Blackmamba
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what company did you go with to lift the avalanche?
Small lift for the wife's daily driver?
- Thread starter Badmunky
- Start date
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felixgun
Full Access Member
Top Gun Customz for the front. It's a very popular front leveling kit on GMFS (that's where I found out about them) but no one on here uses em. For the 1.5" rear spacer, I found some on eBay for like $50-60 I think.
Blackmamba
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Yeah, i looked on ebay. i think i will go with the 2.5 with the 1 in the rear through CCM. Its all the same stuff. my ride is so rough especially with these roads in NJ. Should have it all put on by the end of the month. Thanks for the help.
-David
-David
Re: Retaining the Nivomats
I've done it with 2" spacers and 2" shock extenders and it's worked fine for the last 7+ months or so. I tow with mine too. The extensions effectively adjust the neutral point of the shocks in accordance with the new higher ride height provided by the coil spacers.
http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52533
The Nivomats "want" to be a specific average length as you ride down the road. They are paired up with coil springs that are much softer than what you'd find on your vehicle had it not been equipped with the nivomat shocks. They are a load bearing suspension component unlike traditional shocks. If they're too short on average they will "pump" themselves up until they are back to the length neutral length that they want to be (Lifting the rear of the vehicle). If they are too long they will provide less and less support and try to get back to that neutral length (Lowering the rear of the vehicle).
The problem you might have with the spacers that the Nivomats may work against your 1-1.5" lift goal without shock extensions specifically made for either a 1" or 1.5" lift spacer. Most, if not all of the shock extenders I've seen on the market are either for 2" spacers or they don't even specify the amount of extension. With the conventional shocks on the rear you can usually do 1" spacers and keep your stock shocks and no extensions. What might happen with the Nivomat load leveling shocks if you don't use extensions is that they may lower your vehicle back down 1" after you put in the spacers by providing less and less support until the shocks reach their predetermined neutral length.
If you do add extenders that are actually for a 2" lift but only want 1" of lift the nivomats may "pump up" and effectively lift the rear of your vehicle up to that 2" mark.
I can't comment much on the front lift on your vehicle as my generation has a torsion bar suspension and is lifted in a quite different manner. I noticed no handling or ride quality differences when I lifted the front of mine 3" and swapped in bilstein shocks.
In short: your resulting rear lift height may be more determined by the exact length of your shock extenders than your lift spacers with Nivomats. It would be very ******* the shocks so I wouldn't do it but I'd bet I could remove my spacers completely and still have 2" of lift in the rear of my Yukon from extending the Nivomats alone.
I've done it with 2" spacers and 2" shock extenders and it's worked fine for the last 7+ months or so. I tow with mine too. The extensions effectively adjust the neutral point of the shocks in accordance with the new higher ride height provided by the coil spacers.
http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52533
The Nivomats "want" to be a specific average length as you ride down the road. They are paired up with coil springs that are much softer than what you'd find on your vehicle had it not been equipped with the nivomat shocks. They are a load bearing suspension component unlike traditional shocks. If they're too short on average they will "pump" themselves up until they are back to the length neutral length that they want to be (Lifting the rear of the vehicle). If they are too long they will provide less and less support and try to get back to that neutral length (Lowering the rear of the vehicle).
The problem you might have with the spacers that the Nivomats may work against your 1-1.5" lift goal without shock extensions specifically made for either a 1" or 1.5" lift spacer. Most, if not all of the shock extenders I've seen on the market are either for 2" spacers or they don't even specify the amount of extension. With the conventional shocks on the rear you can usually do 1" spacers and keep your stock shocks and no extensions. What might happen with the Nivomat load leveling shocks if you don't use extensions is that they may lower your vehicle back down 1" after you put in the spacers by providing less and less support until the shocks reach their predetermined neutral length.
If you do add extenders that are actually for a 2" lift but only want 1" of lift the nivomats may "pump up" and effectively lift the rear of your vehicle up to that 2" mark.
I can't comment much on the front lift on your vehicle as my generation has a torsion bar suspension and is lifted in a quite different manner. I noticed no handling or ride quality differences when I lifted the front of mine 3" and swapped in bilstein shocks.
In short: your resulting rear lift height may be more determined by the exact length of your shock extenders than your lift spacers with Nivomats. It would be very ******* the shocks so I wouldn't do it but I'd bet I could remove my spacers completely and still have 2" of lift in the rear of my Yukon from extending the Nivomats alone.
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felixgun
Full Access Member
Is yours an LTZ? If it is 1" in the rear it'll be too low.
Still looking for a good solution for ours.
Right now I am shipping the defective shocks back.
So I'm back at square one.
I think I may look for a good clean set of used rear springs from an SLE that did not have the ZW7 suspension option and then go with new Bilstein shocks front and rear. And then just add helper air bags to the rear so I can level it out when loaded.
What do you guys think?
Right now I am shipping the defective shocks back.
So I'm back at square one.
I think I may look for a good clean set of used rear springs from an SLE that did not have the ZW7 suspension option and then go with new Bilstein shocks front and rear. And then just add helper air bags to the rear so I can level it out when loaded.
What do you guys think?
That would definitely work and has been done.
Even though the nivomats are around $400 for the pair (if I'm remembering correctly) new ones would probably be quite a bit cheaper and easier to install than springs plus bilsteins plus helper airbags.
