Offroad Trailblazers and Envoys

z71 springs plus 3/4 inch spacer in rear

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by navigator » Mon May 09, 2011 1:29 pm

Hi folks, I bought a lift from a guy off of OS, it is supposed to ship today.
I got it at a really good price with the front coils and shocks already together and he said the shocks are in good shape.

It is the rough country, 2 inches front, 3/4 rear which should sit pretty level. I'm not going to pound it so it should hold up pretty well. I was thinking about getting a set of z71 coils for the rear for a little more lift and I tow a bass boat a good bit. Wouldn't that give me about 2-2.5 in the rear?

My offroading mostly consists of hunting/fishing, driving on the beach so I don't plan to do a lot of flexing.
Will stock shocks work ok with the z71 coils and the 3/4 inch spacer for what I am doing?
I'm just thinking if I am putting on a 3/4 inch spacer I might as well add the coils to get a little more lift in the rear.
I can get them off of ebay shipped for about $55 now.
I'm also thinking if my plans change or my rears start giving me problems I can go to a longer shock/BDS or Avalanche shock then.

Any thoughts?
Last edited by navigator on Mon May 09, 2011 1:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by Trail X » Mon May 09, 2011 1:32 pm

navigator wrote:Will stock shocks work ok with the z71 coils and the 3/4 inch spacer for what I am doing?

You'll hate it unless you regularly carry a few hundred pounds in the back - in which case you should probably upgrade the shocks anyways.
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by navigator » Mon May 09, 2011 1:39 pm

you mean I'll hate the shocks or hate the heavier springs or hate the heavier springs without upgrading the shocks?
Usually I am either on the highway or towing the boat. I don't put but about 10k miles per year on it.
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by Trail X » Mon May 09, 2011 1:47 pm

The stock shocks aren't really long enough for a spacer + stronger springs. If you don't carry weight in the rear, you might be riding on the top of the shock. Measure it and see, the smaller 3/4" spacer might be ok.
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by navigator » Mon May 09, 2011 1:56 pm

that is what I needed to know.
I'll try the spacer and see how things go. If I want more lift later I might get it when my rears need replacing anyway.
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by djthumper » Mon May 09, 2011 3:20 pm

If you are running just the spacer you should be able to run the stock shocks. If you run the Z71 springs you are going to need to upgrade the shocks.

I have a 1" spacer in the rear and Z71 springs, it is definitely a stiffer ride. A trailer that I regularly haul was dropping my rear end a good 6" now is only dropping about 3.5 - 4".
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by navigator » Mon May 09, 2011 3:28 pm

thanks Larry, I think I will hold off on the Z71 springs until I drive it awhile or my rears need replacing.
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by MrSmithsTB » Mon May 09, 2011 4:53 pm

You might also consider running the Z71 springs with no spacer. That will still give you about .5" more lift than just the spacer and less sag when carrying or pulling loads. It will also allow you to run the stock shocks and, if you want to add the extra spacer in later, you can upgrade shocks then.
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by navigator » Mon May 09, 2011 11:09 pm

that's a thought as well, I'll likely just go ahead and run the spacer since I have it and wait on the coils/shocks until I need new shocks or more lift. with my 255/70/16 that extra lift might make the wheel wells look a little empty anyway.
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by navigator » Mon May 09, 2011 11:11 pm

BTW, I checked with the seller and the parts shipped today and should be here on Friday. Now I can't decide on going camping Friday night or maybe trying to lift it Friday afternoon and just take a drive on Saturday.....
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