Want to lower it just a bit - help me choose parts

[guycar778]

Hello everybody, first post here! But I've done a whole lot of reading here. This site has been a great resource and helped me decide on picking up a decent used Yukon.

What I ended up with was a 2002 Yukon with about 150,000 mi, still in reasonably decent shape. I've got to catch up on a fair amount of deferred maintenance that the previous owner didn't bother doing, but I also want to lower it now.

It has the Nivomat / Premium Smooth Ride packages. So the back sits way higher in the back. I want to bring the back down for sure.

Right now, it has 255/70r16 tires on there. and I did the ground to fender lip measurements through the wheel centres. Currently sitting:
Front Left: 34.5 in.
Front Right: 34 in.
Rear Left: 36.5 in.
Rear Right: 36 in.

So, I could stand to go 2 inches lower at the back, and be level. Or, go 3 inches lower at the back, and 1 inch lower up front. That would be good too.

So, before suggesting parts or kits, here's my thoughts.

With the mileage I'm at, I'm kind of on the fence about keeping the Nivomats, or replacing shocks all around. If I keep them, I'm ok with using shock extenders at the back. However, if I do replace them, I'd rather not use extenders, and instead go with shorter shocks.

I'd like the option of going either 2 or 3 inches lower at the rear, so I suppose I'd need a spacer of some sort.

I want to do as little as possible up front. At most, de-crank the torsion bars at most 1 inch.

I really want to keep costs low for this whole project.

I don't want the ride to suffer. I want a nice ride, not stiff or jarring.

So, putting it all together, if 3 inch drop at the rear will be more costly in terms of parts, modifications, and loss of ride quality, then I'd prefer a 2 inch drop and do nothing up front.

Drawing on the expertise of the forum members, what parts are suggested so I can meet the goals here?

 

[emilime75]

If you're interested, I have a mild lowering kit I was about to list for sale. It's made by MaxTrac, which isn't really popular but I'm not sure why. It consists of 2-3" drop coils for the rear and 1-2" keys for the front. The keys are brand new, never used or installed. The rear coils were on the truck for less than a year, still in great shape, no rust or anything like that. I found them to ride great and the only reason I took them off was because I decided to go lower. PM if you're interested.

 

[NathanJax]

I want to do as little as possible up front. At most, de-crank the torsion bars at most 1 inch.

Do this to lower about a half inch and level from side to side


Then get 3" Belltech springs for the rear with some spacers. You can add 1/4", 1/2" 3/4" or 1" spacers to get it dialed in EXACTLY how you want. I would suggest buying the springs from @NORCAL SS and then installing them. See how everything sits and then once everything has had a chance to settle, get your rear measurements and get on eBay and get the spacers you want.

You're also going to want to get shock extenders as well from @NORCAL SS or eBay.

You can also check on here for someone selling them in the classified section

 

[guycar778]

Alright.

So right now, to keep things simple, keep a good ride, and keep costs low, I'm leaning towards this:

2 inch rear springs (possibly a 3 inch with spacers)
4 new shocks (shorter than stock in the back)
slight de-crank of front torsion bars (max 1 inch, just to even things out)

Looking for recommendations a proven shock / spring combo for the above setup. Again, looking for simplicity, good ride, low cost.

The future will bring a thicker rear sway bar and a set of 17 inch wheels and tires, so I have no plans for wild setups any time soon.

 

[NathanJax]

Definitely a 3" spring. If you do a 2", you'll end up buying the 3" anyways and taking a hit by selling used 2" springs

You don't have to get new shocks unless yours are just worn out. Definitely don't want shorter shocks in the rear. You want full shocks to get the full movement of them and just need to add shock relocators.

Belltech springs... you want Belltech springs...

 

[guycar778]

Don't suppose you have a part number, do you? I recall some threads here saying the part numbers changed, but one was way superior to the other.

I'm in Canada, so I don't know if I can purchase through @NORCAL SS without big shipping and duty costs attached, so I may have to get them locally. But you never know. I get stuff shipped up from Rock Auto all the time, and even with shipping and duties, still come out ahead. Definitely worth a look.

 

[emilime75]

The Belltech springs everyone likes are part # 5305-***. Don't worry about the *** part, just the 5305. That's a 3-4" spring. 3" with the spacer they come with and 4" without it. Also, Belltech doesn't sell just the springs and spacers, you have to buy a kit to get them.

 

[guycar778]

Cool!

I'm looking at this kit (BellTech Part # 34324) here: http://www.belltech.com/pro-coil-spring-set-13870.html

This should work, right?

My parts guys locally can get it in for me at a pretty good price. So I'll pull the trigger later this week.

My next question is which shocks in the rear would be good replacements for the Nivomats and work well with this setup? I ask because the BellTech page above suggests I'll get 2-3 inches with this kit rather than the 3-4 advertised because of the Premium Smooth Ride (Nivomat) package. I'm ok with 2-3. I just want to make sure my replacement shocks maintain 2-3, rather than drop down to 3-4 because then I'd need to lower my front another inch to match.

 

[NathanJax]

yes that will work. With the shock extenders you should be fine but if not, you can get Bilsteins.

 

[CHOO CHOO]

Tony has a set of 5305 springs for sale if im not mistaken. I would contact him to see. I think they were 175 shipped to lower 48