Unless I was towing something with a very heavy tongue weight I'd probably just replace the nivomat shocks with the same. They just work without the need to add/remove air and it's a super simple install.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Even though the nivomats are around $400 for the pair (if I'm remembering correctly) new ones would probably be quite a bit cheaper and easier to install than springs plus bilsteins plus helper airbags.
Unless I was towing something with a very heavy tongue weight I'd probably just replace the nivomat shocks with the same. They just work without the need to add/remove air and it's a super simple install.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well I got a good deal on a set of stock Nivomat shocks.
I paid $50.00 shipped for a set that was pulled from a new Yukon that only had 34 miles on it.
So right now I need to find some rear shock extenders that are 1.5" long. And that's proving to be a pain in the you know what.
As none of the companies that make them list how long they are.
So I may end up just welding some metal to the stock mounts on the axle and then drilling new holes at the right height.
Was trying to avoid welding on the truck, but it's not a big deal I guess.
I think I an going it order a lift kit on ebay. It's $110 shipped for a 2" front 1.5" rear kit.
It comes with shock extenders but I have no idea if there the right size of not.
I'll post a link to it later.
I'm on my phone right now and don't have it saved on here.
I paid $50.00 shipped for a set that was pulled from a new Yukon that only had 34 miles on it.
So right now I need to find some rear shock extenders that are 1.5" long. And that's proving to be a pain in the you know what.
As none of the companies that make them list how long they are.
So I may end up just welding some metal to the stock mounts on the axle and then drilling new holes at the right height.
Was trying to avoid welding on the truck, but it's not a big deal I guess.
I think I an going it order a lift kit on ebay. It's $110 shipped for a 2" front 1.5" rear kit.
It comes with shock extenders but I have no idea if there the right size of not.
I'll post a link to it later.
I'm on my phone right now and don't have it saved on here.
That's a good price on those shocks. Hopefully when I need them I'll come across something similar vs. the $400ish for new ones.
My experience with my Nivomats is that they allow for about 3/4-1" of suspension sag before they start attempting to level out the load. I mention this because if you take out all of the factory rake you'll have a bit of a "cali lean" when you tow. I hate that look so that was for this reason that I went with 2" spacers out back even though I was planing on 1" or 1.5" when I started looking into it. I measured the sag over the course of several weeks with both my boat and camper. When the trailers were first attached the rear would sag and look low but then, after driving around a little, they of course pumped back up and the vehicle once again looked level. Each time I measured I noticed that the rear only came back up to 1" less than the unloaded height though and never returned to exactly the unloaded height.
The other factor is that, unless you're towing with a weight distributing hitch, the tongue weight is going to "lift" the front of your vehicle a little bit. Think of your vehicle as a class 1 lever with the rear axle as the fulcrum and the trailer tongue weight as the downward force. So, under the weight of the trailer, your rear is going to sag an inch or so and the front is going to rise a 1/2" or so depending on the tongue weight. If you start out perfectly level and then attach a trailer your front will be around 1 to 1.5" higher than the rear which is noticeable.
I had 2" of factory rake before. I cranked the front 3" on one side and 2.5" on the other (Due to the apparently normal sag that occurs on the driver's side with the older models with torsion bars) and then did the 2" rear spacers and shock extenders. That left about 1-1.5" of the rake remaining (Depending on the "mood" of the Nivomats. I "removed" around a third to a half of the factory rake) so when I tow my boat or camper or when I load her down with cargo it sits level after the Nivomats "pump up".
Unless you don't mind the low in the rear look when you're towing I'd measure the height difference between your front and rear wheel wells and plan to leave about 1" or so of that when you're done lifting. A 2" spacer + shock extender may be more appropriate since you say you tow often.
My experience with my Nivomats is that they allow for about 3/4-1" of suspension sag before they start attempting to level out the load. I mention this because if you take out all of the factory rake you'll have a bit of a "cali lean" when you tow. I hate that look so that was for this reason that I went with 2" spacers out back even though I was planing on 1" or 1.5" when I started looking into it. I measured the sag over the course of several weeks with both my boat and camper. When the trailers were first attached the rear would sag and look low but then, after driving around a little, they of course pumped back up and the vehicle once again looked level. Each time I measured I noticed that the rear only came back up to 1" less than the unloaded height though and never returned to exactly the unloaded height.
The other factor is that, unless you're towing with a weight distributing hitch, the tongue weight is going to "lift" the front of your vehicle a little bit. Think of your vehicle as a class 1 lever with the rear axle as the fulcrum and the trailer tongue weight as the downward force. So, under the weight of the trailer, your rear is going to sag an inch or so and the front is going to rise a 1/2" or so depending on the tongue weight. If you start out perfectly level and then attach a trailer your front will be around 1 to 1.5" higher than the rear which is noticeable.
I had 2" of factory rake before. I cranked the front 3" on one side and 2.5" on the other (Due to the apparently normal sag that occurs on the driver's side with the older models with torsion bars) and then did the 2" rear spacers and shock extenders. That left about 1-1.5" of the rake remaining (Depending on the "mood" of the Nivomats. I "removed" around a third to a half of the factory rake) so when I tow my boat or camper or when I load her down with cargo it sits level after the Nivomats "pump up".
Unless you don't mind the low in the rear look when you're towing I'd measure the height difference between your front and rear wheel wells and plan to leave about 1" or so of that when you're done lifting. A 2" spacer + shock extender may be more appropriate since you say you tow often.
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White07Tahoe
Full Access Member
Check the classifieds here, i think there is a CCM kit there from a really good seller
