Questions on Keys

[norsebill]

I have a 2004 Chevy Tahoe 4X4 all stock. I am looking at small lift/level of 1.5 to 3" max. I see talk and have been reading about the torsion keys. While talking with a good friend who does auto mechanic work about this subject said to try and avoid keys because it will tend to screw up the ride. Are changing keys needed or is a spacer all that is needed? I am still researching and he is willing to help but also knows about my bad back and neck and all the miles I drive each year. His concern is adjusting it out and beating me up more than I can handle from injuries.

I hope this is not a stupid question.

Bill

 

[Brad poiencot]

I put keys on my Tahoe with shock extenders and it rides like stock to me. Mine is a 2wd but I don’t think that would change the ride quality. Only options for lifting yours is lift keys, coil over conversion, or full axle drop if you wanna go bigger than 3”.

No question is stupid. It’s always a great idea to get other opinions from people that have done it so you don’t have to waste money and do it twice buddy. Hope this helps!

 

[norsebill]

thanks for the help. I am not going for anything over 3". I am a partially disabled vet and I have my mother and another elderly lady who stay with in my house with me and ride in my tahoe. So I will not be lifting more than 3". Main use will be hunting, fishing, Texas gulf coast beaches, plus lots of highway miles. so need a good mixture of off road use and hwy stability.

 

[Chubbs]

The TB keys should be a last resort. If you have the money for a suspension kit, that is the way to go. If you type what you are looking for in that box at the top, i.e. "Leveling keys," etc, you should find the results of others experiences both in testimonials & photos as hard evidence. The modified keys work by pushing the lower control arm LCA down. Unfortunately, the UCA gets pulled down too & with GMs engineering that UCA tends to bottom out on the stops used to keep the suspension within its design limits. Basically, you lose range of travel, stiffen the ride, and put the CV axle and tie rods at an operating angle which decreases the service life of all the ball joints. You skimp on the lift, you still end up paying for it in replacement parts & labor at a faster and/or sooner rate. And with your condition, I don't think you will be doing any front end rebuilds and if you don't mind paying shop charges for that I would just go ahead & get a proper suspension that drops everything in a subframe kit that is comparable to the original geometry.

you will also need to replace the shocks with any kind of lift, 2" or more. Depending on your build code, the rear springs will need replacing too. More on that if you search "zw7 suspension" and suspension substituted with "spring," "shocks," and so forth. I will add a couple of examples for you.

 

[norsebill]

And with your condition, I don't think you will be doing any front end rebuilds and if you don't mind paying shop charges for that I would just go ahead & get a proper suspension that drops everything in a subframe kit that is comparable to the original geometry.

thanks for the help. My friend the mechanic is willing to do the work for me. I just pay the parts. We are looking at what might be best options price and quality.

 

[Chubbs]

I don't mean any offense or disrespect, I'm just trying to talk you out of it while pointing you to the reasons for such. I was pouring money into updating all of the serviceables & maintenance items when I bought a 2003 4x4 back in April. I found a sweet deal on tires that would fit the 20" wheels that came on the truck; getting the front leveled out was the only way the tires were going to fit, plus it just looks 10x times better. I have the keys set at their very minimum working capacity and it's not too bad that'a way. The keys really should have never been tampered with & offered by the aftermarket but it did get me out of a jamb so I can't go on about it too much

Look these over, beginning to end. These guys did a very thorough job with keys and getting a bargain lift out of the deal but there are consequences. you can keep it simple like i did but I haven't taken mine off road yet to attest of the capabilities. It drives good highway but like I said, I have the aftermarket keys torqued on the light side, enough to level it with the back. And shock extenders with new Monroe shocks. And a good alignment guy up the street. You will definitely have to get the wheels aligned by someone with experience and has seen this kind of modified torsion key stuff before.

http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/thre...de-2-lift-bilstein-5100s-and-z71-coils.69900/

http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/finally-got-the-lift-done.98429/

 

[norsebill]

Chubbs, no offense or disrespect taken. I was just saying I would not be wasting money on shop fees.

 

[Scottydoggs]

i ran keys in my 03 gmc hd2500, worst thing i ever did. never again will i use them.

they literally make the control arm maxed out at its lowest point, and has little to no movement to them, truck would fall into potholes, front end was so stiff it would bounce and plow when taking turns. busted the shocks too.

only time it felt normal was when i had the snow plow on it, extra few hundred lbs helped out a ton.

 

[Countryboy07]

EBay keys, 1.5" coil spacers, and Bilstine 5100's and the ride is pretty much like stock, just a bit firmer. As long as you don't crank your keys to the max, angles won't be terrible and ride will be close to stock.



Another option would be completely stock suspension and throw on a 1.5" body lift for a little extra height.

 

[O5Denali]

Countryboy mind posting a picture of your CV angles and also a side shot of your rig to see the 1.5" spacers to fender distance better? Beautiful rig but I'm not sure if I want 2" spacers with flares or 1.5" spacers without flares. Guess the deciding factor is if I can fix the light bubbling of rust I got on the fender lip lol

Does anyone use extended swaybar links? I think thats often over looked or not talked about.