Magnetic ride shock replacements

[wjburken]

Looking for some help from anyone who has the knowledge! We have a 2016 Yukon Denali XL and over the past year, the magneride suspension has been increasingly irritating to my husband. So he decided late in the summer to try a conversion kit. He found this "kit" from Suncore: Suncore Industries - Electronic Active Suspension to Quick Complete Strut & Gas Shock Conversion Kit - GMC, Cadillac & Chevy , which I see earlier in this post won't work for the Z95 suspension which I also realized in this post, is what he have with our Denali. Now it frustrates me that Suncore specifically lists two Denali models in their compatibility chart for which this kit is supposed to work, so i think we should be able to return (but I digress). The hubs also purchased rear shocks from PartsGeek because the Suncore kit rear shocks didn't have the connection for the air ride (or air leveling) functionality which our old rear shocks did. Then, after battling with the "service suspension" error, he finally made a last ditch effort to ensure we had the right resistors by purchasing and installing these off of Ebay: Strut Bypass Kit 2013-2019. GMC, Chevrolet, Cadillac F55 And F95 Struts. | eBay , which STILL doesn't fix the "service suspension" error.
It sounds like we either need to buy the Arnott front and rear and/or get the sims (simulators?) from Xineering. I also read in another forum that if you tow with your vehicle (which we do - a 21' boat) that you should leave the rear shocks as the magneride. Is it critical to have the actual magneride shock or just to ensure we have something that enables the air ride/air leveling? Now, he has not retained the old front shocks that were changed out and he removed the plugs/wiring harness to install the resistors so we are limited in how far we can go back from where we're at without replacing some of the original parts. But what I really need to know is what is the ideal setup so that we can tow the boat easily/safely and get rid of the service suspension error once and for all. I am also somewhat interested in whether someone can describe the specific differences in the components of the Z55 Autoride (which we don't have but apparently bought the conversion kit for) vs. the Z95 Magneride suspension which our Yukon Denali had before all this started. Apologies for the lengthy post but was very happy to stumble upon this critical link here that we were previously missing! Have been chasing this for a while. Thanks for whatever info anyone is willing to offer!

1st off, Welcome to the forum from Iowa.

As far as your suspension, Magnaride and AutoLevel are two different systems. Magnaride adjusts the dampening of your shocks for varying road conditions. AutoLevel simply lifts or lowers your rearmed to keep the vehicle on an even keel.

If I had to chose, I would definitely keep the AutoLevel and forgo the Magnaride. AutoLevel will be what you want for towing.

One thing to check, and this may not apply to the 2015+ units, is the ABS connector for the rear wheels. In the 2007-2014 models, that connector is in the way of the upper shock bolt and many times gets bumped and disconnected. Arnott even puts a warning about this in the box with their rear shocks. If they get bumped, you will get a warning. This may not be your issue, but just an idea.

 

[mb1500]

I agree I view magnaride as a gimmick and autoride as a functional component.

 

[olyelr]

Just order up some xineering sims to delete the magnaride and be done with it. They are a great company to work with and will help you out if you have issues along the way. Cant stress that enough. Seriously.

If the rear air shocks he purchased are not magnaride shocks or do not have the magnaride delete built in then he will need the sims for the rear too. Most likely will need the ride height trim procedure performed as well.

As far as towing, I highly recommend the rear air setup. Love how it has worked on my wifes ‘16 denali xl. Shes got over 100k on it now so I just replaced them with Arnetts rear air shocks with built in magnaride delete. FLAWLESS.

 

[Denise Kilgus]

Huge thanks to all of you for the great info!! Will be ordering the sims (front and rear) here shortly. I do love my Yukon, so am very glad this forum exists. Will have to troll around for some help in diagnosing the "service driver assist system" error too! Thanks again, All!

 

[RobDenali]

I too am saying goodbye to magnetic ride . I am waiting for the bilstien 5100 struts to be back in stock. When I get them Ill drive around with the error message until I do business with shock sims. They have a new system now that plugs into the scanner port (but you still need to terminate each corner but no need to mess with the height. Can't wait my truck sags in the front like a 70's muscle car

 

[olyelr]

I too am saying goodbye to magnetic ride . I am waiting for the bilstien 5100 struts to be back in stock. When I get them Ill drive around with the error message until I do business with shock sims. They have a new system now that plugs into the scanner port (but you still need to terminate each corner but no need to mess with the height. Can't wait my truck sags in the front like a 70's muscle car

You raising the front or lowering the rear?

 

[Thrust]

Just to second the Xineering sims do work great. I have Arnotts in the rear, and the half kit Xineering in the front with KYBs. The ride is alot better and the Yukon doesn't sit low in the front anymore due to the magnarides.

 

[RobDenali]

You raising the front or lowering the rear?

the bilstien's will def raise the front. I havent got a clear answer yet but I might even have to use a spacer in the rear to stay level. I am hoping to get it done by the end of the month.

 

[olyelr]

the bilstien's will def raise the front. I havent got a clear answer yet but I might even have to use a spacer in the rear to stay level. I am hoping to get it done by the end of the month.

Are they adjustable?

I had a 1.5” leveling kit on my wifes denali before I put the Fox struts in...that seemed to be about the perfect stance to me. I have the Fox lowered down to about 2-2.5” now (I think anyway) and it is borderline too tall up front, for my liking anyway.

 

[RobDenali]

Are they adjustable?

I had a 1.5” leveling kit on my wifes denali before I put the Fox struts in...that seemed to be about the perfect stance to me. I have the Fox lowered down to about 2-2.5” now (I think anyway) and it is borderline too tall up front, for my liking anyway.

They use a ring and have three settings I believe when you order them you need to specify what setting you want. I heard people have had problems when changing the setting afterwards. It could be they need a new ring. I am still learning myself so take everything I say with a pound of sand.