I am new here. New as in today. I have always wanted to build my own rig, but am just now able to start. I j it's made my first parts order today. Pro comp black steel, 33x10.50x15 KM2's,MBRP car back, 50" rigid bar with brackets, defender rack, volant cold air, and pro comp 2.5" lift. I just want some opinions on what should be next in the chute. What would be your next big order. It's all going on a 2002 Z71 Tahoe.
Starting my Tahoe build
- Thread starter Z71hoe
- Start date
I wouldn work on interior setup. you have a perfect height lift, good tires, wheels. Im betting you wont need extra traction control devices if you are sticking to overlanding type off roading and not rockin it or muddin it. Interior setup would be how to carry everything you want to take, comfort for you and passengers, nav and comm duties, coffee maker, and keg cooler!
justcuz
Explorer
I am rebuilding a blown up G80 currently. My plan is to remove the locking mechanism and add extra friction and shim plates and make it a strong LSD.
This has been done before and I will probably post a thread on it when I finish that will include instructions and the exact number of frictions and shims I will be adding to the stock setup.
If your vehicle does not have a G80, I would look for a lunchbox locker for the rear only.
You can also do the light brake apply LSD!
This is not really an LSD at all but is a driving technique that stops the spinning wheel through light brake application and transfers the power to the wheel that needs the traction.
Late model vehicles do this automatically if they have traction assist. Many 2WD GM trucks and SUV's have a G80 rear axle and traction assist and they seem to last longer. Traction assist keeps the axles from over speeding that results in the sudden lockup and and destruction of the G80 rear axle.
Google G80 and watch the you tube video. It shows how the flyweight mechanism works to lock the rear axle.
It is a great axle as long as you don't over speed the axles. However if one axle is going more than 100 rpms faster than the other and the locking mechanism kicks in, all that energy transfers to the carrier before the axle and destroys it.
I have one in a 1992 Blazer that broke the carrier in half. My daughter drove over a painted crosswalk in the rain at an intersection, while accelerating after the light turned green. One tire on the paint spun, the one on the asphalt did not.:ar15:
If the pro-comp lift has rear coil spring spacers I would prefer to install Hummer H2 rear springs. The H2 springs in the rear of a Tahoe will give you about the same lift with a much greater load capacity, since they are a progressively wound spring designed to carry weight. I have them in my 2000 Suburban and I achieved about 2" of lift and it allowed me to remove the rear sway bar.
I did not remove the sway bar initially, however I recently broke a sway bar link while off-roading and noticed after a couple weeks it did not change the vehicle dynamics so I took it off. Now I have more articulation without it.
This has been done before and I will probably post a thread on it when I finish that will include instructions and the exact number of frictions and shims I will be adding to the stock setup.
If your vehicle does not have a G80, I would look for a lunchbox locker for the rear only.
You can also do the light brake apply LSD!
This is not really an LSD at all but is a driving technique that stops the spinning wheel through light brake application and transfers the power to the wheel that needs the traction.
Late model vehicles do this automatically if they have traction assist. Many 2WD GM trucks and SUV's have a G80 rear axle and traction assist and they seem to last longer. Traction assist keeps the axles from over speeding that results in the sudden lockup and and destruction of the G80 rear axle.
Google G80 and watch the you tube video. It shows how the flyweight mechanism works to lock the rear axle.
It is a great axle as long as you don't over speed the axles. However if one axle is going more than 100 rpms faster than the other and the locking mechanism kicks in, all that energy transfers to the carrier before the axle and destroys it.
I have one in a 1992 Blazer that broke the carrier in half. My daughter drove over a painted crosswalk in the rain at an intersection, while accelerating after the light turned green. One tire on the paint spun, the one on the asphalt did not.:ar15:
If the pro-comp lift has rear coil spring spacers I would prefer to install Hummer H2 rear springs. The H2 springs in the rear of a Tahoe will give you about the same lift with a much greater load capacity, since they are a progressively wound spring designed to carry weight. I have them in my 2000 Suburban and I achieved about 2" of lift and it allowed me to remove the rear sway bar.
I did not remove the sway bar initially, however I recently broke a sway bar link while off-roading and noticed after a couple weeks it did not change the vehicle dynamics so I took it off. Now I have more articulation without it.
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