Upgrading shocks and leveling for 35"s

[Waldo]

I have looked at the cooper m/t and Federal m/t's, but they have "chunking" issues on the heavy gravel roads I drive.



I'm not big on the leveling kits that add spacers to the shocks, just seems like a problem waiting to happen.



Has anyone heard anything about the Fox racing 2.0 reservoir shocks, besides being on "Project Trailhugger" in 4wheeler mag.? I'm wondering if they have the increased travel like the 5160 Bilsteins?

[johnnyspikesH3]

[quote name='Waldo' timestamp='1336357899' post='36639']

I have looked at the cooper m/t and Federal m/t's, but they have "chunking" issues on the heavy gravel roads I drive.



I'm not big on the leveling kits that add spacers to the shocks, just seems like a problem waiting to happen.



Has anyone heard anything about the Fox racing 2.0 reservoir shocks, besides being on "Project Trailhugger" in 4wheeler mag.? I'm wondering if they have the increased travel like the 5160 Bilsteins?

[/quote]

The spacers go on the existing torsion keys . Not the shocks . No issues will happen . Why don't you just spend $2,000 on a Rancho 4"lift and be done . You have 3 choices .. Leave it stock rake . Level it ( Cranked or kit ) Or large dollar lift . END STORY !

[Sugarphreak]

^^ This



There are virtually no other suspension systems for the H3 aside from the Rancho kit made anymore. Two discontinued kits were the Bullet Proof Suspension 8" kit (which was totally unusable off-road) and Tuff Country kit... both have been off the shelves for years now. Everything I've heard is that if you want to do suspension, go Rancho.



You can raise up the rear end of the vehicle with Samco shackles, this is something that Dave did on his old H3 Alpha and it worked out pretty good.



As for the torsion keys, you may or may not need keys or spacers. The best way to find out is see how much play your key has (it cranks downwards) and if you can get the lift just by cranking the bolt with an impact that is all you may need. With my truck I bought the Daystar keys only to realize I had enough play built in to crank it up as much as I needed without doing any modifications at all.



However mine was the adventure package, also a 2009... so older models and maybe base models might need the keys to make it work. I actually have my Daystar keys just sitting in a box somewhere after I took them out.





btw: Don't add spacers to the shocks!!! I've been through quite a few discussions, the general conclusion is that your OEM suspension is set to operate within a certain range... leveling the vehicle doesn't change that range, all you are doing is setting the torsion bar load higher, thus it rides higher than it typically would. Changing that range means you are limiting the suspension on one side, and extending the range beyond what it is designed to do on the other.

[H3Luxembourg]

Sorry guys, was most of time on the other CHO site, <img src='http://www.canadianhummerclub.com/forum ... unsure.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':unsure:' />

[Waldo]

Here's a few pictures of my truck after the level. BMF S.O.T.A, stealth black 20x9+0 with Cooper STT 35x12.50R20. Rubs on full lock on hard bumps and at full flex the rears tuck right into the fenders and rub pretty bad too, but all in all I'm very happy with them. I went with Bilstein 5160 remote resevoir front shocks, the only probablem I have had is where Bilstein recommends where to mount the resevoir: on the frame rail, directly above the stabilizer bar mount as far forward as possible. This not only leaves the stabilizer bar to rub the resevoir on hard bumps, it also leaves the braided hose under tension, not enough to break but enough to try to spin either the resevoir or shock, depending on which is under less tension.





The mirrors are vinyl wrapped matte black by a local vinyl shop Ironjet Promotions, I just replaced the factory chrome mirrors for textured black ones. The chrome grill should be gone here soon for a colour-matched one. Then on to the goodies, thinking about air lockers (truck is a rare non-offroad package equipped truck...just my luck) a winch bumper and roof rack.

[Waldo]

Pic 1: The rear axle at full flex (I need to look into a spring-over swap or shackles if I want/need more flex)

Pic 2: Here you can see where the Bilstein resevoir mounts, they ride like a dream! But the stabilizer hitting is the only issue, I have some tabs made to fix this.