solution, even better if it's cheap.

Speaking of, another member mentioned his old springs might be the problem. I always thought springs got softer with age and not firmer. In my mind, metal being loaded and flexed its entire life will only get weaker. Whatcha think?

 

[Snowbound]

He's been trying to get his to ride better and even bought OE ZW7 (Premium Smooth Ride) struts. His has the regular, inactive suspension. It'd be nice to know of a good solution, even better if it's cheap.

Speaking of, another member mentioned his old springs might be the problem. I always thought springs got softer with age and not firmer. In my mind, metal being loaded and flexed its entire life will only get weaker. Whatcha think?

I agree, the ride won’t get firmer with time, only softer because of the fatigued springs.
What comes to mind is maybe the springs aren’t fatigued but more along the lines of his tires are harder from being old and heat cycles on the rubber.
Hard ride could also be caused from bushings in front arms and/or rear trailing arms. Those bushing usually get hard and brittle and eventually start cracking.
I’ve also seen where after lowering a vehicle people complain about a rough ride and think it’s the new springs that cause it but it ends up being from the front arms and trailing arms are not in their normal cycling range and are binding at the new ride height. This isn’t the case up front when the lowering kit is done with new spindles because the arms are in the same place and just the wheel center is moved up on spindle.
These are all things that need to looked at to determine where exactly the binding is happeneing.

 

[iamdub]

I agree, the ride won’t get firmer with time, only softer because of the fatigued springs.
What comes to mind is maybe the springs aren’t fatigued but more along the lines of his tires are harder from being old and heat cycles on the rubber.
Hard ride could also be caused from bushings in front arms and/or rear trailing arms. Those bushing usually get hard and brittle and eventually start cracking.
I’ve also seen where after lowering a vehicle people complain about a rough ride and think it’s the new springs that cause it but it ends up being from the front arms and trailing arms are not in their normal cycling range and are binding at the new ride height. This isn’t the case up front when the lowering kit is done with new spindles because the arms are in the same place and just the wheel center is moved up on spindle.
These are all things that need to looked at to determine where exactly the binding is happeneing.

I don't mean to turn your thread into a diagnostics center for someone else's ride. lol

All the front suspension is new, not lowered or lifted and the tires are Michelin Defender LTX that, I think, aren't very old. IIRC, he has the factory 20s and the factory tire size. So, it's not for lack of sidewall and those Michelins are known for their ride quality.

We've pretty much narrowed it down to the strut and/or spring. Which, I'll have to retract my previous statement- He has new OEM ACDelco struts (Not "Gold"/"Professional", etc.). But, we're not 100% sure they are the ZW7 struts. They could be base model LS or even PPV/SSV struts. Everyone's fitment guide shows them to "fit" everything from the PPV to the Escalade. We've realized we couldn't trust Rock Auto's site as the information changed in the period of time between him ordering the struts and me looking them up. Also, it appears all their RPO codes are written backwards.

He has ACDelco #540-615, #20955486

 

[Snowbound]

@iamdub - don’t worry about derailing any of my threads, I bounce around on my own.
I’m gonna look up the thread in question and check it out. I’d like to know all the details so I’m not speculating. It may just be the strut or spring but there should be a way of finding out the spring rate on what he has and compare it to what it came with factory. I have a little while here at work so I’ll check it out now.

 

[Snowbound]

@iamdub- is this the thread you’re referring to?

2012 LT suspension parts

Pristine LT but is a little bumpy. 150K. I only drive around town so want to have a very smooth ride. VIN: 1GNSCBE00CR255730 I'm interested in the order of replacement and best parts. I'm not sure OEM is worth the extra money but I'll hold off to hear advice. I can't do a full rebuild all at...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

If not, link it for me.

Also on a side note, your avatar makes me go cross eyed which was probably your intention. Lol.

 

[swathdiver]

A bad strut/shock will also deliver a rough ride, especially if it doesn't move.

One guy used on of those universal assemblies and another used a hodge podge of parts but didn't replace the seats and mounts and such. It is my contention that those cannot be ignored if you want the car to ride like new.

 

[iamdub]

@iamdub- is this the thread you’re referring to?

2012 LT suspension parts

Pristine LT but is a little bumpy. 150K. I only drive around town so want to have a very smooth ride. VIN: 1GNSCBE00CR255730 I'm interested in the order of replacement and best parts. I'm not sure OEM is worth the extra money but I'll hold off to hear advice. I can't do a full rebuild all at...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

If not, link it for me.

Also on a side note, your avatar makes me go cross eyed which was probably your intention. Lol.

I didn't think to link you to the thread. But, yeah, that's the current head-scratcher. I have a bit of interest in this as well since I've always thought mine rode much firmer than how I think an LTZ would ride. Since mine is lowered on Belltech struts, I have too many other factors at play. But, his is all new stock stuff, other than the Mevotech parts.

 

[Snowbound]

After all this talk about aftermarket springs I figured I would bust mine down and keep them around for a little while. But the top nut does not want to come off. I have them soaking and I’ll try again 2mrw.
Don’t make fun of my homemade spring compressor. I made this over 20 years ago with some air shocks I had around. This thing has busted down more struts than I can count. I just don’t have it mounted on wall right now.



Side note: this springs are some heavy duty suckers. I can usually collapse springs with about 90psi and these didn’t move until I cranked regulator up to 135psi. Stiff springs on this caddy.

 

[iamdub]

After all this talk about aftermarket springs I figured I would bust mine down and keep them around for a little while. But the top nut does not want to come off. I have them soaking and I’ll try again 2mrw.
Don’t make fun of my homemade spring compressor. I made this over 20 years ago with some air shocks I had around. This thing has busted down more struts than I can count. I just don’t have it mounted on wall right now.
View attachment 367619
View attachment 367620

Side note: this springs are some heavy duty suckers. I can usually collapse springs with about 90psi and these didn’t move until I cranked regulator up to 135psi. Stiff springs on this caddy.

I began studying the pics before reading the text. I've never seen that. It's bad ass!

And, yes, these springs are crazy. I used two of the loaner kits (four compressors total) to change my struts because the screws of one pair were bending a lot.